Contemporary Aboriginal Issues Assignment

Topic: 9 Imagine you are a future leader. What responsibilities, if any, do you think Aboriginal
youth have to their people? What issues do you think are most problematic for urban Aboriginal
populations? What are the solutions to these problems? Do you think the trend of increasing
urbanization will continue into the future, or will more people be drawn back to rural
communities. Why?

In keeping with the theme of imagining I am a leader, I have decided to write a short speech
speaking on the topics stated above.

“I have always been steadfast in my belief that our communities of Native American, Metis, and
Inuit people deserve an answer for decades, centuries of suffering dealt by the government, and
former governments, of Canada. The way that I grew up, I learned a lot about the culture,
spiritual beliefs, customs and history of different bands and communities across Canada, of
course it was in school, so at best a rudimentary, elementary understanding of these deeply
important people and what they believe. I always conceded the point to teachers in discussion
that this was important to learn in order to have a full understanding of Canada’s history. We all
have a responsibility to take care of the relics of a Canada lost to time and war and devastation.
The responsibility that the communities themselves have is to keep practicing their customs,
keeping speaking your languages, keep teaching your knowledge, keep it alive. The worst
problems that are facing the communities and First Nations reserves is land for profit corporate
investment orportunities, systemic racism prevalent in the court, police, employment, and
federal service institutions, and a suicide rates among young teens and adults that are multiple
times higher than the average.

Communities are being swindled by gas and oil, logging, or construction companies who drill
into or clear sacred ground without consent or permission in order to turn a profit in a tough
economy. These economic gains are short term and most of the time the money is not funneled
back into the community directly. First Nations people represent 17% of all institutional
admissions, yet make up only 2.7% of Canada's population. The suicide rate among Native
American Youths (15-19) is 5-6 times more prevalent than non-Aboriginal youths. Also among
adults it is generally 3 times more prevalent. However, many solutions have been put forward.
Using the funds gained from economic development should go into basic necessities and
education, on top of government grants towards the community. Scholarships have continued to
be a withstanding and popular idea. An administrative overhaul would be the only solution to
systemic racism faced in court and police interactions, but not as radical of an idea as once
thought. With time, a gradual shift into newer generations may see a loosening of racial
disparities and an evening out in arrest averages, but generations can be a long time. The
suicide rates may be helped by increased social work and education around the subjects of
depression and therapy, as well as social safety nets such as homeless shelters and board
houses that provide a private space for those who cant afford or recently lost their own spaces.
There is also no stopping the modernization of the world and the movement from rural to urban.
The culture is of course strong enough to survive, but to make sure the reserves of Canada
should continue to be preserved as semi-protected land.

The effect of urbanization also concentrates the amount of Native American people into a
specific area, 44% of all Native American citizens in Canada live in 5 Cities: Vancouver,
Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary, and Toronto. This may have the effect of defeating some sense
of loneliness if you are aware of safety nets run by other Native American people who may
know better what you’re going through and could offer better guidance. I believe urbanization is
good ultimately for the communities of Native American people as it brings communities closer
together, and no matter how small populations on reserves get people should always be able to
come back. It may help with the trend of suicides growing in the past years within the FN
communities, and the exposure of two different societies shows the other side how normal and
unradical different cultures can be.”