Exploring the Colonial Problem

KPU prof’s new book discusses issues with indigenous people in the criminal justice system

From the moment Lisa Monchalin’s grandmother saw her, she believed her granddaughter would be the one to help make a difference for their people. Now, Monchalin is doing her best to follow this path.

Monchalin, who works at Kwantlen Polytechnic University as a criminology professor, is the first indigenous woman to hold a PhD in criminology in Canada. She has also recently authored a book, entitled The Colonial Problem, which is dedicated to her grandmother.

In The Colonial Problem: An Indigenous Perspective on Crime and Injustice in Canada, Monchalin examines and critiques the criminal justice system, focusing on the over representation of indigenous people.

“I started thinking about how can we make a difference,” she says. “How can we honestly think about making a difference to the levels of crime and victimization that affect our people in this country.”

The over-representation of indigenous people in the criminal justice system, both in victimization and criminalization, has been framed both by lawmakers and the media as the “Indian problem.” Monchalin points out that the phrase puts blame on her people.

“I argue in my book that as Native people, we’ve always been looked at as the Indian problem,” says Monchalin. “That term comes from Indian Affairs itself. They were seeking to try and solve this so-called Indian problem, and that has been the goal of this colonial government since the beginning.”

In the book, Monchalin argues that the over representation is instead the result of a “colonial problem.”

“It’s the fact that all of these institutions that were created in this country, everything from police, court, corrections, those are all colonial institutions. They were set-up to eliminate us. So what do we have right now in society? We have the same institutions operating.”

Monchalin also argues that there is no way to find a solution within the systems already in place because they are inherently not designed to help solve the issue.

“The problem is the fact that people are not awake to the reality that these systems and structure will never reduce the victimization and criminalization that we are experiencing, because that is the purpose of those institutions,” says Monchalin.

The Colonial Problem was specifically designed to be a textbook, which Monchalin wants to be implemented in universities across Canada. She hopes that through teaching others, people will be more culturally aware of the realities indigenous communities face, and will eventually take significant steps towards finding some solutions.

“I think one of those solutions is through education, and it’s about educating people on the true realities and the histories that Native people have faced and continue to face in this country,” says Monchalin.

For now, Monchalin is doing her part to help educate others through teaching in classrooms and through publishing her book.

“If I can get my message and the realities across to at least one student, it feels so good,” says Monchalin. “When I go into a classroom and I can just engage the students, I really am making a difference. I really am fulfilling my grandma’s vision for me.”