Aboriginal Bullying

Aboriginal Bullying

Simon Brascoupé
Acting CEO, National Aboriginal Health Organization

www.naho.ca/bullying

Bullying & lateral violence
• Aboriginal experience in Australia
• Almost every youth has experienced violence
from their peers—called lateral violence.

www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/people/bullying-and-
lateral-violence.html


Percentage of young people who have
witnessed lateral violence and bullying at home

95%

Percentage of bullying that occurs among
Aboriginal people themselves

95%

What is lateral violence?
• Lateral violence is a form of bullying which has been explained as the
"organised, harmful behaviours that we do to each other collectively as part
of an oppressed group, within our families, within our organisations and
within our communities".

• Lateral violence is a worldwide occurrence with all minorities and particularly
Aboriginal peoples. It is directed sideways ('lateral') meaning the aggressors
are your peers, often people in powerless positions. It is your own (Aboriginal)
peers who bully you.

• "Lateral violence is the expression of rage and anger, fear and terror that can
only be safely vented upon those closest to us when we are being oppressed."
In other words, people who are victims of a situation of dominance turn on
each other instead of confronting the system that oppresses them.

• Other terms include 'work place bullying' and 'horizontal violence'.

Causes of lateral violence
“[Lateral violence] comes from being colonised,
invaded. It comes from being told you are
worthless and treated as being worthless for a
long period of time. Naturally you don't want
to be at the bottom of the pecking order, so
you turn on your own.”
Richard J. Frankland, Aboriginal
singer/songwriter, author and film maker


Causes of lateral violence
• The roots of lateral violence lie in colonisation, oppression,
intergenerational trauma and ongoing experiences of racism and
discrimination, factors mainstream bullying programs do not take into
account.

• Governments can (inadvertently or deliberately) create the environment
for lateral violence through a lack of recognition and engagement, and by
pitting groups against each other.

• One such example is the native title process where Aboriginal people have
to prove their identity over and over again. In some states Aboriginal
groups have a say in who belongs to a particular land and who doesn't, a
right which can stir lateral violence when native title claimants are not
sure of their identity. The native title process can also lead to feelings of
dispossession.
• This is similar to the complex process through which Aboriginal people in
Canada are or are not able to obtain “status”

Effects
"I met a lady once. When we explained lateral violence, she broke down and cried
and said 'that's what caused my husband to kill himself!'."
Mick Gooda, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner

• Effects of lateral violence and bullying include reduced (mental) health and
well-being and lower self-confidence.
• Violence is normalised and children grow up expected to behave like everyone
else and copy the bullying.

“...as oppressed people, we want to say we have that little bit of power over
somebody and we've just dragged ourselves down as a society instead of
supporting each other in the community. As long as we internalise the pain
and don't forgive people, we'll carry it with us forever."
Allen Benson

Effects
“With lateral violence the oppressed become the
oppressors. We've internalised the pain of
colonisation and our oppression and we've
taken it into our communities in the
factionalisation and in the gossip and talk of
blood quantum, "you're half-blood" etc.”
Allen Benson, CEO Native Counseling Services of
Alberta, Canada


Forms of lateral violence
• nonverbal innuendo (raising eyebrows, face-making)
• verbal affront (overt/covert, snide remarks, lack of
openness, abrupt responses)
• undermining activities (turning away, not being
available)
• withholding information
• sabotage (deliberately setting up a negative situation)
• infighting (bickering)
• scapegoating
• backstabbing (complaining to peers and not
confronting the individual)
• failure to respect privacy
• broken confidences

“Those most at risk of lateral violence in its raw
physical form are family members and, in the
main, the most vulnerable members of the
family: old people, women and children.
Especially the children.”
Marcia Langton, Aboriginal writer


Resolving lateral violence
• Governments are not likely to fix the issue.
• The solution must come from within Aboriginal
communities, from Aboriginal people taking control
and addressing the issue themselves.
• To tackle lateral violence Richard J. Frankland suggests
that you
"out it. Name it for what it is, a destroyer of
Indigenous culture and life. Publicly admit it is
happening and then take steps and measures to deal
with it... Find ways to deal with it, end it, eradicate it
from our lives and communities."
• Others suggest to apply traditional ways of resolving
disputes, such as learning and healing circles and
shared care.

Source:

www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/people/bull
ying-and-lateral-violence.html#ixzz1jD1TU1hC


Bullying in Aboriginal Communities


Bullying and First Nations, Métis and
Inuit youth
• Bullying for First Nations, Métis and Inuit
Canadians is a diverse and complex issue.
• Sometimes bullying occurs within Aboriginal
communities in the form of lateral violence
• Other times it is perpetrated by those outside
the Aboriginal community on members of the
community


Racism and bullying
Bullying directed at someone because of their race may include:
• Racially motivated teasing, taunting, froshing, or threats
including:
• Malicious name-calling
• Obscene gestures
• Physical aggression such as hitting, pushing, kicking, punching,
choking, and stalking
• Spreading rumours or gossip about a personʼs cultural identity
• Isolating someone from his or her friends or peer group
• Using the Internet, instant messaging, and social networking sites
to intimidate, put down, spread rumours, make fun of, threaten,
or exclude someone because of their actual or perceived cultural
identity.


Who experiences racial bullying?
This type of bullying can affect anyone and may
be targeted at people who:
• Self-identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit
• Are perceived to be Aboriginal
• Are teachers, parents, coaches and
community members that are Aboriginal.


Who experiences racial bullying
• Racial bullying may be perpetrated by those outside the
Aboriginal community on members of the community, such as
Aboriginal children and youth being victimized by non-Aboriginal
children and youth for looking Aboriginal.
• Sometimes bullying can be perpetrated by someone inside the
community on a member of their own group. Some examples of
this type of bullying are:
• Family (band) differences, mutual resentments and grudges
• Bullying people for not looking Aboriginal, or for having a lighter or darker
skin tone
• New people coming into the community
• Name calling.
• Bullies who hide behind racially motivated beliefs and attitudes
are still bullies.

Someone who is the target of
racial bullying, may feel:
• Alone
• Embarrassed or ashamed
• Depressed and uncertain about themselves or their future
• Angry and want to turn the tables and become a bully themselves
• Unsafe at school or in their community
• Stressed and often think about skipping school or activities to avoid the
bullies
• Set apart from their cultural community, and as though they no longer
want to acknowledge their heritage
• Isolated and wanting to withdraw from social activities and hide away.

• These are all normal and natural feelings. It is important to remind
the victim that they can always reach out for help.


What advice can you give to
someone who is being bullied?
Tell someone you trust –
• Talk to a trusted adult or friend who respects
your confidentiality.
• This may be a teacher, parent, relative, youth
worker, counsellor, coach, elder or faith
leader. Remember, you donʼt have to suffer in
silence.
• Keep speaking up until someone helps you.
• No one deserves to be bullied!

Stay safe – Don’t fight back.
• Bullies want attention and fighting back gives
them that attention. If you fight back, you
may get hurt or make the situation worse. If
you are a bystander, go for help and provide
moral and emotional support to the person
being bullied.


Write down everything.
• Keep a record about the incident, including the
date, time, location, and what was said or done.
• If you are being bullied online, donʼt delete the
message. You donʼt have to read it, but keep it.
Itʼs your evidence. The police, your Internet
service provider, or your school authorities can
use this information to help protect you from
further abuse.

Get help.
• Caring and trusted adults and friends are
available to help and support you.
• Look for resources in your community that
can offer traditional approaches to healing.
• Another option is to have members of your
community work with the bully (or the target)
and make a community healing circle.


Find support in your community.
• Check to see if there is a local group in your
community where you can meet others who have
had similar experiences.
• Consider starting support groups or other types
of resources in your community if they do not
exist.
• It is important to ensure that any support is
culturally appropriate and includes Elders and
well-respected community members.

Source
www.child.alberta.ca/home/documents/bullying/Bull

For more information on bullying, visit

www.bullyfreealberta.ca.


Case studies
• Please arrange yourselves into small groups
• Read through your group’s scenario and the
associated dialogue
• Work through the set of 5 questions, thinking
about how your response might be different
for a FNIM caller versus a non-Aboriginal
caller
• Present back to the group in 30 minutes


Case studies
Scenario 1:
An individual calls in to tell you that they are being
bullied by other kids at their school. You
know/suspect that this person is First Nations, Inuit
or Métis, and that they are being bullied by their
FN/I/M peers.

Scenario 2:
An individual calls in to tell you that they are being
bullied by non-FNIM kids. The person may or may
not tell you that they feel that they are being bullied
because they are FNIM.

Questions to discuss in your group
For each question, consider how your response would be different for a
FNIM person versus a non-Aboriginal person.
2. What do you say to gain the trust of the person calling in?
3. What do you tell them to reassure them?
4. Do you ask them how they would like to resolve the situation, or do
you suggest possible resolutions? How do you discuss resolution?
5. If the person feels that they have already tried all of your suggested
resolution strategies, how do you help them to consider alternate
strategies? How do you keep them hopeful?
6. What services and/or resources do you suggest for them?


Miigwetch, Nia:wen,
Thank You!


Aboriginal Bullying

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Editor's Notes