Background on Canada’s Aboriginal Population
The term "Aboriginal" is used in Canada to refer collectively to people
who are descendants of the first populations to inhabit North America.
Aboriginal populations include First Nations (North American Indians),
Inuit, and Métis. First Nations are the largest of the three groups. They
accounted for approximately two-thirds of the 800,000 Aboriginal people
living in Canada in 1996. They also have the longest history and are the
most cultural and geographically diverse Aboriginal population. Ancestors
of the First Nations migrated from Asia to what are now the state of
Alaska and the Yukon Territory between 15,000 and 35,000 years ago
during the last ice age. At this time, sea levels were 100 metres lower
than present, making it possible to move overland between the two
continents. Approximately 10,000 years ago, as the ice sheets melted,
these populations could move south to the unglaciated regions of North
America. Possible migration routes were an ice-free corridor along the
eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains and exposed islands and beaches
along the Pacific coast. As the continental ice fields later retreated
northward, big game and the First Nations people followed, eventually
occupying most of the plains, valleys, coastlines, and plateaus of
contemporary Canada. Adaptation to local geographies and the vast
distances and barriers of Canada's physical landscape worked over time
to create many distinct cultural groups. Over 600 First Nationsrepresenting 52 cultural groups-live in Canada.
Inuit are Aboriginal people who live in the Arctic. Numbering 40,000 in
1996, 90 percent of the Inuit live in either the Northwest Territories,
northern Quebec, the Labrador coast of Newfoundland, or Nunavut
(slightly more than 50% of the total). Nunavut, which means "Our Land" in
the Inuktitut language, was officially established in 1999. The boundaries
of this new territory roughly correspond to the ancestral lands of the Inuit
of the central and eastern Arctic. Inuit and other arctic cultures, migrating
in several waves from Asia and Alaska, have lived in this area for 5000
years. Three-quarters of Nunavut's present population are Inuit.
Métis are people with a mixed Aboriginal and European ancestry (Métis
means "mixed blood"). The word is used by many Canadians to refer to
the descendants of the First Nations and fur traders in western Canada,
especially those associated with French communities in southern
Manitoba. However, while recognized as Aboriginal people in the
Canadian constitution, there is no accepted, legal definition of a Métis. As
a result, population estimates can vary widely. The 1996 census defined
a Métis as anyone who identifies themselves as a Métis. This definition
suggests there are just over 200,000 Métis in Canada, 75 percent of
whom live in the four western provinces. Other estimates suggest that the
descendants of the first Métis could now number in the millions.
All Aboriginal populations were deeply affected by the resettlement of
North America by Europeans. In 1500 AD, at the time of first contact, the
Aboriginal population living in present day Canada is estimated to be
roughly 500,000. Four hundred years later, the total was 100,000. This
dramatic decline was the result of warfare, the loss of traditional lands
and food sources, and disease. Lacking natural immunities and
knowledge about how to treat "Old World" diseases, Aboriginal
communities across Canada were devastated by tuberculosis, small pox,
influenza, and cholera. It was not unusual for an epidemic to claim onehalf of a group's members. A chilling reminder of the disastrous
consequences of these factors is the empty chair reserved for the
Beothuk at First Nation assemblies. The last Beothuk-a First Nation that
hunted big game and fished along Newfoundland's rocky shores-died of
tuberculosis in a St. John's hospital in 1829.
Aboriginal populations have been, until recently, primarily located in rural
and isolated areas of Canada. This distribution is partly attributable to the
historic pattern of occupation and the practice of traditional ways of life. It
is also a product, especially for members of First Nations, of the
establishment of Indian Reserves. Reserves are treaty and non-treaty
lands that were set aside ostensibly to protect Aboriginal people.
However, their unstated purpose was to expedite settlement and resource
exploitation. In central Canada and on the prairies, First Nations gave up
their ownership of vast territories-as acknowledged in the Royal
Proclamation of 1763-in exchange for reserves and attendant economic
and social benefits. In British Columbia, reserves were established for the
most part without negotiation or compensation. The failure to obtain
proper legal consent is the basis for ongoing land claims in this province.
In either case, the lands First Nations bands received were often small,
out-of-the way parcels of marginal quality (the combined area of the 2300
reserves in Canadian provinces is less than half that of the large Navajo
reservation in the United States). Reserves situated on better land,
especially those in expanding urban areas, were, in some cases,
expropriated without compensation. The physical and economic isolation
of reserves was reinforced by the Indian Act of 1876 and its distinction
between "status" and "non-status" Indians. Status Indians were allowed to
live on reserves and receive the benefits of treaty settlements; they could
not, however, vote, serve in the military or on juries. Non-status Indians,
in contrast, effectively chose to relinquish their treaty rights for Canadian
citizenship. Women who married non-First Nations persons automatically
lost their status as Indians. The government hoped these policies, along
with residential schools, and restrictions on some political and ceremonial
activities, would assimilate First Nations people into Canadian society.
The policies ultimately failed. Most First Nations people kept their rights
even in the face of poor housing, inadequate services, and high
unemployment on many reserves.
While Aboriginal people are collectively still the most rural ethnic
population in Canada, they have also moved to urban areas in large
numbers over the past 50 years. In 1996, 35 percent of the Aboriginal
population, and almost 50 percent of Métis, lived in Canada's 43 largest
cities. Winnipeg, Manitoba has the largest Aboriginal population (45,000)
while Saskatoon, Saskatchewan has the highest proportion (7.5 percent
of the city's residents are Aboriginal people). There are many push and
pull factors for this urban migration. Perhaps the most important have
been the gradual changes to the Indian Act. Aboriginal people now enjoy
the same rights and freedoms as other Canadians while many who had
voluntarily or involuntarily given up their Indian status have been
reinstated. Employment and educational opportunities, social contacts,
and urban support networks have also encouraged migration. Population
pressures and natural increase may also play a factor. Aboriginal
populations are growing at a rate of 3 percent annually, more than double
the rate for the general population. More than half of this growth occurs
off-reserve.
-Dr. Ross Nelson, University College of the Cariboo