Maeve Sheen

October 6th 2022

Media Reflection- 8th Fire

Indigenous Urbanization
This film spoke on several important topics such as Indigenous gang relations, policing and
Indigenous art. The topic that I have chosen to speak on is Indigenous Urbanization. 8th Fire
speaks on how Indigenous People have integrated into the city, and how this impacts their lives
as a whole. I am curious to know more about the reasons for why Indigenous People choose to
leave reserves. What I have been taught in the past is that Indigenous People have safe and
connected communities within reserves, therefore they choose to live there out of comfort. I was
surprised to learn that 57% of the Indegenous population in Canada lives outside of reserves,
according to Fraser Institute. 

Within an article by the Fraser Institute, Mark Milke explains why Canadian Indigenous Peoples
prefer not to live on reserves. He claims that this is due to economic success and remoteness.
He states that the average annual income of Indigenous Peoples outside of reserves is $8,500
more than residents of reserves. This is a reason why Aboriginal People may desire to live off
reserve, as they would gain greater income and more money to provide for themselves. Milke
also explains that reserves are far from urban centres, and sometimes secluded. Indigenous
people also may integrate further into cities due to a lack of access to resources nearby. This
would also save gas money for those who choose to commute by car.

Indigenous foundations art at UBC as well states that the majority of those moving out of
reserves choose to move due to economic struggles. It also states that another reason
Indigenous People are moving out is due to high rates of poverty, suicide, mortality and more.
Some reserves are considered to be in “Third World Condition” due to inadequate housing and
water access. Some Indigenous people wish to have more tolerable or less negative
surroundings, therefore they move out. Reserves are also still on the land of “the crown”
meaning that Indigenous peoples still do not have their own land. This could be a motive for
Indigenous People to move out due to the fact that if reserves aren’t theirs neither will anything
else be. Therefore, the land they live on, reserve or not, will never be theirs. Accepting this may
lead to Indigenous People choosing to move out of reserves due to the realization that the land
is not theirs.

Indigenous Crime Rates

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2020001/article/00013-eng.htm

Another topic that interested me was Indigenous crime rates. I don’t find it surprising that crime
rates within Indigenous Peoples are so high due to the environmental circumstances that they
were raised in. Young childhood trauma leads to crime and mental illness. This is a common
factor seen in Indigenous communities. All of this is a piece of colonialism. Due to the fact that
their land has been taken away, and the trauma they have faced by the Canadian Government,
they are led onto a life path of poverty and PTSD. Neurological Disorders contribute to a high
level of crime, and so does living in poverty.

The Conversation, a source of mine, also claims that Indigenous people are being worked
against. In 8th Fire, we see a police officer using his power against Indigenous peoples to arrest
them. This website shows multiple examples of law forces going against Indigenous Peoples,
this is just one:
Kinew James, a psychiatric patient, died of a heart attack after pushing the emergency button
on her cell multiple times. 

This is an example of people in power working against Indigenous people. The same goes with
Police and Indigenous relations. 

Looking at the graph at the top of this section of my review, you can see that the majority of
Indigenous Peoples are imprisoned for Mischief. Mischief includes destruction of property and
interference with law or law officers. In this case, any Indigenous person who wishes to oppose
a law officer can be convicted of this crime. There is no doubt that the reason why Mischief is
higher within Indigenous communities is due to indigenous peoples standing up for themselves.
This reminds me of when one of the rappers stood up to a police officer and said that he was
arresting his friend due to being Indigenous. This could have been considered an obstruction of
law. I applaud his bravery for standing up to law enforcement like that.

Summary
In summary, 

Works Cited
“Increasing number of Aboriginals choose not to live on reserves”, Fraser Institute, June 19th
2014 https://www.fraserinstitute.org/article/increasing-number-aboriginals-choose-not-live-
reserves Accessed October 8th 2022

“Reserves”, Indigenous Foundations UBC, 2009

https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/reserves/ Accessed October 8th 2022

“Broken system: Why is a quarter of Canada’s prison population Indigenous?”, The

Conversation, February 18th 2018. https://theconversation.com/broken-system-why-is-a-
quarter-of-canadas-prison-population-indigenous-91562 Accessed October 8th 2022

“Neurological Abnormalities’ Impact on Crime and Behavior”, UTSA Journal of Undergraduate

Research and Scholarly Works, December 2020 https://provost.utsa.edu/undergraduate-
research/journal/files/vol7/JURSW.v7.10.Marr.pdf Accessed October 9th 2022

“Criminal Code- Mischeif” Government of Canada, September 28th 2022

https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-46/section-430.html Accessed October 9th 2022

“Crime reported by police serving areas where the majority of the population is Indigenous,
2018” Statistics Canada, November 18th 2020
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2020001/article/00013-eng.htm