Inventing the Savage

Author:  Luana Ross

 

Tiltle:   Inventing the Savage

 

Table of Contents/Outline:

Acknowledgements                                                                                                       ix

Introduction                                                                                                                      I

PART I                   Colonization and the Social Construction of Deviance                                    9

One                       World Collide: New Worlds, New Indians                                                            11

Two                       Racializing Montana: The Creation of "Bad Indians" Continues                  34

PART II       Creating Dangerous Woman: Narratives of Imprisoned Native

 American and White Woman                                                                                   73

Three                    Prisoner Profile: Past & Present                                                                                               75

Four                       Lives Dictated by Violence                                                                                          92

Five                       Experiences of Woman in Prison: "They Keep Me at a Level Where

They can Control Me"                                                                                                    108

Six                          Rehabilitation or Control: "What are they trying to do? Destroy me?"    127

Seven                   Prison Subculture: "It's all a game it doesn't make sense to me?"            152

Eight                      Motherhood Imprisoned: Images and concerns of imprisoned

 mothers                                                                                                                              178

Nine                      Double Punishment: Weak Institutional Support for

Imprisoned Mothers                                                                                                      192        

                                                                                                                                               

Summary:

This book is based on the Native American criminalizing on a racial and colonized approach. Many of the Native American Woman are facing abuse and violence prior to their imprisonment and usually create them to become incarcerated.  They experience racism and cultural shock while in prison and face abuse and violence with their "rehabilitation" process of the prisons. Many women bare their children in the prison systems and there are concerns of stability for the family, the child, etc. They usually have child services and adoption in place for the imprisoned mothers.  Many of the woman were wrongly convicted, which was a part our colonialism in history as well.

 

How is this similar or different for the Maskwacis Plains Cree?

I believe we are still looked upon as criminals and are targeted by the RCMP here in Canada. It's not only in Maskwascis where we face the same stereotype.

Many of our people in Maskwacis are incarcerated due to the colonial times of the residential effect.  Many of our aboriginal people have not healed from this genocide and are looked upon as the "Bad Indian", the "Drunken Indian".  We all across the North America have the same stories and history of the brutality of the government.

 

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