Canadian Indigenous Demographics
- Young and growing population
- 44.2% live on reserve
- 51.8% live in metropolitan areas
- 4.3% of the total population of Canada
Aboriginal Indigenous Child
ages 0-4
- 60% live with two parents
- 34% live with one parent
- 10.5% one parent
- 1.8% live with grandparent(s)
- 3% foster care
Families before Confederation
- Complex political, social, economic and family structures based on kinship networks
- Many lived communally, shared resources and responsibilities
- Gender roles much more egalitarian
- Many matrilineal
Fur Trade
- Indigenous gamily and gender systems respected
- European traders married into Indigenous communities
- Collapse of fur trade, rise of agriculture
Colonization
- Westward expansion and agriculture development
* Treaties a way to acquire land for the influx of settlers
Treaty
An agreement negotiated between nation states
Indian Act of 1876
- Interfered with political, economic and family life
* Formalization of dependency on the State
Colonization and Families
Colonization sought to dismantle Indigenous gender and familial systems
- Indian Act 1876
- Residential schools
- Child welfare system
Indian Act and Families
- Patrilineal lines legally enforced
* Indigenous women lose Indian status if married to non-Indigenous men
Residential Schools
*Educational system created by Canadian government, administered by Churches
2 Primary Objectives of Residential Schools
- Remove and isolate children from their families and communities
- Assimilate them into the Euro-Canadian Christian culture
Child Welfare System
“Sixties Scoop”
- Large scale removal of Indigenous babies and children from their families without proper investigation
- Based on assumptions about “race” and character by provincial agencies
- 20,000 children
Family Trends Today (Indigenous)
Resiliency and resistance
- Intergenerational and extended family nurturing
- Indigenous understandings of family persist despite colonial structures
- Efforts to redress injustices
Immigration Patterns
- Record number of immigrants early 1900s
- Beginning of 20th century, most immigrants from US or UK
- WW1 halt immigration
- 1920s –> immigrants from Europe
- 1970s onward –> increasing immigration from non-European countries
State Policies, Immigration and Family Life
Historically, immigration policies designed to help populate the country and contribute to labour force
refugees in Canada
- 20,000-25,000 per year
* Canada needs refugees due to aging population
Ethno-cultural Family Trends and Issues
Gender and family relates roles vary by ethnic group
- Values
- Expectations
- Immigration history
- Language
- Processes of acculturation
Acculturation
Transfer/transmission of values and customs from one cultural group to another, some original customs/traditions retained
Assimilation
Process of cultural absorption of a minority group into the main society, loss of original characteristics
First Generation Immigrants
People born outside Canada who immigrate to Canada
Second Generation Immigrants
Children born in Canada to people who immigrated Canada
Second Generation Immigrants
Children born in Canada to people who immigrated Canada
Federal Employment Equity Act
persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour
* Believed to be artificial, unnecessary and counterproductive
Generational Conflict
Older generation takes longer to assimilate, can create clashing norms and values within families
