A Review of Research on Criminal Victimization and First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples 1990 to 2001

Part I: Literature Review (continued)

2. Methodology

The literature identified in this review and indexed in the references section was obtained by searching academic libraries, relevant organization, and internet databases as listed below.

  1. General searches on University of Ottawa libraries and other electronic databases were conducted by three independent research assistants of the terms "victimization" and "Aboriginal peoples" and related terms. Relevant documents were then reviewed and annotated bibliographies of relevant material were prepared for this review.
  2. Searches were also conducted using a number of related terms in government libraries and non-governmental organizations such as the library of the Solicitor General. Summaries of relevant sources were then prepared.
  3. Relevant material identified by national global electronic catalogues that were not available in libraries within the National Capital region were obtained by inter-library loan processes.
  4. General Internet searches were conducted with keyword searches as per below.
  5. The following is one example of searches conducted by our research assistants. Outline of Searches Performed:
    • ORBIS library Guide (Fauteux, Morrisset, Carleton, and Ottawa Public Libraries)
    • University of Saskatchewan Library
    • Publications – title, subject, and keyword searches:
      • Aboriginal, Indian, Native, First Nation, Inuit, Métis Crime, Gang, Prostitution, Youth, Victim/victimization, Urban, Sex trade, Sexual abuse, Child abuse
    • Electronic Periodical Indexes:
      • Canadian Periodical Index
      • Advanced Academic ASAP
      • First Nations Periodical Index
    • Popular Periodicals:
      • Ottawa Citizen
      • Edmonton Sun
      • Calgary Herald
      • Vancouver Sun
      • Regina Leader Post
      • National Post
      • Winnipeg Free Press
      • La Ronge Northerner
    • Journals:
      • American Indian Quarterly
      • Artic
      • Ayaagwaangwaamizin: The International Journal of Indigenous
      • Philosophies
      • Canadian Journal of Native Studies
      • Canadian Journal of Native Education
      • Inuit Studies
      • First Nations Gazette
      • Native Studies Review
      • Saskatchewan History
      • First Nations Free Press
      • Journal of Indigenous Studies
      • Native Youth News
      • The Northerner
      • Saskatchewan Indian
      • Saskatchewan Sage
  6. The reports of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) including the CD Rom "Seven Generations" also provide a wealth of information on Aboriginal victimization. Therefore, considerable time was spent searching RCAP reports and submissions.

    A total of 74 references to victimization were located in the materials reviewed referencing some 71 categories. (Some of these categories could be collapsed.)

    Each of the 71 categories detailed in the following list contains a number(s) in brackets following the category. The numbers referenced therein relate to extract paragraphs of relevant materials from the RCAP report created in a separate internal research document not included in this report.

    The breakdown in terms of references per category is as follows:

    • Aboriginal communities (46, 47, 69)
    • Aboriginal women's criminal behaviour (3)
    • Action required to help those suffering from victimization (63)
    • Approach to and Aboriginal justice systems (40)
    • Behaviours stemming from (57)
    • Canadian Urban Victimization Survey (34)
    • Child victimization – needing to deal with as adult (65)
    • Children (54, 62)
    • Children's sadness (5)
    • Children's sexual victimization (8, 23)
    • Contemporary (59)
    • Context of – in Aboriginal communities (44)
    • Crime rates (64)
    • Criminal justice system (54, 66)
    • Culture, custom, tradition, social control, conflict resolution (12)
    • Definitional challenges (39)
    • Degraded in (51)
    • Denial of difference (47, 69)
    • Determinant in future relations (68)
    • Discrimination – homophobia (26)
    • Economics (2)
    • Elders (54)
    • Elders – male – perpetrators and arbitrators of victimization (45)
    • Elderly – violence against (15)
    • FAS/FAE (29)
    • Gender (9, 31)
    • Healing victimization (39)
    • Heightened by incarceration (48)
    • Higher susceptibility to victimization as factor in incarceration rates (56)
    • Imbalance in relations between sexes – attributable to Indian Act (37)
    • Impact on victim, victimizer, family, community (39)
    • Interpersonal violence (11, 13, 15)
    • Male/Men's victimization (20, 32)
    • Media's depiction (67)
    • Motivation for incarceration (39)
    • Nature of victimization (10)
    • Non-traditional (60)
    • Not an excuse (41)
    • Pan-Aboriginal organizations (22)
    • Parents' victimization carried by children (18)
    • Personal responsibility – lack of (33)
    • Power through victimization (49)
    • Priests (7)
    • Protection (lack of) for Aboriginal women and children by police (14)
    • Psychology of victimization and challenges flowing therefrom (71)
    • Racism/racist (1, 17, 19, 21, 24, 25, 69)
    • Rape – attempted by community member (Chief) (30)
    • Reporting of violence – lack of reporting (34)
    • Residential schools (16, 50, 53, 72, 74)
    • Responsibility – lack of (60, 70)
    • Restoration of balance and sentencing (39)
    • Resulting from genocide (52)
    • Re-victimization – institutional (36)
    • Re-victimization of women by community (38)
    • Rights – contravention of (27)
    • Role of in shaping Aboriginal criminal justice administration (43)
    • Rooted in (51)
    • Sentencing – role in (39)
    • Sexual abuse – women (23)
    • Sexual offences (42)
    • Sexual victimization (73)
    • Similarities/differences experiences Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal women (35)
    • Single parent families – lack of data re victimization (28)
    • Spousal assault (6, 11, 13, 15)
    • Student victimization (4)
    • Survival (27)
    • Use of Aboriginal people as further victimization (58)
    • Vulnerability to (61)
    • Welfare system – fostered by (55)
    • Women (54, 62, 69)
    • Youth (25)

Based on this review we organized our findings according to the following topics:

  1. Issues of victimization of Aboriginal peoples generally, including:
    1. The rates of crime by Aboriginal peoples against Aboriginal peoples, and
    2. The impact of racism on Aboriginal victimization by citizens and by various actors within the criminal justice system.
  2. Issues of victimization of vulnerable groups such as women and children, including:
    1. Feminist implications of restorative justice initiatives,
    2. Issues unique to First Nations, Métis and Inuit women on and off reserve and between north and south communities,
    3. Sexual assault rates in remote communities, and
    4. Youth victimization in the sex trade and gang activity.

  3. Issues of victimization of Aboriginal peoples with disabilities and in particular FAS and HIV/AIDS.

Where victimization issues outside the above-noted categories were identified by the researcher, they were also included in the literature review. In order to avoid duplication and dated material, the search focussed on materials from 1990 onwards.

Research materials collected were summarized and evaluated according to their relevance and quality. Materials identified in this process were examined in greater detail by the authors with important findings and conclusions incorporated into this literature review.