First Nations

When people are asked to describe Canada, usually the first thing that comes to mind are words like “polite” or “kind.” People tend to forget the way certain people have been or are treated based only the colour of their skin. Inequalities have existed in Canada persistently and still exist today. Major examples of inequalities in Canadian history is the treatment of First Nations people and the treatment of Chinese-Canadians. These are only a couple of the millions of examples of discrimination…

the only First Nation woman to ever win the title of Mrs. Universe. First Nation refers to the groups of native peoples in Canada that have no ties to the Inuit/Eskimo or the Metis: a group comprised of those with Native American and European ancestry. (Metis Nation 2007) Callingbull belongs to the Cree Nation in Alberta, Canada. Controversy has been raised not for her title, but for how she is using it. Callingbull has been using her newfound platform to promote advocacy for First Nation…

and religious of groups of First Nations peoples in Canada, and it exhorts the readers to prepare themselves to live harmoniously in a multicultural society in the interdependent world of the twenty-first century. Key Words: “Indians” “Aboriginal,” “Indigenous” and First Nations” are used interchangeably with “Native.” Introduction Canada is the land of origin for Aboriginal peoples,…

Popular histories often marginalize First Nations women when discussing the fur trade. However, these women were quite significant and contributed a great deal to the vast and rapid development of colonial fur trading, playing a unique but important role in fur trade. Also, the fur trade itself changed the culture of First Nations women permanently and altered their role in their society. European fur traders first came to Canada early in the 16th century, and by the 19th century their…

(now refereed to as First Nations) being 57%, the Metis 33% and the Inuit about 10% of the total population of Aboriginal people. (National Aboriginal Health Organization 2003) According to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), an estimated 18% of the Aboriginal population meet the criteria for clinical depression compared to non-aboriginals which are estimated at 8.2% (PHAC 2011) According to standard scales used on Statistics Canada surveys in 2001, 12% of First Nations and 3.1% of…

Bay’s case, they had a monopoly over the furs that were marketed in the early years of the Fur Trade. The First Nations became the main supplier of the animal pelts and as another competitor for the Fur Trade emerged, some First Nation groups became allies (and enemies). During the time NWC emerged, First Nation trappers received better prices for their pelts. The monopoly established First Nation dependency for the Europeans since they were not as experienced in hunting nor knowledgeable about…

an emergency meeting regarding the issue of Aboriginal child welfare in an effort to to find strategies to merge Indigenous children back into Indigenous communities. The goal of the meeting is to unite stakeholders (such as Indigenous leaders- First Nations, Metis and Inuit) and child and family services agencies in order to create cohesive resolutions as a team. - The over-representation of Indigenous children within the child welfare system is due to the intergenerational remnants of the…

While this may be a controversial statement being that Cree Law was established first, in a 21st century society there must a written documentation to refer to, allowing citizens all of types to understand why which laws are put in place and which laws aren’t in a Cree Law. At the same time, values of both systems are similar but just…

As Tom Mulcair, leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada said in a speech to representatives of the Enoch Cree Nation and the Assembly of First Nations: “There is a Canada where clean drinking water is simply taken for granted, it's a fact of life, and families live in the comfort of quality, affordable housing. And there's another Canada, where the basic right to clean drinking water remains out of reach and families live in homes that are overcrowded and unsafe.” (CBC News, 2015)…

Preconception is still very much alive in modern Canada, but how did it start? And why? History of racism dates back as far as Canada’s very first settlement. Feud between the Aboriginal peoples and European colonizers arose in the 17th and 18th centuries. Europeans saw the First Nations as humdrum barbarians, primarily for their race, religion, or ethnicity. First Nations were treated poorly, and therefore lived poorly…