Introducing
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The largest impact is the extremely poor living standards and the harsh effects on Aboriginal culture that people living on reserves deal with.
Reserves divided up land, people and nations that had existed for hundreds if not thousands of years.
Families, houses, and clans who had hunted and gathered together for generations were joined up with other families.
This disrupted social networks, such as long established kinship systems that determined who could hunt, fish, and gather in particular areas.
Houses are often built poorly with not enough space for large, extensive Aboriginal families. They are built on a small government budget, with a Western family unit in mind.
Over time, Aboriginal people living on reserves have often come to struggle sustaining themselves and their families
The thought of leaving can arise, however leaving the reserve could lead to discrimination in urban communities, relinquishing ones Aboriginal rights, and losing/jeopardizing ones connections to family and territory.
Reserves have essentially prohibited Aboriginal culture from spreading beyond reserve confines.
Reserves can be seen as a form of segregation and a way to keep Aboriginal culture suppressed.
Aboriginal culture struggles to flourish in the tight quarters that are available, which is largely due to reserves and the prohibiting rights and laws put in place by the government through the Indian Act.
· Like in Canada, poverty is also widespread throughout American Indian Reserves in the US
·However, there are a few more noteworthy examples of American Reserves that have not only transcended poverty, but actually prosper, due to strategic planning.
Origins of poverty
·Loss of traditional lifestyle
·Confinement
·Lack of planning, infrastructure, or, economy
·Trauma from residential schools
·Poor healthcare
·Low education rate
·Employment barrier (racism)
Current situation for many Reserves
·“Third world conditions”
·Lack of clean drinking water
·Lack of plumbing
·Inadequate housing (overcrowded homes, mold, etc.)
·Poor healthcare and education systems
·Rampant infectious diseases
·Addiction
·High suicide rate
·Crime
Entrepreneurial solutions:
·US Senator Nighthorse-Campbell: “Indians (First Nations) now see private enterprise as the best way out of poverty.”
·Control of natural resources (i.e. coal, oil, gas, forest management, hydroelectric dams)
·Operation of casinos, factories, etc. on Reserve land (creates jobs, brings in revenue)
·Proven entrepreneurial formulas for Aboriginal communities, based on notable instances: vet every opportunity, disrupt industries, be prepared for opposition, work around limitations
The Crown Land
Special Rights
The signing of the Indian Act
Thanks for listening
Above is a famous photo of Harold Cardinal, the Indian Chief of Alberta in a conference with the Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. He greatly criticized and was responsible for writing the "Red Paper" a response to the the White Paper.
Potlatches like this one in Alert Bay, British Columbia were once banned. The potlaches were traditional feasts that took place on First Nations lands and reserves. However, in attempts of assimilation the Government of Canada banned them from 1885 to 1951.
Example: Pikangikum First Nation, Ontario
·Suicide capital of the world by far (250 per 100 000 people)
·Gas sniffing epidemic
·Lack of running water
·Poor infrastructure
·People on welfare
·Frequent violence
·School destroyed by arson, education system in shambles
The red dots indicate an "Indian Reserve"
Example: Shakopee Mdewakanton Tribe, Minnesota
·Owns luxury casinos and resorts which it built on its land
·Each tribal member receives over $1 million a year from revenue
·99.2% unemployment because of no need for work
·Extravagant lifestyles (luxury cars, multiple homes, expensive hobbies, long vacations, etc.)
·All children attend private schools
·Donated over $243 million and lent $478 million since 1996
·Biggest community concern is becoming too complacent due to wealth
The Northern Ontario reserve of Kaschechewan
Carolyn Bennett
Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs