Stereotypes have always existed around every social group of people. The Indigenous people are associated with many negative myths that influence their position in society and relationships with other communities. The book Indigenous Writes clearly explains and dispels those myths by providing accurate facts and statistics. I have decided to write about the myth of taxation because I find it the least justified and not understood enough.
The Myth that Indigenous people do not pay taxes is rooted in Canadian society. Almost every adult person in Canada has heard, read, or talked about it. People tend to show their prejudice by pointing to the fact that the First Nations avoid paying money to the government. It instantly makes people think that Indigenous people are lazy, unworthy, and cunning. However, the real issue is that the majority of the Canadian people do not understand how the system of taxation works, and Indigenous people are not clear enough about it.
This myth has a negative impact on the well-being of Indigenous people. Nobody wants to be associated with the separated group that tries to avoid the law. Especially if it not true and your surrounding is just not acknowledged about that. The First Nations have different rules considering the process of taxation. For example, if they live on reserve, they legally do not pay taxes in some cases (Vowel, 2016, p. 138). I was unaware of this fact and thought that every adult citizen is eligible to pay taxes. The ignorance of people cannot be considered to be the fault of the Indigenous people. They are just following the laws of their country and, for some unjustified reasons, are being judged for that.
This myth also has a negative influence on Canadian society. The people who work are eligible to give a sufficient amount of money to pay the taxes. It is normal that they want to know what their money is spent on. The problem is that the government does not provide this information to the taxpayers (Vowel, 2016, p.140). The myth of taxation exists in Canadian society, and people do not know the laws that work for the First Nations. As a result, it became the reason to blame Indigenous people instead of the government.
The myth of taxation has negatively impacted the relationship between Canadians and Indigenous people. It has separated society into two parts that mainly do not respect each other. Canadians assume that all their tax money is spent on Indigenous people. At the same time, Indigenous people feel offended because of stereotypes that are unreasonably associated with them. It ruins the unity of society and makes people stand against each other. There are no significant factors to have and accept this separation because both groups are following the laws of their country.
The author of Indigenous Writes is trying to explain the problems that the myth of taxation is causing in Canadian society. It has created the stereotype around Indigenous people that determines their social position. Chelsea Vowel does not try to show who is right and who is wrong. She explains the taxation system by providing existing laws, numbers, and statistics. Her book points to the problem that influences the whole society, and the only reason for that is the lack of knowledge considering it.
References
Vowel, C. (2016). Indigenous Writes a guide to First Nations, Métis, & Inuit issues in Canada.