'The numbers keep growing': Alberta elder speaks to Indigenous incarceration overload in Canada

An elder from Kainai First Nations in southern Alberta is working to fix the crisis of the over-representation of Indigenous people in jail.

Keith Chief Moon said systemic discrimination and colonial government tactics are in part to blame for skyrocketing rates.

"The numbers keep growing each year;it doesn't seem to improve," he said.

"It all goes back to Confederation, when they adopted the policy to 'kill the Indian in the child.' Now, we have to assert the rights we have. Look at the Truth and Reconciliation [Commission]recommendations nobody's doing anything about this."

Chief Moon will share his experiences with working with inmates, and his ideas for solving the issue, on Thursday evening at the John Dutton Theatre library in Calgary as part of the GlobalFest Human Rights Forum.

According to the federal Officeof the Correctional Investigator, the incarceration rate for Indigenous adults in Canada is estimated to be 10 times higher than the incarceration rate of non-Indigenous adults.

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Chief Moon has worked in correctional facilities across Alberta, reaching out to inmates to help rehabilitate them back to Indigenous culture, for the past 30 years.

He calls the overflow of Indigenous people in prisons a human rights issue that the government should take seriously and revamp the workings of its judicial system.

"Everything is based on the doctrine of discovery, so everything based outside of that statement effects the whole process," he said.

"It's intrusive. We're seen as being inferior. Everything is based on British law, so awareness has to be implemented by the bureaucrats."

Incorporating cultural and spiritual teaching helps in the healing and rehabilitation process, he said, adding that it was only in the last few decades that First Nations traditions like the sacred Sun Dance were outlawed.

For inmates to learn these types of customs that were once essential to maintaining balance and a healthy lifestyle is a key to healing, he said.

"They're [prisons]just now starting to incorporate the spirituality and it's so much needed in the programs."

Festival aims to address stereotypes

The GlobalFest Human Rights Forum is sponsored by the United Nations Association in Canada'sCalgary Branch and is being held over five days, featuring over 15 Indigenous speakers and performing artists.

Deloria Many Grey Horses-Bioliza, director of GlobalFest Human Rights, hopes the event will engage people from all walks of life. Topics such as this are important to discuss, she said, especially when addressing stereotypes.

"It's easy for people to stereotype Indigenous people. I feel that if people hear from elders such as Keith, they'll be able to maybe get over their stereotypes, or question, or see the connections to something like, say, the Indian Act," said Many Grey Horses-Bioliza.

"For the most part, I think Canadians are very caring and, if given the right information, will be understanding."

Timothy Kenny, the director of communications with UNAC, said the event will help the United Nations reach sustainable development goals while addressing the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

"The TRC did recommend that Canada look at adopting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) which definitely has a parallel to sustainable development," he said.

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"If we're going to start talking about these goals globally, we need to start look in our own backyard. I want to be spending my time giving back as an Indigenous person who has grown up in poverty and grown up in all sorts of atrocities like many of us have why are we looking at trying to fix the world when we have this in our own backyard? If Canada's going to adopt UNDRIP and looking at UN sustainable development goals and move towards reconciliation, we need to be addressing this in our own communities."