|
Did you know that Save the Children runs programs here in Canada as well as around the world? Our domestic work focuses on working with indigenous children and their caregivers.
Canada was founded by three civilizations. In truth, the land was founded by many First Nations and Inuit people and later colonized by the English and French. While the English and French newcomers prospered, this union was not beneficial for the peoples who greeted the very first immigrants. Europeans who came to Canada pushed indigenous peoples to ever smaller territories and over time developed practices like the residential school system with the goal to forcibly assimilate them.
Indigenous peoples are among the nation’s most marginalized groups. Colonialism, racism, and residential schools have led to a loss of cultural identity and a range of devastating social and economic challenges.
The social cost of history is the reality faced by indigenous children today. They face challenges due to the impacts of poverty and issues such as neglect, addiction and violence that are affecting their families and communities. The statistics, however, tell only part of the story.
Indigenous children and youth today are the one of the fastest growing populations in Canada. They want and deserve a future where they can reclaim their identity, where their resilience is recognized and supported, and their culture celebrated. They want the opportunity to develop to their full potential as valued and engaged citizens within their nations and Canada.
|
|
KEY FACTS
- Nearly 1.8 million people identify as members of an indigenous group(s).
- Currently, there are 615 First Nation communities.
- The indigenous population in Canada is the fastest-growing.
- 1 in 4 First Nations children lives in poverty, compared to the national rate of 1 in 10.
- The First Nations infant mortality rate is 1.5 times higher than the national rate.
- First Nations infants are four times more likely to die of injury.
- The suicide rate in First Nations communities is three to seven times greater than the national rate.
|