 Population distribution of First Nations Canadians by census division, 2021 census | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1,048,400[1] (2021) 2.83% of the total Canadian population | |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Native Americans,Alaska Natives,Métis |
First Nations (French:Premières Nations) is a term used to identifyIndigenous peoples in Canada who are neitherInuit norMétis.[2][3] Traditionally, First Nations in Canada were peoples who lived south of thetree line, and mainly south of theArctic Circle. There are 634 recognizedFirst Nations governments or bands across Canada.[4] Roughly half are located in the provinces ofOntario andBritish Columbia.[5]
UnderCharterjurisprudence, First Nations are a "designated group", along with women,visible minorities, and people with physical or mental disabilities.[6] First Nations are not included in theStatistics Canadavisible minority category, as there is a separate category for First Nations, Metis and Inuit.[7]
North American indigenous peoples have cultures spanning thousands of years. Many of theiroral traditions accurately describe historical events, such as theCascadia earthquake of 1700 and the 18th-centuryTseax Cone eruption. Written records began with the arrival ofEuropean explorers andcolonists during theAge of Discovery in the late 15th century.[8][9]European accounts bytrappers,traders,explorers, andmissionaries give important evidence of early contact culture.[10] In addition,archeological andanthropological research, as well aslinguistics, have helped scholars piece together an understanding of ancient cultures and historic peoples.
Collectively, First Nations (Indians),[5] Inuit,[11] and Métis[12] peoples constituteIndigenous peoples in Canada,Indigenous peoples of the Americas, or "first peoples".[13]First Nation as a term became officially used by the government beginning in 1980s to replace the termIndian band in referring to groups of Indians with common government and language.[14][15] The First Nations people had begun to identify by this term during 1970s activism, in order to avoid using the wordIndian, which some considered offensive.[16][17][18] No legal definition of the term exists.[16]
Some Indigenous peoples in Canada have also adopted the termFirst Nation to replace the wordband in the formal name of their community.[19] A band is a "body of Indians (a) for whose use and benefit in common lands ... have been set apart, (b) ... moneys are held ... or (c) declared ... to be a band for the purposes of", according to theIndian Act by theCanadian Crown.[20]
The termIndian is a misnomer, given to Indigenous peoples of North America by European explorers who erroneously thought they had landed in theEast Indies. The use of term likeNative Americans or American Indians, which the government and others have adopted in the United States, is not common in Canada. It refers more specifically to the Indigenous peoples residing within the boundaries of the US.[21] The parallel termNative Canadian is not commonly used, butNative (in English) andAutochtone (inCanadian French; from the Greekauto, own, andchthon, land) are. Under theRoyal Proclamation of 1763,[22] also known as the "IndianMagna Carta,"[23]the Crown referred toIndigenous peoples inBritish territory as tribes or nations. The termFirst Nations is capitalized. Bands andnations may have slightly different meanings.
Within Canada, the termFirst Nations has come into general use for Indigenous peoples other thanInuit andMétis. Outside Canada, the term can refer toIndigenous Australians,U.S. tribes within thePacific Northwest, as well as supporters of theCascadian independence movement. The singular, commonly used on culturally politicizedreserves[citation needed], is the termFirst Nations person[citation needed] (when gender-specific,First Nations man orFirst Nations woman). Since the late 20th century, members of various nations more frequently identify by theirtribal ornational identity only, e.g., "I'mHaida", or "We'reKwantlens", in recognition of the distinct First Nations.[24]
First Nations peoples had settled and established trade routes across what is now Canada by 500 BCE – 1,000 CE. Communities developed, each with its own culture, customs, and character.[25] In the northwest were theAthapaskan-speaking peoples,Slavey,Tłı̨chǫ,Tutchone-speaking peoples, andTlingit. Along the Pacific coast were the Haida,Tsimshian, Salish,Kwakwakaʼwakw,Nuu-chah-nulth,Nisga'a andGitxsan. In the plains were the Blackfoot,Kainai,Tsuutʼina andPiikani. In the northern woodlands were theCree andChipewyan. Around the Great Lakes were theAnishinaabe,Algonquin,Iroquois andWyandot. Along the Atlantic coast were theBeothuk,Wolastoqiyik,Innu,Abenaki andMi'kmaq.
TheBlackfoot Confederacy resides in theGreat Plains ofMontana andCanadian provinces ofAlberta,British Columbia andSaskatchewan.[15]: 5 The nameBlackfoot came from the dye or paint on the bottoms of their leathermoccasins. One account claimed that the Blackfoot Confederacies walked through the ashes of prairie fires, which in turn blackened the bottoms of their moccasins.[15]: 5 They had migrated onto the Great Plains (where they followed bison herds and cultivated berries and edible roots) from the area of now eastern Canada and the northeastern United States. Historically, they allowed only legitimate traders into their territory, making treaties only when the bison herds were exterminated in the 1870s.[citation needed]
Pre-contactSquamish history is passed on throughoral tradition of theSquamishindigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Prior to colonization and the introduction of writing had only oral tradition as a way to transmit stories, law, and knowledge across generations.[26] The writing system established in the 1970s uses theLatin alphabet as a base. Knowledgeable elders have the responsibility to pass historical knowledge to the next generation. People lived and prospered for thousands of years until theGreat Flood. In another story, after the Flood, they repopulated from the villages ofSchenks and Chekwelp,[27] located atGibsons. When the water lines receded, the first Squamish came to be. The first man, named Tseḵánchten, built hislonghouse in the village, and later on another man named Xelálten, appeared on his longhouse roof and sent by the Creator, or in theSquamish languagekeke7nex siyam. He called this man his brother. It was from these two men that the population began to rise and the Squamish spread back through their territory.[26]: 20
The Iroquois influence extended from northern New York into what are now southern Ontario and the Montreal area of modern Quebec.[28] The Iroquois Confederacy is, from oral tradition, formed circa 1142.[29] Adept at cultivating theThree Sisters (maize/beans/squash), the Iroquois became powerful because of their confederacy. Gradually the Algonquians adopted agricultural practises enabling larger populations to be sustained.
TheAssiniboine were close allies and trading partners of the Cree, engaging in wars against theGros Ventres alongside them, and later fighting the Blackfoot.[30] A Plains people, they went no further north than theNorth Saskatchewan River and purchased a great deal of European trade goods through Cree middlemen from theHudson's Bay Company. The lifestyle of this group was semi-nomadic, and they followed the herds ofbison during the warmer months. They traded with European traders, and worked with theMandan,Hidatsa, andArikara tribes.[30]
In the earliestoral history, the Algonquins were from theAtlantic coast. Together with other Anicinàpek, they arrived at the "First Stopping Place" near Montreal.[31] While the other Anicinàpe peoples continued their journey up theSt. Lawrence River, the Algonquins settled along theOttawa River (Kitcisìpi), an important highway for commerce, cultural exchange, and transportation. A distinct Algonquin identity, though, was not realized until after the dividing of the Anicinàpek at the "Third Stopping Place", estimated at 2,000 years ago near present-dayDetroit.[31]
According to their tradition, and from recordings inbirch barkscrolls (wiigwaasabak), Ojibwe (an Algonquian-speaking people) came from the eastern areas of North America, orTurtle Island, and from along the east coast.[32] They traded widely across the continent for thousands of years and knew of the canoe routes west and a land route to the west coast. According to the oral history, seven greatmiigis (radiant/iridescent) beings appeared to the peoples in theWaabanakiing to teach the peoples of themide way of life. One of the seven greatmiigis beings was too spiritually powerful and killed the peoples in theWaabanakiing when the people were in its presence. The six greatmiigis beings remained to teach while the one returned into the ocean. The six greatmiigis beings then establisheddoodem (clans) for the peoples in the east. Of thesedoodem, the five original Anishinaabedoodem were theWawaazisii (Bullhead),Baswenaazhi (Echo-maker, i.e.,Crane),Aan'aawenh (Pintail Duck),Nooke (Tender, i.e.,Bear) andMoozoonsii (LittleMoose), then these sixmiigis beings returned into the ocean as well. If the seventhmiigis being stayed, it would have established theThunderbirddoodem.[32]
TheNuu-chah-nulth are one of the Indigenous peoples of thePacific Northwest Coast. The termNuu-chah-nulth is used to describe fifteen separate but related First Nations, such as theTla-o-qui-aht First Nations,Ehattesaht First Nation andHesquiaht First Nation whose traditional home is on the west coast ofVancouver Island.[33] In pre-contact and early post-contact times, the number of nations was much greater, butsmallpox and other consequences of contact resulted in the disappearance of groups, and the absorption of others into neighbouring groups. The Nuu-chah-nulth are relations of theKwakwaka'wakw, theHaisla, and theDitidaht. TheNuu-chah-nulth language is part of theWakashan language group.[34]
In 1999 the discovery of the body ofKwäday Dän Ts'ìnchi provided archaeologists with significant information on indigenous tribal life prior to extensive European contact. Kwäday Dän Ts'ìnchi (meaning "Long Ago Person Found" inSouthern Tutchone), or "Canadian Ice Man", is a naturallymummified body that a group of hunters found inTatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park in British Columbia.Radiocarbon dating of artifacts found with the body placed the age of the find between 1450 AD and 1700 AD.[35][36]Genetic testing showed that he was a member of theChampagne and Aishihik First Nations.[35][36][37]
Aboriginal people in Canada interacted with Europeans as far back as 1000 AD,[8]: Part 1 but prolonged contact came only after Europeans established permanent settlements in the 17th and 18th centuries. European written accounts noted friendliness on the part of the First Nations,[8]: Part 1 who profited in trade with Europeans. Such trade strengthened the more organized political entities such as the Iroquois Confederation.[9]: Ch 6 TheAboriginal population is estimated to have been between 200,000[38] and two million in the late 15th century.[39] The effect of European colonization was a 40 to 80 percent Aboriginal population decrease post-contact. This is attributed to various factors, including repeated outbreaks of Europeaninfectious diseases such asinfluenza,measles andsmallpox (to which they had not developed immunity), inter-nation conflicts over the fur trade, conflicts with colonial authorities and settlers and loss of land and a subsequent loss of nation self-suffiency.[40] For example, during the late 1630s, smallpox killed more than half of theHuron, who controlled most of the earlyfur trade in what became Canada. Reduced to fewer than 10,000 people, the Huron Wendat were attacked by the Iroquois, their traditional enemies.[41] In the Maritimes, the Beothuk disappeared entirely.
There are reports of contact made beforeChristopher Columbus between the first peoples and those from other continents.Even in Columbus' time there was much speculation that other Europeans had made the trip in ancient or contemporary times;Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés records accounts of these in hisGeneral y natural historia de las Indias of 1526, which includes biographical information on Columbus.[42] Aboriginal first contact period is not well defined. The earliest accounts of contact occurred in the late 10th century, between the Beothuk andNorsemen.[43] According to theSagas of Icelanders, the first European to see what is now Canada wasBjarni Herjólfsson, who was blown off course en route fromIceland toGreenland in the summer of 985 or 986 CE.[43] The first European explorers and settlers of what is now Canada relied on the First Nations peoples, for resources and trade to sustain a living. The first written accounts of interaction show a predominantly Old world bias, labelling the indigenous peoples as "savages", although the indigenous peoples were organized and self-sufficient. In the early days of contact, the First Nations and Inuit populations welcomed the Europeans, assisting them in living off the land and joining forces with the French and British in their various battles. It was not until the colonial and imperial forces of Britain and France established dominant settlements and, no longer needing the help of the First Nations people, began to break treaties and force them off the land that the antagonism between the two groups grew.
ThePortuguese Crown claimed that it had territorial rights in the area visited by Cabot. In 1493Pope Alexander VI – assuming international jurisdiction – had divided lands discovered in America between Spain and Portugal. The next year, in theTreaty of Tordesillas, these two kingdoms decided to draw the dividing line running north–south, 370leagues (from 1,500 to 2,200 km (930 to 1,370 mi) approximately depending on the league used) west of theCape Verde Islands. Land to the west would be Spanish, to the east Portuguese. Given the uncertain geography of the day, this seemed to give the "new founde isle" to Portugal. On the 1502Cantino map, Newfoundland appears on the Portuguese side of the line (as does Brazil). An expedition captured about 60 Aboriginal people as slaves who were said to "resemblegypsies in colour, features, stature and aspect; are clothed in the skins of various animals ...They are very shy and gentle, but well formed in arms and legs and shoulders beyond description ...." Some captives, sent byGaspar Corte-Real, reached Portugal. The others drowned, with Gaspar, on the return voyage. Gaspar's brother,Miguel Corte-Real, went to look for him in 1502, but also failed to return.
In 1604 KingHenry IV of France grantedPierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons a fur-trade monopoly.[44] Dugua led his first colonization expedition to an island located near to the mouth of theSt. Croix River.Samuel de Champlain, his geographer, promptly carried out a major exploration of the northeastern coastline of what is now the United States. Under Samuel de Champlain, theSaint Croix settlement moved toPort Royal (today'sAnnapolis Royal, Nova Scotia), a new site across theBay of Fundy, on the shore of theAnnapolis Basin, an inlet in western Nova Scotia.Acadia became France's most successful colony to that time.[45] The cancellation of Dugua's fur monopoly in 1607 ended the Port Royal settlement. Champlain persuaded First Nations to allow him to settle along the St. Lawrence, where in 1608 he would found France's first permanent colony in Canada at Quebec City. The colony ofAcadia grew slowly, reaching a population of about 5,000 by 1713.New France hadcod-fishery coastal communities, and farm economies supported communities along the St. Lawrence River. Frenchvoyageurs travelled deep into the hinterlands (of what is today Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba, as well as what is now the American Midwest and theMississippi Valley), trading with First Nations as they went – guns, gunpowder, cloth, knives, and kettles for beaver furs.[46] The fur trade kept the interest in France's overseas colonies alive, yet only encouraged a small colonial population, as minimal labour was required. The trade also discouraged the development of agriculture, the surest foundation of a colony in the New World.[47]
According toDavid L. Preston, after French colonisation with Champlain "the French were able to settle in the depopulated St. Lawrence Valley, not directly intruding on any Indian nation's lands. This geographic and demographic fact presents a striking contrast to the British colonies' histories: large numbers of immigrants coming to New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the Carolinas all stimulated destructive wars over land with their immediate Indian neighbors...Settlement patterns in New France also curtailed the kind of relentless and destructive expansion and land-grabbing that afflicted many British colonies."[48]
The Métis (from Frenchmétis – "mixed") are descendants of unions betweenCree,Ojibwe,Algonquin,Saulteaux,Menominee and other First Nations in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries andEuropeans,[49] mainly French.[50] The Métis were historically the children of French fur traders and Nehiyaw women or, from unions of English or Scottish traders and Northern Dene women (Anglo-Métis). The Métis spoke or still speak eitherMétis French or amixed language calledMichif.Michif,Mechif orMétchif is aphonetic spelling of the Métis pronunciation ofMétif, a variant ofMétis. The Métis as of 2013[update] predominantly speakEnglish, withFrench a strong second language, as well as numerous Aboriginal tongues. Métis French is best preserved in Canada, Michif in the United States, notably in theTurtle Mountain Indian Reservation ofNorth Dakota, where Michif is theofficial language of the Métis that reside on thisChippewa reservation. The encouragement and use of Métis French and Michif is growing due to outreach within the five provincial Métis councils after at least a generation of steep decline. Canada's Indian and Northern Affairs define Métis to be those persons of mixed First Nation and European ancestry.[51]
Allied with the French, the first nations of theWabanaki Confederacy ofAcadia fought six colonial wars against the British and their native allies (See theFrench and Indian Wars,Father Rale's War andFather Le Loutre's War).[52] In the second war,Queen Anne's War, the British conqueredAcadia (1710). The sixth and finalcolonial war between the nations ofFrance andGreat Britain (1754–1763), resulted in the French giving up their claims and the British claimed the lands ofCanada (New France).
In this final war, theFranco-Indian alliance brought together Americans, First Nations and the French, centred on theGreat Lakes and theIllinois Country.[53] The alliance involved French settlers on the one side, and on the other side were the Abenaki, Odawa,Menominee,Ho-Chunk (Winnebago),Mississaugas,Illiniwek, Huron-Petun,Potawatomi etc.[53] It allowed the French and the Indians to form a haven in the middle-Ohio valley before the open conflict between the European powers erupted.[54]
In theRoyal Proclamation of 1763, the British recognized the treaty rights of the indigenous populations and resolved to only settle those areas purchased lawfully from the indigenous peoples. Treaties and land purchases were made in several cases by the British, but the lands of several indigenous nations remain unceded and/or unresolved.
First Nations routinely captured slaves from neighbouring tribes. Sources report that the conditions under which First Nations slaves lived could be brutal, with theMakah tribe practising death bystarvation as punishment and Pacific coast tribes routinely performing ritualized killings of slaves as part of social ceremonies into the mid-1800s.[55] Slave-owning tribes of the fishing societies, such as theYurok andHaida lived along the coast from what is nowAlaska toCalifornia.[56] Fierce warrior indigenousslave-traders of the Pacific Northwest Coast raided as far south as California. Slavery was hereditary, the slaves and their descendants being consideredprisoners of war. Some tribes in British Columbia continued to segregate and ostracize the descendants of slaves as late as the 1970s.[57] Among Pacific Northwest tribes about a quarter of the population were slaves.[58]
The citizens of New France received slaves as gifts from their allies among First Nations peoples. Slaves were prisoners taken in raids against the villages of theMeskwaki, a tribe that was an ancient rival of theMiami people and theirAlgonquian allies.[59]Native (or "pani", a corruption ofPawnee) slaves were much easier to obtain and thus more numerous than African slaves in New France, but were less valued. The average native slave died at 18, and the average African slave died at 25[58] (the average European could expect to live until the age of 35[60]). By 1790 theabolition movement was gaining ground in Canada and the ill intent of slavery was evidenced by an incident involving a slave woman being violently abused by her slave owner on her way to being sold in the United States.[58] TheAct Against Slavery of 1793 legislated the gradual abolition of slavery: no slaves could be imported; slaves already in the province would remain enslaved until death, no new slaves could be brought intoUpper Canada, and children born to female slaves would be slaves but must be freed at age 25.[58] The actremained in force until 1833 when theBritish Parliament'sSlavery Abolition Act finally abolished slavery in all parts of theBritish Empire.[61] HistorianMarcel Trudel has documented 4,092 recorded slaves throughout Canadian history, of which 2,692 were Aboriginal people, owned by the French, and 1,400 blacks owned by the British, together owned by approximately 1,400 masters.[58] Trudel also noted 31 marriages took place between French colonists and Aboriginal slaves.[58]
 | This sectioncontainsweasel words: vague phrasing that often accompaniesbiased orunverifiable information. Such statements should beclarified or removed.(August 2024) |
British agents worked to make the First Nations into military allies of the British, providing supplies, weapons, and encouragement. During theAmerican Revolutionary War (1775–1783) most of the tribes supported the British. In 1779, the Americanslaunched a campaign to burn the villages of the Iroquois in New York State.[62] The refugees fled to Fort Niagara and other British posts, with some remaining permanently in Canada. Although the British ceded the Old Northwest to the United States in the Treaty of Paris in 1783, it kept fortifications and trading posts in the region until 1795. The British then evacuated American territory, but operated trading posts in British territory, providing weapons and encouragement to tribes that were resisting American expansion into such areas as Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin.[63] Officially, the British agents discouraged any warlike activities or raids on American settlements, but the Americans became increasingly angered, and this became one of thecauses of the War of 1812.[64]
In the war, the great majority of First Nations supported the British, and many fought under the aegis ofTecumseh.[65] But Tecumseh died in battle in 1813 and the Indian coalition collapsed. The British had long wished to create a neutral Indian state in the American Old Northwest,[66] and made this demand as late as 1814 at the peace negotiations at Ghent. The Americans rejected the idea, the British dropped it, and Britain's Indian allies lost British support. In addition, the Indians were no longer able to gather furs in American territory. Abandoned by their powerful sponsor, Great Lakes-area natives ultimately assimilated into American society, migrated to the west or to Canada, or were relocated onto reservations in Michigan and Wisconsin.[67] Historians have unanimously agreed that the Indians were the major losers in the War of 1812.[68]
Living conditions for Indigenous people in theprairie regions deteriorated quickly. Between 1875 and 1885, settlers and hunters of European descent contributed to hunting the North American bison almost to extinction; the construction of theCanadian Pacific Railway brought large numbers of European settlers west who encroached on Indigenous territory. European Canadians established governments, police forces, andcourts of law with different foundations from indigenous practices. Various epidemics continued to devastate Indigenous communities. All of these factors had a profound effect on Indigenous people, particularly those from the plains who had relied heavily on bison for food and clothing. Most of those nations that agreed to treaties had negotiated for a guarantee of food and help to begin farming.[69] Just as the bison disappeared (the last Canadian hunt was in 1879),Lieutenant-GovernorEdgar Dewdney cut rations to indigenous people in an attempt to reduce government costs. Between 1880 and 1885, approximately 3,000 Indigenous people starved to death in theNorth-West Territories.[69]
Offended by the concepts of the treaties, Cree chiefs resisted them.Big Bear refused to signTreaty 6 until starvation among his people forced his hand in 1882.[69] His attempts to unite Indigenous nations made progress. In 1884 the Métis (including the Anglo-Métis) askedLouis Riel to return from the United States, where he had fled after theRed River Rebellion, to appeal to the government on their behalf. The government gave a vague response. In March 1885, Riel,Gabriel Dumont, andHonoré Jackson (a.k.a. Will Jackson) set up theProvisional Government of Saskatchewan, believing that they could influence the federal government in the same way as they had in 1869.[70] TheNorth-West Rebellion of 1885 was a brief and unsuccessful uprising by theMétis people of theDistrict of Saskatchewan under Riel against the Dominion of Canada, which they believed had failed to address their concerns for the survival of their people.[71] In 1884, 2,000 Cree from reserves met nearBattleford to organize into a large, cohesive resistance. Discouraged by the lack of government response but encouraged by the efforts of the Métis at armed rebellion,Wandering Spirit and other young militant Cree attacked the small town ofFrog Lake, killing Thomas Quinn, anIndian agent, and eight others.[69] Although Big Bear actively opposed the attacks, he was charged and tried for treason and sentenced to three years in prison. After the Red River Rebellion of 1869–1870, Métis moved fromManitoba to the District of Saskatchewan, where they founded a settlement atBatoche on theSouth Saskatchewan River.[72]
In Manitoba settlers fromOntario began to arrive. They pushed for land to be allotted in the square concession system ofEnglish Canada, rather than theseigneurial system of strips reaching back from a river which the Métis were familiar with in theirFrench-Canadian culture.
The history of colonization is complex, varied according to the time and place. France and Britain were the main colonial powers involved, though the United States also began to extend its territory at the expense of indigenous people as well.
From the late 18th century, European Canadians encouraged First Nations toassimilate into the European-based culture, referred to as "Canadian culture". The assumption was that this was the "correct" culture because the Canadians of European descent saw themselves as dominant, and technologically, politically and culturally superior.[73] There was resistance against this assimilation and many businesses denied European practices. The Tecumseh Wigwam of Toronto, for example, did not adhere to the widely practiced Lord's Day observance, making it a popular spot, especially on Sundays.[74] Moreover, Canadian policies were at times contradictory, such as through the late 19th century-Peasant Farm Policy that severely restricted farming on reserves, despite this practice being seen as important to assimilation efforts.[75] These kinds of attempts reached a climax in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Founded in the 19th century, theCanadian Indian residential school system was intended to force the assimilation of Aboriginal and First Nations people into European-Canadian society.[76] The purpose of the schools, which separated children from their families, has been described by commentators as "killing the Indian in the child."[77][78]
Funded under theIndian Act by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, a branch of the federal government, the schools were run by churches of various denominations – about 60% byCatholics, and 30% by theAnglican Church of Canada and theUnited Church of Canada, along with its pre-1925 predecessors,Presbyterian,Congregationalist andMethodist churches.
The attempt toforce assimilation involved punishing children for speaking their own languages or practising their own faiths, leading to allegations in the 20th century ofcultural genocide andethnocide. There was also widespread physical andsexual abuse. Overcrowding, poor sanitation, and a lack of medical care led to high rates oftuberculosis, and death rates at some schools of up to 69%.[79] Details of the mistreatment of students had been published numerous times throughout the 20th century, but following the closure of the schools in the 1960s, the work of indigenous activists and historians led to a change in the public perception of the residential school system, as well as official government apologies, and a (controversial) legal settlement.[80]
Colonization had a significant impact on First Nations diet and health. According to the historian Mary-Ellen Kelm, "inadequate reserve allocations, restrictions on the food fishery, overhunting, and over-trapping" alienated First Nations from their traditional way of life, which undermined their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.[81]
As Canadian ideas ofprogress evolved around the start of the 20th century, the federal Indian policy was directed at removing Indigenous people from their communal lands and encouraging assimilation.[69] Amendments to theIndian Act in 1905 and 1911 made it easier for the government to expropriate reserve lands from First Nations.[82][83] The government sold nearly half of the Blackfoot reserve in Alberta to settlers.[citation needed]
When the Kainai (Blood) Nation refused to accept the sale of their lands in 1916 and 1917, the Department of Indian Affairs held back funding necessary for farming until they relented.[69] In British Columbia, theMcKenna–McBride Royal Commission was created in 1912 to settle disputes over reserve lands in the province. The claims of Indigenous people were ignored, and the commission allocated new, less valuable lands (reserves) for First Nations.[69]
Those nations who managed to maintain their ownership of good lands often farmed successfully. Indigenous people living near theCowichan andFraser rivers, and those from Saskatchewan managed to produce good harvests.[69] Since 1881, those First Nations people living in the prairie provinces required permits from Indian Agents to sell any of their produce. Later the government created a pass system in the old Northwest Territories that required indigenous people to seek written permission from an Indian Agent before leaving their reserves for any length of time.[69] Indigenous people regularly defied those laws, as well as bans onSun Dances and potlatches, in an attempt to practice their culture.[84]
The1930 Constitution Act orNatural Resources Acts was part of a shift acknowledgingindigenous rights. It enabled provincial control ofCrown land and allowed Provincial laws regulating game to apply to Indians, but it also ensured that "Indians shall have the right ... of hunting, trapping and fishing game and fish for food at all seasons of the year on all unoccupied Crown lands and on any other lands to which the said Indians may have a right of access."[85]
More than 6,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis served withBritish forces duringFirst World War andSecond World War. A generation of young native men fought on the battlefields of Europe during the Great War and approximately 300 of them died there.[citation needed] When Canada declared war onGermany on September 10, 1939, the native community quickly responded to volunteer. Four years later, in May 1943, the government declared that, asBritish subjects, all able Indian men of military age could be called up for training and service in Canada or overseas.
Following the end of the Second World War, laws concerning First Nations in Canada began to change, albeit slowly. The federal prohibition of potlatch and Sun Dance ceremonies ended in 1951. Provincial governments began to accept the right of Indigenous people to vote. In June 1956, section 9 of theCitizenship Act was amended to grant formal citizenship to Status Indians and Inuit, retroactively as of January 1947.
In 1960, First Nations people received the right to vote in federal elections without forfeiting their Indian status. By comparison, Native Americans in the United States had been allowed to vote since the 1920s.[86]
In his1969 White Paper, then-Minister of Indian Affairs,Jean Chrétien, proposed the abolition of theIndian Act of Canada, the rejection ofAboriginal land claims, and the assimilation of First Nations people into the Canadian population with the status of "other ethnic minorities" rather than as a distinct group.[87]
Harold Cardinal and the Indian Chiefs of Alberta responded with a document entitled "Citizens Plus" but commonly known as the "Red Paper". In it, they explained Status Indians' widespread opposition to Chrétien's proposal.Prime MinisterPierre Trudeau and theLiberals began to back away from the 1969 White Paper, particularly after theCalder case decision in 1973.[88] After the Canadian Supreme Court recognized that indigenous rights and treaty rights were not extinguished, a process was begun to resolve land claims and treaty rights and is ongoing today.
In 1970, severemercury poisoning, calledOntario Minamata disease, was discovered amongAsubpeeschoseewagong First Nation andWabaseemoong Independent Nations people, who lived nearDryden, Ontario. There was extensive mercury pollution caused by Dryden Chemicals Company's waste water effluent in theWabigoon-English River system.[89][90] Because local fish were no longer safe to eat, the Ontario provincial government closed the commercial fisheries run by the First Nation people and ordered them to stop eating local fish. Previously it had made up the majority of their diet.[91] In addition to the acute mercury poisoning innorthwestern Ontario,Aamjiwnaang First Nation people nearSarnia, Ontario, experienced a wide range of chemical effects, including severe mercury poisoning. They suffered low birth rates, skewed birth-gender ratio, and health effects among the population.[92][93][94] This led to legislation and eventually theIndian Health Transfer Policy that provided a framework for the assumption of control of health services by First Nations people, and set forth a developmental approach to transfer centred on the concept ofself-determination in health.[95] Through this process, the decision to enter into transfer discussions withHealth Canada rests with each community. Once involved in transfer, communities are able to take control of health programme responsibilities at a pace determined by their individual circumstances and health management capabilities.[96]
The capacity, experience and relationships developed by First Nations as a result of health transfer was a factor that assisted the creation of theFirst Nations Health Authority in British Columbia.
In 1981,Elijah Harper, a Cree fromRed Sucker Lake, Manitoba, became the first "Treaty Indian" in Manitoba to be elected as amember of theLegislative Assembly of Manitoba. In 1990, Harper achieved national fame by holding an eagle feather as he refused to accept theMeech Lake Accord, aconstitutional amendment package negotiated to gain Quebec's acceptance of theConstitution Act, 1982, but also one that did not address any First Nations grievances. The accord was negotiated in 1987 without the input of Canada'sAboriginal peoples.[97][98][99] The third, final constitutional conference on Aboriginal peoples was also unsuccessful. The Manitoba assembly was required to unanimously consent to a motion allowing it to hold a vote on the accord, because of a procedural rule. Twelve days before the ratification deadline for the Accord, Harper began afilibuster that prevented the assembly from ratifying the accord. Because Meech Lake failed in Manitoba, the proposed constitutional amendment failed.[100] Harper also opposed theCharlottetown Accord in 1992, even thoughAssembly of First Nations ChiefOvide Mercredi supported it.[87]
According to theIndian Act,status Indian women who married men who were not status Indians lost theirtreaty status, and their children would not get status. However, in the reverse situation, if a status Indian man married a woman who was not a status Indian, the man would keep his status and his children would also receive treaty status. In the 1970s, the Indian Rights for Indian Women andNative Women's Association of Canada groups campaigned against this policy because it discriminated against women and failed to fulfill treaty promises.[69] They successfully convinced the federal government to change the section of the act with the adoption of Bill C-31 on June 28, 1985. Women who had lost their status and children who had been excluded were then able to register and gain official Indian status. Despite these changes, status Indian women who married men who were not status Indians could pass their status on only one generation: their children would gain status, but (without a marriage to a full-status Indian) their grandchildren would not. A status Indian man who married a woman who was not a status Indian retained status as did his children, but his wife did not gain status, nor did his grandchildren.
Bill C-31 also gave elected bands the power to regulate who was allowed to reside on their reserves and to control development on their reserves. It abolished the concept of "enfranchisement" by which First Nations people could gain certain rights by renouncing their Indian status.[101]
In 1991, Prime MinisterBrian Mulroney created theRoyal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples chaired by René Dussault andGeorges Erasmus. Their 1996 report proposed the creation of a government for (and by) the First Nations that would be responsible within its own jurisdiction, and with which the federal government would speak on a "Nation-to-Nation" basis.[102] This proposal offered a far different way of doing politics than the traditional policy of assigning First Nations matters under the jurisdiction of the Indian and Northern Affairs, managed by one minister of the federal cabinet. The report also recommended providing the governments of the First Nations with up to$2 billion every year until 2010, in order to reduce the economic gap between the First Nations and the rest of the Canadian citizenry.[102] The money would represent an increase of at least 50% to the budget of Indian and Northern Affairs.[102] The report engaged First Nations leaders to think of ways to cope with the challenging issues their people were facing, so the First Nations could take their destiny into their own hands.[102]
The federal government, then headed by Jean Chrétien, responded to the report a year later by officially presenting its apologies for the forced acculturation the federal government had imposed on the First Nations, and by offering an "initial" provision of $350 million.[102]
In the spirit of the Eramus–Dussault commission, tripartite (federal, provincial, and First Nations) accords have been signed since the report was issued. Several political crises between different provincial governments and different bands of the First Nations also occurred in the late 20th century, notably theOka Crisis,Ipperwash Crisis,Burnt Church Crisis, and theGustafsen Lake standoff.[102]
In 2001, theQuebec government, the federal government, and the Cree Nation signed "La Paix des Braves" (The Peace of the Braves, a reference to the 1701 peace treaty between the French and the Iroquois League). The agreement allowedHydro-Québec to exploit the province'shydroelectric resources in exchange for an allocation of $3.5 billion to be given to the government of the Cree Nation. Later, the Inuit ofnorthern Quebec (Nunavik) joined in the agreement.
In 2005, the leaders of the First Nations, various provincial governments, and the federal government produced an agreement called theKelowna Accord, which would have yielded $5 billion over 10 years, but the new federal government ofStephen Harper (2006) did not follow through on the working paper.First Nations, along with the Métis and the Inuit, have claimed to receive inadequate funding for education, and allege their rights have been overlooked.James Bartleman,Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 2002 to 2007, listed the encouragement of indigenous young people as one of his key priorities. During his term, he launched initiatives to promote literacy and bridge-building. Bartleman was the first Aboriginal person to be lieutenant governor in Ontario.
In 2006, 76 First Nations communities hadboil-water advisory conditions.[103]In late 2005, thedrinking water crisis of theKashechewan First Nation received nationalmedia attention whenE. coli was discovered in theirwater supply system, following two years of living under a boil-water advisory. Thedrinking water was supplied by a newtreatment plant built in March 1998. The cause of the tainted water was a plugged chlorine injector that was not discovered by local operators, who were not qualified to be running the treatment plant. When officials arrived and fixed the problem,chlorine levels were around 1.7 mg/L, which was blamed forskin disorders such asimpetigo andscabies. An investigation led byHealth Canada revealed that skin disorders were likely due to living in squalor. The evacuation of Kashechewan was largely viewed by Canadians as a cry for help for other underlying social and economic issues that Aboriginal people in Canada face.
On June 29, 2007, Canadian Aboriginal groups held countrywide protests aimed at ending First Nations poverty, dubbed theAboriginal Day of Action. The demonstrations were largely peaceful, although groups disrupted transportation with blockades or bonfires; a stretch of theHighway 401 was shut down, as was theCanadian National Railway's line betweenToronto and Montreal.[104]
TheIdle No Moreprotest movement originated among the Aboriginals in Canada and their non-Aboriginal supporters in Canada, and to a lesser extent, internationally. It consisted of a number of political actions worldwide, inspired in part by thehunger strike ofAttawapiskat First Nation ChiefTheresa Spence[105] and further coordinated viasocial media. A reaction to alleged abuses of indigenoustreaty rights by the federal government, the movement took particular issue with theomnibus bill Bill C-45.[106][107]
The relationship between the Canadian Crown and the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples stretches back to thefirst interactions between European colonialists and North American indigenous people. Over centuries of interaction,treaties were established, and First Nations have, like theMāori and theTreaty of Waitangi in New Zealand, come to generally view these agreements as being between them and the Crown of Canada, and not the ever-changing governments.[108]
The associations exist between the Aboriginal peoples and the reigningmonarch of Canada; as was stated in the proposed First Nations – Federal Crown Political Accord: "cooperation will be a cornerstone for partnership between Canada and First Nations, wherein Canada is the short-form reference to Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada".[109] These relations are governed by the established treaties; theSupreme Court stated that treaties "served to reconcile pre-existing Aboriginal sovereignty with assumed Crown sovereignty, and to define Aboriginal rights",[109] and the First Nations saw these agreements as meant to last "as long as the sun shines, grass grows and rivers flow".
Although taxes are not specifically addressed in the written terms of any treaties, assurances regarding taxation were clearly offered when at least some treaties were negotiated.[110]
The various statutory exemptions from taxation are established under theIndian Act, which reads:
- 87(1). Notwithstanding any other Act of Parliament or any Act of the legislature of a province ... the following property is exempt from taxation
- (a) the interest of an Indian or a band in reserve lands or surrendered lands; and
- (b) the personal property of an Indian or a band situated on a reserve.
- 87(2). No Indian or band is subject to taxation in respect of the ownership, occupation, possession or use of any property mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) or (b) or is otherwise subject to taxation in respect of any such property.[111]
Many scholars[112][113] believe these exemptions serve to oppress Aboriginal peoples by allowing conservative-minded courts to impart their own (sometimes discriminatory) views into the Aboriginal taxation jurisprudence. As one professor wrote:
[Because] income-generating activity in the "commercial mainstream" contrasts with income-generating activity that is "intimately connected to" the reserve ... [the] Tax Court of Canada implie[s] that the "traditional way of life" of Aboriginal peoples d[oes] not embrace "economic aspects" ... beyond a subsistence economy. [footnotes omitted][114]
Self-government has given chiefs and their councils powers which combine those of a province, school board, health board and municipality. Councils are also largely self-regulating regarding utilities, environmental protection, natural resources, building codes, etc. There is concern that this wide-ranging authority,concentrated in a single council, might be a cause of the dysfunctional governments experienced by many First Nations.[115]
TheAssembly of First Nations (AFN) is a body of First Nations leaders in Canada. The aims of the organization are to protect the rights, treaty obligations, ceremonies, and claims of citizens of the First Nations in Canada.
After the failures of the League of Indians in Canada in theinterwar period and the North American Indian Brotherhood in two decades following the Second World War, the Aboriginal peoples of Canada organised themselves once again in the early 1960s. The National Indian Council was created in 1961 to represent Indigenous people, including treaty/status Indians, non-status people, the Métis people, though not the Inuit.[116] This organization collapsed in 1968 as the three groups failed to act as one, so the non-status and Métis groups formed the Native Council of Canada and treaty/status groups formed the National Indian Brotherhood (NIB), anumbrella group for provincial and territorial First Nations organizations.
National Indigenous Peoples Day, formerlyNational Aboriginal Day, June 21, recognizes the cultures and contributions of Aboriginal peoples of Canada.[117] There are currently over 600 recognizedFirst Nations governments or bands encompassing 1,172,7902006 people spread across Canada with distinctive Aboriginal cultures, languages, art, and music.[5][118][119]
Today, there are over thirty different languages spoken by indigenous people, most of which are spoken only in Canada. Many are in decline. Those with the most speakers includeAnishinaabe andCree (together totalling up to 150,000 speakers);Inuktitut with about 29,000 speakers in theNorthwest Territories,Nunavut, Nunavik (Northern Quebec), andNunatsiavut (Northern Labrador); andMi'kmaq, with around 8,500 speakers, mostly in Eastern Canada. Many Aboriginal peoples have lost their native languages and often all but surviving elders speak English or French as their first language.[120]
Two of Canada's territories give official status to native languages. In Nunavut, Inuktitut andInuinnaqtun are official languages alongside English and French, and Inuktitut is a common vehicular language in government. In the Northwest Territories, theOfficial Languages Act[121] declares that there are eleven different languages:Chipewyan,Cree, English,French,Gwich'in,Inuinnaqtun,Inuktitut,Inuvialuktun, NorthSlavey, South Slavey andTłįchǫ. Besides English and French, these languages are not vehicular in government; official status entitles citizens to receive services in them on request and to deal with the government in them.[120]
First Nations were producing art for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeansettler colonists and the eventual establishment of Canada as anation state. Like the peoples who produced them, indigenous art traditions spanned territories across North America. Indigenous art traditions are organized by art historians according to cultural, linguistic or regional groups: Northwest Coast,Plateau,Plains,Eastern Woodlands, Subarctic, and Arctic.[122]
Art traditions vary enormously amongst and within these diverse groups. Indigenous art with a focus on portability and the body is distinguished from European traditions and its focus on architecture. Indigenous visual art may be used in conjunction with other arts.Shamans'masks and rattles are used ceremoniously in dance, storytelling and music.[122]Artworks preserved in museum collections date from the period after European contact and show evidence of the creative adoption and adaptation of European trade goods such as metal and glass beads.[123][124] During the 19th and the first half of the 20th century the Canadian government pursued an active policy offorced andcultural assimilation toward indigenous peoples. TheIndian Act banned manifestations of theSun Dance, thePotlatch, and works of art depicting them.[125]
It was not until the 1950s and 1960s that indigenous artists such asMungo Martin,Bill Reid andNorval Morrisseau began to publicly renew and re-invent indigenous art traditions. Currently there are indigenous artists practising in all media in Canada and two indigenous artists,Edward Poitras andRebecca Belmore, have represented Canada at theVenice Biennale in 1995 and 2005 respectively.[122]
The First Nations peoples of Canada comprise diverse ethnic groups, each with their own musical traditions. There are general similarities in the music, but is usually social (public) or ceremonial (private). Public, social music may bedance music accompanied byrattles anddrums. Private, ceremonial music includes vocal songs with accompaniment onpercussion, used to mark occasions like Midewiwin ceremonies and Sun Dances.
Traditionally, Aboriginal peoples used the materials at hand to make their instruments for centuries before Europeans immigrated to Canada.[126] First Nations people madegourds and animalhorns into rattles, which were elaborately carved and beautifully painted.[127] In woodland areas, they made horns ofbirch bark anddrumsticks of carvedantlers and wood. Traditionalpercussion instruments such as drums were generally made of carved wood and animalhides.[128] Thesemusical instruments provide the background for songs, and songs are the background for dances. Traditional First Nations people consider song and dance to be sacred. For years after Europeans came to Canada, First Nations people were forbidden to practice their ceremonies.[125][126]
In year 1822 the Indigenous population in Canada, excluding the Métis, was estimated as 283,500 individuals[129] and in year 1885 it was estimated as 131,952 people.[130] In the 20th century, the First Nations population of Canada increased tenfold.[131] Between 1900 and 1950 the population grew only by 29% but after the 1960s theinfant mortality level on reserves dropped and the population grew by 161%. Since the 1980s, the number of First Nations babies more than doubled and currently almost half of the First Nations population is under the age of 25. As a result, the First Nations population of Canada is expected to increase in the coming decades.[131]
In 2021, there were 1,807,250 Aboriginal people in Canada, accounting for 5.0% of the total population. This was up from 4.9% in 2016.[132]
There are distinct First Nations in Canada, originating across the country.Indian reserves, established inCanadian law by treaties such asTreaty 7, are the very limited contemporary lands of First Nations recognized by the non-indigenous governments. A few reserves existwithin cities, such as the Opawikoscikan Reserve inPrince Albert,Wendake in Quebec City orEnoch Cree Nation 135 in theEdmonton Metropolitan Region. There are morereserves in Canada than there are First Nations, as First Nations were ceded multiple reserves by treaty.
First Nations can begrouped into cultural areas based on their ancestors' primarylifeway, or occupation, at the time of European contact. These culture areas correspond closely withphysical and ecologicalregions of Canada.[119]
Ethnographers commonly classify indigenous peoples of the Americas in the United States and Canada into ten geographical regions with shared cultural traits (calledcultural areas).[133] The Canadian (in whole or in part) regions areArctic,Subarctic, NortheastWoodlands,Plains, andPlateau. See the individual article on eachtribe,band society orFirst Nation.
The Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast communities centred around ocean and river fishing; in theinterior of British Columbia, hunting and gathering and river fishing. In both of these areas, salmon was of chief importance. For the people of the plains,bison hunting was the primary activity. In thesubarctic forest, other species such as the moose were more important. For peoples near the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River,shifting agriculture was practised, including the raising of maize, beans, and squash.[119]
Today, Aboriginal people work in a variety of occupations and live outside their ancestral homes. The traditional cultures of their ancestors, shaped by nature, still exert a strong influence on their culture, from spirituality to political attitudes.[119]
| Province/territory | 1885 | 1921 | 1931 | 1941 | 1951 | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 | 1996 | 2011 | 2016 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 1000 | - | - | - | 358 | 596 | 1,225 | 3,230 | 5,430 | 19,315 | 28,375 | 28,435 |
| Prince Edward Island | 292 | 235 | 233 | 258 | 257 | 236 | 315 | 440 | 825 | 1,520 | 1,875 | 2,165 |
| Nova Scotia | 2,197 | 2,048 | 2,191 | 2,063 | 2,717 | 3,267 | 4,475 | 6,305 | 11,340 | 21,895 | 25,830 | 28,050 |
| New Brunswick | 1,524 | 1,331 | 1,685 | 1,939 | 2,255 | 2,921 | 3,915 | 4,610 | 9,180 | 16,120 | 17,575 | 20,955 |
| British Columbia | 39,011 | 22,377 | 24,599 | 24,875 | 28,478 | 38,789 | 52,220 | 64,695 | 113,315 | 155,020 | 172,520 | 180,085 |
| Quebec | 83,928 | 11,566 | 12,312 | 11,863 | 14,631 | 18,876 | 32,835 | 46,855 | 47,600 | 82,420 | 92,655 | 116,555 |
| Ontario | 26,654 | 30,368 | 30,336 | 37,370 | 47,862 | 62,415 | 83,860 | 118,830 | 201,105 | 236,685 | 251,030 | |
| Manitoba | 13,869 | 15,417 | 15,473 | 21,024 | 29,219 | 43,035 | 59,920 | 82,990 | 114,225 | 130,510 | 134,890 | |
| Saskatchewan | 12,914 | 15,268 | 13,384 | 22,250 | 30,628 | 40,475 | 54,720 | 75,205 | 103,205 | 114,570 | 121,175 | |
| Alberta | 14,557 | 15,258 | 12,565 | 21,163 | 28,469 | 44,545 | 60,005 | 72,645 | 116,670 | 136,590 | 145,640 | |
| Yukon | 1,390 | 1,543 | 1,508 | 1,533 | 2,167 | 2,580 | 3,415 | 5,530 | 6,590 | 6,690 | 6,935 | |
| Northwest Territories | 3,873 | 4,046 | 4,052 | 3,838 | 5,256 | 7,180 | 7,635 | 11,400 | 13,345 | 13,180 | 12,315 | |
| Nunavut | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 130 | 190 | 180 | |
| Canada total | 127,952 | 110,814 | 122,920 | 118,316 | 155,874 | 208,286 | 295,215 | 395,690 | 554,290 | 851,560 | 977,235 | 1,048,400 |
First Nations peoples face a number of problems to a greater degree than Canadians overall, some with living conditions comparable todeveloping countries likeHaiti.[134][135] Indigenous peoples have higher rates of unemployment,[136] rates of incarceration,[137]substance abuse,[138] health problems, homelessness,fetal alcohol syndrome,[139] lower levels of education and higher levels ofpoverty.[140][141][142]
Canada's federal residential school system began in the mid-1870s, building upon a patchwork of boarding schools established and operated by various Christian denominations. Member of Parliament for Assiniboia West, Nicholas Flood Davin, produced a report, known generally as the Davin Report, that recommended the establishment of a school system similar to that being created in the United States. One of its chief goals was to remove Aboriginal children from "the influence of the wigwam", which he claimed was stronger than that of existing day schools, and keep them instead "constantly within the circle of civilized conditions". While the history of theIndian Residential School system (IRS) is a checkered one, much criticism has been levelled at both the system and those who established and supported it. Neglect and poor nutrition were often what Aboriginal children experienced, particularly in the early decades of the system's operation. The stripping away of traditional Native culture – sometimes referred to as "cultural genocide" – is another charge levelled at the residential schools. In many schools, students were not allowed to speak their Indigenous languages or practice any of their own customs, and thus lost their sense of identity, inevitably driving a cultural wedge between children and their families.[143]
By 1920, attendance at some sort of school was mandatory for Aboriginal children in Canada. TheIndian Act made education compulsory, and where there were no federal days schools – or, in later decades, a provincial public school – a residential school was the only choice. Enrollment statistics indicate that between 20% and 30% of Aboriginal children throughout the history of the IRS (Indian Residential Schools) system attended a residential school for at least a year, and many were enrolled for ten years or more. In some cases, children could return home on weekends and holidays, but for those in schools established far away from remote communities, this was not possible.
The removal of children from their families and communities brought short and long term harm to many Native communities. While many schools had infirmaries and provided medical care in later decades, abuse of various kinds and crowded conditions in the first decades of the IRS history led to poor health and even death for a percentage of those enrolled. It has been argued that the psychological and emotional trauma resulting from both the abuse and the removal of the children from their families and culture has resulted in substance abuse, greater domestic violence, unemployability, and increased rates of suicide.[144] In many cases, children leaving residential schools found themselves at an intersection of cultures, where they were no longer comfortable within their own cultures, yet not accepted into mainstream Canadian culture. Former students are now routinely referred to as "survivors".
The last Canadian residential school to close wasGordon Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan, founded in 1889, and closed in 1996.[144]
The Christian denominations that operated the schools on behalf of the federal government have expressed regret and issued apologies for their part in a system that harmed many indigenous children, although they consistently fail to provide the small practical settlement that has been asked of them. In 2008, the government issued an official apology to the students who were forced to attend the residential schools and their families.[144]
In June 2015, the federally-established Truth and Reconciliation Commission, charged with investigating and reporting on the residential school system, issued its summary report, and in December of the same year, its final report. Chief Commissioner, Judge Murray Sinclair, has publicly declared the residential school system a deliberate act of cultural genocide against First Nations peoples. In its report, the commission submitted 94 recommendations to the Canadian government, recommendations which, if implemented, would substantially improve indigenous race relations, increase quality of life for survivors and extended families, and help undo the damage caused by residential schools. While the Liberal government, under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has committed itself to improving the lives of Canada's indigenous people, and specifically to implementing the TRC recommendations, some of those recommendations may be beyond the power of the Canadian government. The countless research documents assembled by the TRC will be archived in a special repository at the University of Manitoba.
The income of women with status living off-reserve was on average $13,870 a year, according to a 1996 Canadian census. This is about $5500 less than non-Indigenous women, such as Inuit and Métis women, which recorded slightly higher average annual incomes; regardless of the small discrepancy, all of which are substantially less than Statistics Canada's estimated amount of which an individual living in a large Canadian city would require to meet their needs. It is not unlikely for Aboriginal women living in poverty to not only tend to their own needs, but often tend to the needs of their elderly parents, care for loved ones in ill-health, as well as raising children; all of which is often supported only on a single income. It is believed that homelessness and inadequate shelter are widespread problems facing Aboriginal families, in all settings.[143]
A paramount conclusion by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples is that the repeated assaults on the culture and collective identity of the Aboriginal people has resulted in a weakened foundation of Aboriginal society and has contributed to the alienation that inevitably drives some to self-destructive and antisocial behaviour. The social problems among Aboriginal people are, in large measure, a legacy of history.[143]
Aboriginals are also more likely to be the victims of crime. This is particularly true in the younger population (aged 15–34), where acts of violence are two and a half times more likely to occur than in the older population. Domestic violence and sexual abuse against children is more prevalent in the Aboriginal population with sexual abuse affecting 25–50% of Aboriginal female children versus 20–25% of female children in the general population.[145] Children who come from homes with a history of violence are at a greater risk of becoming the perpetrators of violence later in life. This is especially true of males.[145]
As of 2007, 17% of incarcerated individuals in Canada were of Aboriginal descent, despite representing only 2.7% of the general population.[146] This is a sixfold increase in rates of incarceration within the Aboriginal population as opposed to the general Canadian population.[145] There are many reasons for the over-representation of Aboriginals within the Canadian justice system. Lack of education, poverty, unemployment and abuse all lead to higher crime rates. Also, statistically, Aboriginals have a greater chance of conviction and subsequently, incarceration once convicted. They are also much less likely to receive parole during their sentence.[145]
The Canadian federal government is responsible for health and social services on the reserve and in Inuit communities, while the provincial and territorial governments provide services elsewhere. The divide between each level of government has led to a gap in services for Aboriginal people living off-reserve and in Canadian towns and cities. Although Aboriginal people living off-reserve have access to the programs and services designed for the general population, these programs and services do not address the specific needs of Aboriginal people, nor is it delivered in aculturally appropriate way. It has not been until recently that the Canadian federal government had to increase recognition to the needs for programs and services for Aboriginal people in predominantly non-Aboriginal communities. It is however funding that lags the growth of urban Aboriginal populations and the uncoordinated delivery of services through various government departments would also pose as a barrier. The federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians pointed out that in 2003 almost 90 percent of the funding for programs designed for Aboriginal peoples is spent on reserves, while off-reserve programs for Aboriginal people are delivered through just 22 federal departments, as well as other provincial and territorial agencies. The federal subcommittee on Indigenous child welfare described a "jurisdictional web" in which there is little to no coordination with or between municipal, provincial and federal levels of government.[143]
The health care services available to Aboriginal people is rarely delivered in aculturally sensitive approach. It is the constant cast of "the other" by the settler Canadian population that contaminates the delivery of such necessary services to Aboriginal peoples. It was argued by Ontario finance minister Jim Flaherty in 1992 that the Canadian government could boost health-care funding for "real people in real towns" by cutting the bureaucracy that serves only Aboriginal peoples. These types of statements, especially made by people often heard by a greater audience, are said to have detrimental and influential effects on the overall attitudes of settler population folks, as well as Aboriginal peoples.[147]
There are marked differences between the epidemiology of diabetes in First Nation population compared to the general population. Reasons for the different rate ofType 2 Diabetes between First Nation and the general population include a complex combination of environmental (lifestyle, diet, poverty) and genetic and biological factors (e.g.thrifty genotype hypothesis,thrifty phenotype)[148] – though to what extent each factor plays a role is still not clear.[149]
The Aboriginal population in Canada (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) have a significantly higher prevalence rate of diabetes than the non-Aboriginal population. Age-standardized rates show that the prevalence of diabetes among First Nations individuals living on-reserve is 17.2%; First Nations individuals living off-reserve is 10.3%; Métis individuals 7.3%; and non-Aboriginal peoples at 5.0%. Aboriginal individuals are generally diagnosed at a younger age than non-Aboriginal individuals, and Aboriginal females experience higher rates of gestational diabetes than non-Aboriginal females. The complications and prevalence of diabetes are seen among the Aboriginal population more often than non-Aboriginal population. These may be attributed to the socio-cultural, biological, environmental and lifestyle changes seen in the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis populations, which have been most especially prevalent in the last half century, all of which contributing significantly to the increased rates of diabetes and the complications associated among the Aboriginal population.[150]
First Nations in Canada engage in a disproportionate amount of substance abuse. In Vancouver, Indigenous people were faced with almost 18 per cent of drug charges, but are just 2.2 per cent of the city's population. A much higher proportion of First Nations people engage in heavy drinking weekly (16%) as opposed to the general population (8%).[151] 19% of First Nations also reported cocaine and opiates use, higher than 13% of the general Canadian population that reported using opioids.[152]
Life expectancy at birth is significantly lower for First Nations babies than for babies in the Canadian population as a whole. As of 2021[update], Indian and Northern Affairs Canada estimates First Nations life expectancy to be 12.1 years shorter for males and 11 years shorter for females.[153] Where females in the general population had a life expectancy at birth of 82 years, First Nations females had a life expectancy of 76 years. In males the life expectancy for First Nations individuals was 69 years as opposed to 77 in the general population.[154] The reasons behind the lower life expectancy for First Nations individuals are varied and complex; however,social determinants of health are thought to play a large part.
Overall, First Nations individuals have some of the highest rates of suicide globally. Suicide rates are more than twice the sex-specific rate and also three times the age-specific rates of non-Aboriginal Canadians.[155] Residential Aboriginals between ages 10 and 29 show an elevated suicide risk as compared to non-residential Aboriginals by 5–6 times.[156] One theory for the increased incidences of suicide within Aboriginal populations as compared to the general Canadian population is called acculturation stress which results from the intersection of multiple cultures within one's life. This leads to differing expectations and cultural clashes within the community, the family and the individual. At the community level, a general economic disadvantage is seen, exacerbated by unemployment and low education levels, leading to poverty, political disempowerment and community disorganization. The family suffers through a loss of tradition as they attempt to assimilate into mainstream Canadian culture. These lead to low self-esteem in the individual as First Nations culture and tradition are marginalized affecting one's sense of self-identity. These factors combine to create a world where First Nations individuals feel they cannot identify completely as Aboriginal, nor can they fully identify as mainstream Canadians. When that balance cannot be found, many (particularly youths) turn to suicide as a way out.[156]
400 First Nations communities in Canada had some kind of water problem between 2004 and 2014. The residents ofNeskantaga First Nation in Ontario have had a boil-water advisory since 1995.[157][158] In 2015, newly elected Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau promised to solve the drinking water problem within five years, by investing $1.8 billion.[159][160] As of October 2021, long-term boil water advisories are still present in 32 First Nations drinking water systems.[161]
Across Canada, many First Nations have not signed treaties with theCanadian Crown. Many First Nations are in the process of negotiating a modern treaty, which would grant themtreaty rights.[162] Some First Nation bands are also trying to resolve theirhistorical grievances with the Canadian government. These grievances often originate from a breach of treaty obligations or of theIndian Act by the government of Canada. They can also involve mismanagement of indigenous land or assets by the Crown.[162]
Across Canada, there has been a large number of missing and murdered Aboriginal women since 1980. 16% of female murder victims and 12% of missing women have been Aboriginal, while demographically they constitute only 4% of the overall female population. This amounts to almost 1,200 Aboriginal females either missing or murdered in just over 30 years.[163]
In 2014 the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) releasedMissing and Murdered Aboriginal Women: A National Operational Review. This publication documents the official findings of this demographic as well as advises for future change. It finds that there are 164 Aboriginal women still missing and 1,017 murdered, making for a total of 1,181.[164] "There are 225 unsolved cases of either missing or murdered Aboriginal females: 105 missing for more than 30 days as of November 4, 2013[update], whose cause of disappearance was categorized as 'unknown' or 'foul play suspected' and 120 unsolved homicides between 1980 and 2012."[164] Indigenous women in Canada are overrepresented among the missing and murdered females in Canada. Additionally, there are shared characteristics among these cases: most of the murders were committed by men and were someone the victim knew, either a partner or an acquaintance.[164] "Aboriginal women between the ages of 25 and 44 are 5 times more likely than other women of the same age to die as a result of violence."[165] These statistics portray the severity and prevalence of violence against indigenous women in Canada.
Self-governance and preservation of indigenous territories become increasingly difficult as natural resources continue to be exploited by foreign companies. Projects such as "mining, logging, hydroelectric construction, large-scale export oriented agribusiness or oil exploration"[attribution needed] are usually coupled with environmental degradation and occasionally violence and militarization."[attribution needed][165] Many scholars go so far as to link the proliferation of global neoliberalism with a rise in violence.[165] Women's concerns are nearly always pushed aside, to be addressed later; their safety is therefore often compromised and not deemed priority. Privatization of public services and reduction in the universality of health care produces negative repercussions for those of lower socioeconomic status in rural locations; these downsides are magnified for female Aboriginals.[165]
Approximately 2,500 aboriginal people were murdered in Canada between 1982 and 2011, out of 15,000 murders in Canada overall. Of the 2,500 murdered aboriginal Canadians, fully 71 per cent – 1,750 – were male.[166]
According to summaries of seven consultation sessions posted to a government website, the desire to dedicate some attention to violence against indigenous men and boys has come up at four of the meetings.[167]
These calls to extend the scope of the inquiry to include missing and murdered aboriginal people of all genders have met with resistance and been criticized as detracting from the current focus on the issue of missing and murdered aboriginal women. Barbara Bailey, who was on the UN team that visited Canada in 2013 to investigate the violence, has said, "I think to detract now would really be a tragedy. Let's fix that problem first and then we can begin to see what else is out there."
Speaking on the matter,Minister of Indigenous Affairs,Carolyn Bennett has said, "Our mandate now is to get to the bottom of the tragedy of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls in Canada", citing sexism as being of specific concern. Dawn Lavell-Harvard, the president of theNative Women's Association of Canada, has also weighed in on the issue by saying, "Absolutely [men] deserve the same amount of attention, just not necessarily in the same forum", neither that forum nor an equal level of attention have yet to materialize.[167]
The Canadian Constitution recognizes three groups of Aboriginal peoples: Indians (more commonly referred to as First Nations), Inuit and Métis. These are three distinct peoples with unique histories, languages, cultural practices and spiritual beliefs.
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{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)At the end of March 2007, Aboriginal people accounted for 17.0% of federally sentenced offenders although the general Aboriginal population is only 2.7% of the Canadian adult population.
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