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“The organizers behind the Gladue Awareness Project in Saskatchewan hope it will help reduce the overrepresentation of Indigenous people behind bars in the province.
Presented by the Wiyasiwewin Mikiwahp Native Law Centre of the University of Saskatchewan, the seminars are aimed at informing Indigenous people, their legal counsel and others about the Gladue case, and how it can factor into sentencing.
“Not only are we are bringing information to the participants of the seminars, but we are also having a discussion on how Saskatchewan can better address the over-incarceration of Aboriginal people in the province,” said Michelle Brass, the Gladue Awareness Project manager.
According to the 2016 census, Indigenous people made up 16 per cent of Saskatchewan’s population. In 2016/2017, Indigenous adults made up 76 per cent of those admitted into custody in the province.”
– CBCNews, Gladue Awareness Project travels Saskatchewan to talk about Indigenous incarceration rates.
“Section 718.2 (e) in the Criminal Code states courts must consider alternatives to imprisonment that are reasonable in the circumstances and pay particular attention to the circumstances of Aboriginal offenders
In 1995, Jamie Tanis Gladue, a Cree woman from British Columbia, was sentenced to three years in prison after being convicted of second-degree murder in the death of her common-law husband. Gladue appealed the sentence because the judge had not taken into account Gladue’s personal history and background in sentencing, because she had been living off-reserve and “not within the aboriginal community as such.”
The case went to the Supreme Court of Canada and in 1999, it ruled that the judge in the Gladue case had not properly applied section 718.2(e).
The ruling states it makes no difference if Indigenous offenders live on- or off-reserve, sentencing judges must still take into consideration the influence of Indigenous offenders’ involvement with such things as residential schools, the Sixties Scoop or child welfare system.”
– TheFirstNationsCanada.com, GLADUE AWARENESS PROJECT TRAVELS SASKATCHEWAN TO TALK ABOUT INDIGENOUS INCARCERATION RATES.
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Indian Country 52
Indian Country 52 is a weekly project by David Bernie that uses the medium of posters that promote issues and stories in Indian Country.
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