Statistics Canada, (2011). A selection of statistics and reports.
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We Were Children - National Film Board Trailer
Aboriginal adults recount what happened to them in
residential schools for NFB movie.
As young children, Lyna and Glen were taken from their homes and placed in church-run boarding schools. The trauma of this experience was made worse by years of untold physical, sexual and emotional abuse, the effects of which persist in their adult lives. In this emotional film, the profound impact of the Canadian government's residential school system is conveyed unflinchingly through the eyes of two children who were forced to face hardships beyond their years. We Were Children gives voice to a national tragedy and demonstrates the incredible resilience of the human spirit.
Inside
Story Americas - Revisiting a dark chapter in Canada's history
Al Jazeera, (2013).
Intergenerational
Trauma & Healing with Joe Solanto (1/3)
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Huffington Post, (2011).
There are more First Nations children in care right now than at the height of the residential school system. That system was a national disgrace that prompted Prime Minister Stephen Harper to apologize for its catastrophic impact on natives.
Instead of being at home with their parents, brothers and sisters, tens of thousands of First Nations children are in foster homes, staying with distant relatives or living in institutions.
"It's a culmination of decades worth of social ills," Beaucage says.
A disheartening mix of poverty, addiction, history and politics has conspired to separate First Nations children from their parents.
Researchers aren't certain how many native kids are no longer living with their parents. A major study in 2005 pegged the number at 27,500. Since then, provincial and federal data as well as empirical reports suggest the numbers have risen.
That's easily double the size of the cohort forced away from their homes and into residential schools during the late 1940s and 50s — a brutal period of Canada's history that still haunts First Nations families.
Former auditor general Sheila Fraser estimated First Nations children were eight times more likely to be in care than other Canadian kids. She pointed out that in British Columbia, of all the children in care, about half are aboriginal — even though aboriginals are only about eight per cent of the population.
Jordan's Principle
"Jordan" was Jordan River Anderson, a Cree boy from Manitoba who died in hospital at the age of five as he waited for federal and provincial governments to agree how to pay for his care.
Ottawa and provincial governments have vowed not to let such a thing happen again. They say a child in need of services will receive the services immediately, and the governments will work out the payment scheme later.
Human Rights Complaint vs. Canada
the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, along with the Assembly of First Nations and the Canadian Human Rights Commission, are arguing the discrepancy in funding for child welfare services on reserves versus off reserves constitutes discrimination.
Ottawa contends it's not fair to compare the two.
Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the caring society, says she sees case after case of First Nations children in trouble being sent routinely into care because that's where the funding is instead of trying to help families deal with their problems.
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Couple's Baby Apprehended at Birth*********************************************************
Reynolds, S. (2009). Surrey North Delta Leader
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Myths of Justice - Indigenous peoples in Canada
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A 'shocking' half of Canadian First Nations kids live in poverty: study
Perkel, C. (2013). Canadian Press.
TORONTO - Half of Canada's First Nations children are living in poverty, triple the national average, according to a new analysis of census statistics that pegs the cost of easing the problem at $580-million a year.
The analysis of census data from 2006 — the latest year relevant statistics are available — finds one-third of immigrant children and almost one-quarter of visible minority kids live below the low income line.
For other indigenous children — Metis, Inuit, and non-status Indian children — the rate is about 27 per cent.
The overall rate for children who belong to none of those groups is about 12 per cent.
"That half of status First Nation children live in poverty should shock all Canadians," said Patricia Erb, head of the charity Save the Children Canada.
The report points out that poverty is not just a measure of income, noting that status First Nations children often live in communities that are impoverished when it comes to services and infrastructure.
According to the study, indigenous children trail the rest of Canada’s children on practically every measure of well-being: family income, educational attainment, water quality, infant mortality, health, suicide, crowding and homelessness.
The report estimates it would cost $7.5 billion a year from either market income or government transfers to bring all children in the country up to the poverty line.
The report suggests that government jurisdiction plays a critical role in the poverty rates, especially for First Nations children.
It urges an increase in federal child benefits but also says the key is to remove barriers to education, training, employment and entrepreneurship.
Study co-author, Daniel Wilson, said the indigenous population is the fastest growing in Canada.
"If we refuse to address the crushing poverty facing indigenous children, we will ensure the crisis of socioeconomic marginalization and wasted potential will continue," Wilson said.
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Andy Radia, (2013). Yahoo News Canada.
The NDP have sent a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird urging him to approve a year old request by James Anaya — the United Nations' special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples — to come to Canada for an official visit.
In an email exchange with Yahoo! Canada News, in January, Anaya said that he's made at least two requests to the Harper government.
In 2011, in response to the Attawapiskat housing crisis, Anaya called conditions in many First Nations communities "dire."
"I have been in communication with the Government of Canada to express my deep concern," Anaya wrote in a statement.
"The social and economic situation of the Attawapiskat seems to represent the condition of many First Nation communities living on reserves throughout Canada, which is allegedly akin to third world conditions."
Minister Baird's office would not say what was causing the delay in approving Anaya's visit. A spokesperson from Foreign Affairs simply told Yahoo! that his request is "under active consideration."
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Wake up to the aboriginal comeback
John Ralston Saul (2013). The Globe and Mail.
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Doc
Zone: 8th Fire: Aboriginal Peoples, Canada and the Way Forward- Preview
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Wright, M. (2013). Rabble.ca
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