Imagine a developed nation where almost an entire ethnic group has low income, high unemployment, poor education and health care, and the lowest life expectancy.
This situation occurs all over the world, but in this case, the nation is Canada.
The social problems surrounding the aboriginal population of Canada have long been unsolved by the government, and political unrest and friction continue to intensify. The Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium is a Western-based group that aims to improve the conditions of First Nations populations in Canada through scientific, evidence-based policy making.
“It’s not about blaming anyone,” says Jerry White, professor of sociology at Western and director of the consortium. “It’s about trying to figure out where the pieces go and what’s causing things.”
First Nations populations are in a unique situation, says White, because they are so diverse and spread out across the country, but share similar social issues across the board.
“Aboriginal people are so diverse in language, culture and geography, they are not one people. Why do they share the same social indicators? Something is wrong.”
For some time, the government of Canada has taken overly simple, misguided actions and failed to solve key problems, says White. Over the past decade, the consortium has sought to provide scientific ways of thinking that observe each issue beyond its face value in an effort to find the cause and present concrete solutions.
“They’re not easy problems to solve. Too many people think of it in simplistic ways, but you have to have a real scientific understanding of the situation before you can make those decisions.”
At the moment, the consortium is working on a number of research projects, but White points out education and health as two important issues for the near future – the proof is in the statistics.
“Canada is one of the largest, most developed countries as far as health, and yet we have a whole group of people who have a shorter life span. And the high school graduation rate for First Nations people is the same as it was in 1951. They are over a half century behind the rest of the population.”
White has personally spoken to many aboriginals about education, and believes that in this case – as it is in many cases – the obvious solution is not always the smartest.
“We put all our energy into looking at problems with the curriculum, but it hasn’t been the answer,” he says, pointing to issues like unemployment as a cause of aboriginal underachievement in school. “It may not be the schools; it may be all the social conditions around them.”
Investing in job creation and improving First Nations societies as a whole is the way to improve, says White, who grew up in Regina, Sask., a city with a fairly large aboriginal population. He volunteered with a Métis group in his teenage years, and has always had a keen interest in their sociological issues.
“It’s always been a part of my life, and I’ve always wanted to understand it. It’s been in the back of my mind for 40 years, but it came into the forefront in the late 1990s, when we got a $600,000 research grant, and it’s just grown from there.”
After starting in 1998, the consortium developed a strong relationship with Indian Affairs and the government of Canada, and many of its policy recommendations have been applied. With about 30 academics and scientists from all over Canada and the world, they have published nine books of research on the health, education and well-being of aboriginal peoples.
Recently, their scope has expanded to aboriginal and indigenous peoples on an international level. In March, they will host a conference where they expect over 1,600 delegates from all over the world.
The Western-based consortium has gained international recognition, spawned similar groups in other countries and developed a host of aboriginal research and policy. But if recent history is any indication, says White, it is important that aboriginal issues are resolved as soon as possible.
“If you look over the history of the past 10 years, we’ve had Burnt Church, issues in Montreal, blockades of the Trans-Canada Highway, blockades of CN Rail, and national days of protest,” he says.
These are really a manifestation of the social issues and the social science that we have to begin to understand. We see it as very important research we’re doing, both scientifically and socially for Canada.”
The writer is a graduate student in Journalism and an intern at Western News.
Conference
What: Aboriginal Policy Research Conference
Background: The University of Western Ontario is playing a leadership role with the National Association of Friendship Centres and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada in bringing together researchers, students, policy makers, Aboriginal leaders and others in a major conference to explore new research. Western sociologist Jerry White is a key organizer of the gathering. This is the third such conference – the last one in 2006 included 1,100 delegates from Canada and internationally.
Why: To help make Aboriginal leaders and policy makers aware of the most recent research for creating better public policy and helping Aboriginal peoples across Canada.
When: March 9-12
www.aprc-crmpa.ca/welcome.htm