Building better relationships between Aboriginal women and the rest of the population, including non-Aboriginal women, requires knowledge and understanding. This was a six-fold increase in the non-Aboriginal female population, which increased by 4.9%.
A holistic approach to the world
At the heart of the holistic vision is the idea that balance is the ideal to be achieved and that each person is directed towards this goal. The First Nations of Quebec are divided into two language families (Algonquin and Iroquoian), while the Inuit are a separate ethnic group.
At the heart of diversity
Some Aboriginal languages, such as Innu, Atikamekw, Cree and Inuktitut, are in general use, while others are endangered or nearly extinct14.
The band council
A few facts
Out of 45 chiefs and grand chiefs recognized by the Assembly of First Nations of Québec and Labrador, only 7 are women (5 chiefs and 2 grand chiefs), representing approximately 16%19 of the total. It features the words of elected Aboriginal women met in the course of a unique collaboration between the Conseil du statut de la femme and the working group of elected women of the Assembly of First Nations of Québec and Labrador (http:// bit .ly/2bSnoht).
Aboriginal filiation
I sincerely hope that more and more young Aboriginal people will go into law and also into university. I believe we have an obligation to give back to our community and I want to encourage young Aboriginal people to carry on this tradition of their parents and ancestors, as community has always been central to Aboriginal people.
Teaching Aboriginal history
In 2006, the dropout rate for aboriginals from secondary schools in Québec was 43%, or 28 percentage points higher than for non-aboriginal students26. This is confirmed by the 2012 Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS): when asked why they left school, female dropouts usually cited pregnancy or the need to care for their children, while male dropouts cited a desire to work, money problems, school problems and lack of interest28. In 2011, across Canada, just over half (51%) of Aboriginal women aged 25 to 64 had completed postsecondary studies, compared to nearly two-thirds (65%) of non-Aboriginal women29.
But these figures are much lower than those for non-Aboriginal women and men (28% and 25% respectively)30. Aboriginal education in Canada is characterized by the fraught legacy of the Indian residential school system.
An Aboriginal CÉGEP in Québec
In 1892, the federal government introduced an assimilation policy, a key ingredient of which was the creation, together with the Catholic Church, of a network of residential schools across the country. Most schools ceased operations in the 1970s, but the last closed only in 1996. Although there are several social factors behind the over-representation of Aboriginal people in the justice system, studies have shown that this is partly due to the effects of the residential school regime32.
Over the course of six years, the Commission collected testimonies of abuse suffered by former pupils of Aboriginal schools. In June 2015, the Commission submitted its final report, in which it presented 94 recommendations and concrete measures to remedy the damage caused by residential schools and to further the process of reconciliation33.
Wapikoni Mobile
Concepts of family and its components can vary considerably from one Aboriginal country to another. Because extended family support systems are common, statistics on single-parent families can be misleading when it comes to the actual composition of a family unit and the interactions between children and adults within it36.
In 2011, 3% of Aboriginal children under 15 lived with their grandparents (without their parents) while 1% were with another family member40. In 2006 in Québec, more than a quarter (27.9%) of aboriginal families had three or more children, while this was true for only 14.4% of non-aboriginal families43. In aboriginal couples with children were in a common relationship, compared to 34.3% for the comparable population in all of Quebec.
Due to the geographic isolation of Aboriginal communities, there is limited access in Québec and Canada to maternal care adapted to Aboriginal cultures and families. In addition, several factors have inhibited the expansion of Aboriginal midwifery, including tighter regulations on midwifery practice and the difficulty in recruiting and retaining midwives50.
Adoption
Consultation in Aboriginal communities shows that state adoption, as practiced by non-Aboriginal people, conflicts with Aboriginal peoples' concept of family ties. This was the conclusion of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in a report published in 2014 following visits to Aboriginal communities across the country55.
In 2006, across Canada, 36% of Aboriginal women living off-reserve were below the low-income threshold, more than double that of non-Aboriginal women (17%)59. On the other hand, Aboriginal women who persevere in their education have a higher employment rate. In 2011, 82% of Aboriginal women aged 25 to 64 who had a certificate, diploma or university degree were employed, compared to 79.5% of non-Aboriginal Canadian women60.
In addition, 73% of Aboriginal women who completed post-secondary school were employed, compared to 78% of non-Aboriginal women61. The aim of this training and work experience project is to improve the employment potential and earning capacity of Aboriginal women living off-reserve66.
Employment and training program for off-reserve Aboriginal women
As part of the federal government's Aboriginal Human Resources Development Strategy, Native Women of Québec, in collaboration with the Native Women's Association of Canada, have established an employment and training assistance program for off-reserve Aboriginal women.
A tenacious myth
The fact that the situation has been ignored for so long says a lot about the deep-seated prejudices that Aboriginal women face.
In the spring of 2014, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed that since 1980 across Canada there had been 1017 cases of murdered Aboriginal women and a further 164 cases of missing Aboriginal women70. Although only 4.3% of the female population, Aboriginal women make up 16% of women murdered in Canada between 1980 and 2012. In 2012, across Canada, over a quarter (25.8%) of First Nations women said , who lived off-reserve, that they had suicidal thoughts compared to 13.8% of non-Aboriginal women73.
Collaboration with Montréal police (SPVM)
Between 2001 and 2011, at least 8% of all murdered women aged 15 and older were Aboriginal, double their representation in the Canadian population (4%)72. After years of demands by Aboriginal women, on 8 December 2015 the federal government announced a national inquiry75 into the tragedy of missing and murdered Aboriginal girls and women. In 2015, Aboriginal women made up 36% of the female population in Canadian prisons76, despite being only 4% of Canada's female population77.
Note, however, that in Québec the percentage of Aboriginal people in prison (both sexes combined) is lower (13%) than in the prairies, where it is 49%78.
Violence prevention campaign
Aboriginal women are three times more likely to experience domestic violence than non-Aboriginal women81. In 2011, Aboriginal women accounted for at least 11% of intimate partner homicide victims and 10%. Aboriginal women who were victims of domestic violence were more likely than non-Aboriginal women to report fearing for their lives (52% vs. 31%)83.
A study of sexual abuse in Québec First Nations conducted in 2005 found that nearly half of Aboriginal people (48.1%) knew victims who had been sexually abused, while 42% knew victims who had been abused in their predator's home. 89.1% of Aboriginal respondents in a study on sexual abuse in First Nations communities felt that when victims do not report abuse it is because they refuse to go through the justice system.
The sources of violence
Network of shelters for Aboriginal women
National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women in Québec experience different realities and face very different challenges, not only in terms of history and origin, but also identity. The challenges are numerous, especially in terms of education, employment, health, housing and combating violence.
With a nuanced, accessible and revealing look at the situation of First Nations and Inuit in Québec, let's hope that the non-Aboriginal majority will be better informed and have a better understanding of the changes needed. To lay the foundation for true coexistence, we must first understand and accept the mistakes of the past and, above all, not repeat them. As with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which sought to understand the dispiriting legacy of Aboriginal residential schools, the launch of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women and Girls is an important step towards establishing a relationship of trust between Aboriginal peoples and non-Aboriginal people.
In order to move forward, it is essential to understand the extent of the harm done to First Nations women and men. Hence the need to recognize the marginalization of Aboriginal peoples and the repercussions of the assimilation policies imposed since European colonization.
Québec Native Women / Femmes autochtones du Québec
Conseil du statut de la femme
1 Voir le Protocole de solidarité entre les femmes des Premières Nations du Québec et la Fédération des femmes du Québec conclu en 2004 (FÉDÉRATION DES FEMMES DU QUÉBEC (Page consultée en juin Protocole de solidarité), dans Fédération des femmes du Québec, [en ligne], [ en ligne], [en ligne], http://bit.ly/1q4tiPc) 2 COMMISSION DE LA SANTÉ ET DES SERVICES SOCIAUX DES PREMIÈRES NATIONS DU QUÉBEC ET DU LABRADOR (Page consultée le 19 juillet 2016) Mission du rapporteur spécial de l'ONU au Canada : un autre cas flagrant d'injustice contre les Premières Nations, [en ligne], http://bit.ly/1YdV5I7.
Portrait statistique de l'égalité entre les sexes : tout le Québec, [en ligne], Québec, Conseil de la condition de la femme, 121 pages., http://bit.ly/2bKD6rx (page consultée le 20 juillet 2016). Variation de la fécondité au Canada selon les caractéristiques du recensement : Utilisation de la méthode du dénombrement des logements, [en ligne], Statistique Canada, 19 pages, http://bit.ly/2bSS16j (page consultée le 16 juin 2016).
Améliorer les conditions de logement des peuples autochtones : fiche d'information, [en ligne], http://bit.ly/2bk9npR. La Loi sur les Indiens nuit à l'entrepreneuriat autochtone, [en ligne], http://bit.ly/2cEy6FH. Mesurer la violence à l'égard des femmes : tendances statistiques – principaux résultats, [en ligne], http://bit.ly/2bNbfab.
Femmes autochtones disparues et assassinées : examen des opérations nationales, [en ligne], http://bit.ly/2bJxKOT. Enquête nationale sur les femmes et les filles autochtones disparues et assassinées, [en ligne], http://bit.ly/231qYYz.
