Racial discrimination and health disparities among urban Indigenous peoples in Canada

¶ … Inuit, Metis and the First Nations which are three distinct groups constitutionally recognized comprises the Aboriginal population of Canada. Every one of them has their peculiar needs and characteristics, for instance the First Nations has over 50 individual groupings, the Inuit have a variety of different dialects while the Metis speak several languages although they have their specific language known as Michif. Instead of having their specific circumstances looked at in the context of Pan- Aboriginal perspective that lays emphasis on their present health needs and historical differences, the Aborigines of Canada expect their linguistic and cultural diversity to be affirmed and recognized by all. The reference "Aborigines" has derogatory connotations from the colonial legacy and is therefore frowned upon. They prefer the terms Inuit and Metis, the First Nations or Indigenous to refer to each of the distinctive groups. In this report the terms are interchangeably applied.

Aboriginal Populations in Urban Centers

Amongst the Inuit and Metis or the First Nations in urban centers, presently many of the FNIM populations dwelling in urban locations are a rapidly growing chunk of the indigenous people. Statistical figures from Canada indicate that the percentage of indigenous populations dwelling in urban areas grew in 1996 at 47% to 49% in 2001 and by 2006 had frog-leapt to 54%. A recently conducted key research of the urban life of the Aborigines living in Canada indicates that the First Nations or Indians without recognized status and the Metis are more urbanized, accounting for 74% and 66% of all those who dwell in urban areas. Among the First Nations or Indians with recognized status, in other words those registered, about 38% are town dwellers while only less than 30% of the Inuit do the same. An independent source suggests that almost 11,000 Inuit dwell outside Nunangat - a traditional territory which is mainly in Edmonton, Yellowknife, Montreal and Ottawa-Gatineau. It is thought that the total number of Inuit living in Toronto is only 1.4% out of all the indigenous people found here (First nation Inuit and Metis report, 2012).

Poverty and social impoverishment

One of the most isolated and impoverished communities of the First Nations are Pikangikum. Most residents have no plumbing or running water and they live in substandard and overcrowded quarters. Poverty is rampant, they lack water and food security, and they do not have gainful employment. Poor education even by provincial standards and a glaring lack of infrastructure in the community are peculiarly positioned challenges against a background of social exclusion; racial discrimination and colonialism are a consequence the historical injustices the peoples of the First Nations have had to endure. To worsen matters, there are no residential educational institutions. All these challenges creates a disturbed youthful generation caught between a state of cultural and social disorientation and the First Nations' traditional and cultural origins as opposed to the norms of the contemporary society whose needs and challenges they are ill equipped to engage with and navigate around. The report of the North/South Partnership for Children captures the environmental challenges facing the people of the First Nations. This report indicated that the community experienced great economic, infrastructural, health social, and governance and community capacity deficits. These are major deficiencies which compound up on each other, are linked and are not amenable to any quick fix solutions (Death Review of the Youth Suicides at the Pikangikum First Nation, 2006-2008, n.d).

The Police and the experiences of the youth

Although the youth view police officers as role models, and even though the officers themselves are aware of the problems the youth are facing, nothing much is being done to help them. However, the first urban police in Canada to establish a distinct and separate unit to address the challenging needs of the Aboriginal youths is the Metropolitan Toronto Police. However, cultural and historical factors still prevent the Aborigines from taking advantage of the full range of the police services at their disposal (Aboriginal peacekeeping unit, n.d).

Suicides and issues of identity

Several young people from the NishnawbeAski community are caught in cultural cross-roads of an identity crisis. They don't seem to fit anywhere and they suffer from a lack of a sense of belonging. The media exposes them to lavish and trendy lifestyles while they are in school, or while they temporarily travel to urban centers, but when they think of the extreme poverty and dereliction in which their families live, they are torn apart by the object reality they see. Although they are referred to as Indians, they know pretty well that they are not, and although they know that the land and its resources should provide them with a lifeline, they Is absolutely nothing in the media or the mainstream education system to help them make this much needed connection. Every day, they are confronted with the question as to why they exist and who they truly are. When the emotional, physical and sexual abuses which are intergenerational as a consequence of identity loss and residential education are thrown into the mix, then it should not come as a surprise that some young indigenous people prefer the option of committing suicide than endure such extreme instances of humiliation. Suicide therefore comes as a sweet and acceptable alternative in the absence of any hope of relief from this vicious circle of sexual and physical abuse, racial and social discrimination and the never ending chain of poverty (Death Review of the Youth Suicides at the Pikangikum First Nation, 2006-2008, n.d).

Economic indices of social well-being

The social and economic conditions under which people live are the social determinants of health. The present Aborigine conceptions of social determinants of health status encompasses but are not limited to: physical environment, income levels and employment, health status, food security and education. Aspects such as cultural continuity, environmental stewardship, resources and capacities, education system, community infrastructure and health care system are some of the intermediate determinants of health. Self-determination, social exclusion, racism and colonialism are distal determinants of health (Death Review of the Youth Suicides at the Pikangikum First Nation, 2006-2008, n.d).

Education as a key social determinant of health

Such basic and rudimentary things like hook-up to a safe and viable sewerage system, availability of safe drinking water in every home, and access to a dependable power grid would form readily practical and tangible goals. The issues this would address include lack of pit latrines and the use of pit privies in place of toilets, lack of water in homes and use of unreliable diesel generators to supply power. Education is, however, the most important of all the social determinants of health. There is no bigger barrier that poses obstacles to social well-being, general health, mental health and prevention of suicide rates among the Pinkangikum than the poor education system they have. Most of the children sniff solvents and do not go to school, while the few, who do so, do not get the quality of education that can adequately prepare them for the grim challenges that exist outside their community. Nearly all of them fail to get places in post-secondary institutions of learning (Death Review of the Youth Suicides at the Pikangikum First Nation, 2006-2008, n.d).

Healthcare services

The members of the First Nations who reside in reserves access their health service needs from many different providers both from the federal and the provincial governments in several areas of jurisdiction, for instance, nursing stations within the Pinkangikum community known as AMDOCS from time to time gives health providers and general physicians although no attempt at continuity is ever made, and when a victim is transferred from the community, normally such a person is attended to by a totally different health provider, for instance in a health institution in Sioux Lookout. In this sense, there is no proper case management system i.e. lack of a readily reproducible electronic file between the different health providers that can immediately be accessed to determine the status of the patient in this circle of care (Death Review of the Youth Suicides at the Pikangikum First Nation, 2006-2008, n.d).

For children in the prenatal state of 3.8 years, the city of Toronto has largely formulated a strategic plan to align with the comprehensive plan of action in the province so that the results for such children can be improved. Since health and education are closely tied to economic prosperity, the youth should be given promise and hope for a better future. Significant capacity building within the community, sustainable development and provision of ample employment opportunities for the youth should be key pillars for a better future. This will work alongside recommended health/psychological remedies to help reduce suicide rate among the youth (First nation Inuit and Metis report, 2012).

Conclusion

For the Aborigines to be given a chance to live a better and prosperous life in the future, the provincial government in Toronto should strive to adequately educate a huge mass of the youth and children so that they can confidently face the world outside their traditional aboriginal setting. With the provision of quality education, there will be a corresponding increase in income level and better health services. Education will be key to community capacity building to enable the indigenous populations to withstand the exigencies of life, and contribute to their overall prosperity. If and when this happens, then the challenges they face such as extreme state of deprivation, inadequate and crowded living quarters, lack of fresh and clean water, poor sanitation and the ever increasing suicidal tendencies amongst the youth will be abated and ameliorated. Lastly, due to the Aborigine's society's diverse cultural orientations and differing views regarding role and importance of early childhood education, community and family, attempt should be made to integrate such beliefs into a contemporary social set up.