Over the past decades, Aboriginal people (the original people or indigenous occupants of a particular country), have been oppressed by the Canadian society and continue to live under racism resulting in gender/ class oppression. The history of Colonialism, and Capitalism has played a significant role in the construction and impact of how Aborignal people are treated and viewed presently in the Canadian society. The struggles, injustices, prejudice, and discrimination that have plagued Aboriginal peoples for more than three centuries are still grim realities today. The failures of Canada’s racist policies toward Aboriginal peoples are reflected in the high levels of unemployment and poor education. Presently, the state shapes the construction and social reproduction of racism, racialization, and sexism as experienced by Aboriginal people in Canada. Colonialism is a process by which European power takes control over and dominates and exploits an indigenous group by appropriating their land and resources, extracting their wealth, and using them as cheap labor. In Canada, the British evaded the Aboriginals (indigenous people), with their vision of creating a capitalist society. The vision was to have Aboriginal people produce commodities off their own land in return for goods. -Thus began slavery in Canada. Sometimes, merchant capital often had to use force to transform pre- capitalist societies in order to introduce commodity relations and production. “ It was important to merchant capital that the existing pre-capitalist relations of production be reinforced and perpetuated in order to guarantee the required production of goods. Traditional relations of production continued, not in their independent form, but as a new form of relations of production incorporated into capitalist relations of exploitation.” (Bourgeault, 43). The British were interested in the production and circulation of fur as a commodity in t...
