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Indigenous people are the fastest-growing and youngest segment of the Canadian population. And have been for decades. Based on the 2020 Canada Census there are now 1.8 million Indigenous people in Canada.

There is a direct link between education and employment. Historically, Indigenous peoples have experienced higher unemployment rates than other Canadians. Why? Because historically, they have been offered inferior education, beginning with the cataclysmic residential school system, followed by decades of underfunding for on-reserve schools. Poor education over generations begets chronic unemployment over generations.

"Indigenous Canadians earn about 70 cents for every dollar made by non-Indigenous Canadians, according to Canada's income data. This is a very frequent occurrence in metropolitan areas, where Indigenous employees earn 34% less than non-Indigenous workers doing the same job. The situation is much worse in remote reservations* where non-Indigenous individuals earn up to 88 percent more than Indigenous people." [1]

Indigenous Peoples believe they have held title to their traditional lands or territories from the moment their Creators placed them on that land (time immemorial) and bestowed them with the responsibility to care for it... forever. But then European explorers arrived, planted flags, and laid claim to all they saw. How was that possible?

The Doctrine of Discovery was used by European monarchies, beginning in the mid-fifteenth century, as a means of legitimizing the colonization of lands outside of Europe. It was issued in 1493, the year after Christopher Columbus arrived on the shores of what is now known as North America. The Doctrine of Discovery continues to impact Indigenous Peoples throughout the world.

We first met Trevor, Supervisor of Donations Processing for Covenant House Vancouver, when he attended one of our Training Weeks. Trevor took the time to tell us about Covenant House, what they stood for, their goals and what he personally was doing to support reconciliation. Trevor left a lasting impression on our team and was a tireless advocate for truth and reconciliation and for supporting Indigenous initiatives.

On June 21, 2021, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) received Royal Assent and immediately came into force. In doing so, Canada took a substantive step towards ensuring federal laws reflect the standards set out in DRIPA. There are many questions about DRIPA, so we answer the most common ones in this article.

“Indigenous People face the worst housing outcomes in the country.” Hon. Marc Miller, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations [1]

To understand the complexities of the housing situation, some basic information on the reserve system, created in 1876, is required. The two articles linked below provide an overview of on-reserve housing.

Looking back

Back in 2014, when we published this blog post, Canada was wrestling with the notion of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) and the duty to consult with no veto. When the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (the Declaration), drafted in 2007, introduced the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent for Indigenous Peoples. FPIC, one of the fundamental aspects of the Declaration, is included in six Articles. While all six Articles are significant, Article 32.1 is of particular interest to the federal government and the extractive resource sector in Canada:

This is the second part of our series on best outreach practices for the recruitment of Indigenous Peoples. In the first part, Community Engagement for Indigenous Recruitment, we shared a few tips and suggestions on some activities an organization should consider before initial contact with the community/ies. Due diligence activities such as researching the history, culture, issues, challenges and protocols of the community/ies you want to engage for recruitment will prepare you well and help you avoid embarrassing engagement mistakes. By taking the time to do this, you will be aware of cultural protocol for meetings, and you will be aware that the protocol for one community may be different from that of another. Recognize that relationships with Indigenous communities take time to build, and efforts must be made to maintain them.

Education is considered a human right in Canada. Yet, while Canada has one of the world's highest levels of educational attainment, the graduation rate for Indigenous students remains far lower than that of non-Indigenous students. How is that possible? The answer lies in the history of Canada.