In the Canadian criminal justice system, Aboriginal peoples are overrepresented as both victims and offenders. In response, the Canadian state has framed the disproportionate victimization and criminalization of Aboriginal peoples as an .Indian problem..In The Colonial Problem, Lisa Monchalin challenges the myth of the .Indian problem. and encourages readers to view the crimes and injustices affecting Aboriginal peoples from a more culturally aware position. She analyzes the consequences of assimilation policies, dishonoured treaty agreements, manipulative legislation, and systematic racism, arguing that the overrepresentation of Aboriginal peoples in the Canadian criminal justice system is not an Indian problem but a colonial one.
