Key Issues for Indigenous Peoples in Canada
Interconected issues
Lack of government funding and:
Mental health programs may not be offered
School
Health care
Crime and suicide rates
Lack of Employment and
Suicide levels
Unemployment can often lead to mental health issues such as deppression
crime rates
Need to be able support family
Poor housing
Lack of health care and:
Suicide rates
Lack of education and:
Child Injury
Lack of education leads to inability to assess ot treats dangers
Higher levels of incarenation
Unemployment
Low income levels and Inadequate housing
One with low income my not be able to afford housing
Lack of Government Funding
Products and services may come at higher costs
Health care systems will be affected
School's arts and extra curricular programs may be cut
Certain Programs may not be affered in underfunded communities
Higher Death Rate Among Children and Youth
Health Canada statistics show that Indigenous children are three to four more times likely to die from an unintentional injury rather than a non Aboriginal child of the same age
This may be because of lack of education
Many children in Indigenous families have high rates of injuries and deaths from events such as drowning
Inadequate housing
As of 2011 44% of all indigenous peoples lived in homes that needed major repairs
Being placed on less valuable lands as reserves
The result of land being stripped away from them
Crowded Living Conditions
Poor Health Care
Higher amounts of chronic illness, heart disease and diabetes
Poor Living conditions
Contaminated water supply
Little to no funding in Hospitals
Low Income
Higher Suicide Rates
The suicide rates in these communities are 11x higher than the national average
Depending on the community, first nations/Aboriginal youth have suicide rated 5-7 X higher than non-indigenous youth
In a group of 100 non indigenous people only about 2-4 will take their life
In a Group of 100 aboriginal people, 20 will take their own life
1 in 5 First Nations Adults take their own life
This is 20%
Higher Levels of Incarceration
The potential reasoning for this is the lack of education and high rates of unemployment
Indigenous females represented 38 percent of female admissions to provincial and territorial custody
Federally, Indigenous adults represented 28 percent of custodial admissions.
Indigenous adults were 26 percent of admissions to provincial and territorial correctional services but only make up 3 percent of the Canadian adult population.
Nearly half the youth across Canada that have been incarcerated are Indigenous
Higher Rates of Unemployment
Reserves are far from industries and places that provide work making it very difficult to get to work, or at least find a job in the area
Indigenous peoples do not have the required education to find a job that provides income
As of 2018 the unemployment rate for indigenous communities in Canada was almost 14% where as it was 8% for non indigenous (Statistics Canada)
Lower Income Levels
Average total income of Indigenous Peoples was 75% of the non indigenous
this is a 25% income gap. Although this is a a big gap, it has gone done from 27% in the past 10 years
Lower Education Levels
Lack of government funding
Majority of their learning consists of indoctrination and skills in manual labour
Schools often lack basic materials for everyday learning
Too few teachers that speak Indigenous languages
Almost 34% of those who identify as aboriginal in 2016 have no secondary/ highschool or equivalent certificate according to the Canadian Census
