Quiz 1 Preparation
Lecture 1
“Aboriginal People” in Oxford Dictionary is “the people who inhabit or exist in a
land from the earliest times or from before the arrival of colonists.”
We use “aboriginal” when referring to people, but “indigenous” when referring to
economics.
We will use the term “Canada’s Indigenous Peoples”
Constitution (section 35.2) recognizes three types of Aboriginal peoples in
Canada;
Natives
Inuit
Métis
Inuit and Métis are granted Status
For all bands, membership is obtained by becoming listed on the Indian Register
maintained by the government.
Métis are people with mixed First Nation and European ancestry, distinct from
First Nations, Inuit or non-Aboriginal people.
In 2016, there were 1,673,785 Aboriginal people in Canada, accounting for 4.9%
of the total population.
In 20 years the Aboriginal population is likely to exceed 2.5 million persons.
The average age of the Aboriginal population was 32.1 years in 2016—almost a
decade younger than the non-Aboriginal population (40.9 years).
American Indians account for 5.1 Million or 2.6% of the total population
Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders accounted for 669 000 people or 13% of
the total population
The unemployment rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (20.9%) was
four times that of the average in 2012
Legal definition in Canada of who has “Indian status” based on the Indian Act, a
section of the Constitution Act, 1986
Indian Act establishes the Reservation system
There are 624 bands in Canada.
The Indian Register is the official record of Status Indians or Registered Indians in
Canada.