UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Photo: Shutterstock

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.

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Inadequate Housing and Crowded Living Conditions - #3 of 8 Key Issues

Siksika Nation, Alberta - May 2, 2021. Photo: Shutterstock

“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.

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8 Key Issues for Indigenous Peoples in Canada



Eight of the key issues of most significant concern for Indigenous Peoples in Canada are complex and inexorably intertwined - so much so that government, researchers, policymakers and Indigenous leaders seem hamstrung by the enormity. It is hard to isolate one issue as being the worst. The roots of these issues lie in the Indian Act and colonialism.

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8 Things You Need to Know About On-Reserve Housing Issues

Little Grand Rapids, First Nation reserve in Manitoba, Canada. Photo: Shutterstock

Did you know that adequate housing was recognized in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights? Did you know almost one in six Indigenous people lived in a home in need of major repairs in 2021 [1], a rate almost three times higher than for the non-Indigenous population, and more than 17 percent of Indigenous people lived in crowded housing?

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A Snapshot of On-Reserve Clean Water Issues

Photo: Pixabay

In Canada, access to clean drinking water is considered a given. A given, I suspect, that is frequently taken for granted by those who enjoy clean drinking water at the twist of the tap. For thousands of Indigenous Peoples, clean water at the twist of the fixture is an elusive dream. Entire generations in some communities have grown up under various degrees of drinking water advisories (DWA). The Neskantaga First Nation, with a population of about 240, in northern Ontario, has had a DWA in place since 1996. That means one whole generation has grown up under a DWA, and a second generation is now growing up having never turned on the tap for a glass of water.

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Scientific and Indigenous Perspectives

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Indigenous Veterans: Equals on the Battlefields, but Not at Home

Sergeant Tommy Prince (right), 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, with his brother, Private Morris Prince at an investiture at Buckingham Palace London, England, February 12, 1945. Photo: Christopher J. Woods / Canada. Dept. of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada / PA-142289

Indigenous Peoples in Canada have fought on the front line of every major battle Canada has been involved in, and have done so with valour and distinction. It is estimated that 7,000 First Nations People served in the First and Second World Wars, and the Korean War; an unknown number of Métis, Inuit and non-Status Indians also served. However, it was not until 1995, fifty years after the Second World War that Indigenous Peoples were allowed to lay Remembrance Day wreaths at the National War Memorial to remember and honour their dead comrades.

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The First Thanksgiving in North America Was Not Held by Europeans

The descendants of European settlers are brought up believing that it was their ancestors who celebrated the first thanksgiving after surviving the harsh weather, and overcoming the uncertainty of ingesting unknown plants and animals of their new “home”. This is not true. But where did it begin? Here’s a brief look at its origins.

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Reflections on the National Day of Truth & Reconciliation

It is vital that the commitment to Truth and Reconciliation does not fade just a few weeks after the first National Day.

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First Nation Name Dropping - Good Idea or Bad Idea?

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