Fall 2002 Survey of First Nations People Living On-Reserve

By Brian Smith

I came across this piece of research done, in the Fall of 2002, by the Indian and Northern Affairs Department of the Canadian Federal Government. So, I thought I would share it just for your information.

Section 5.1 BELONGING
First Nations respondents were asked to rate the strength of their sense of belonging to a variety of groups. By far, the strongest sense of belonging is to one's family - 87 per cent rated their sense of belonging to their family as strong. This is followed by attachment to one's First Nation (69 per cent) and to Canada (56 per cent). The weakest affiliation is to an individual's province, with 46 per cent rating this sense of belonging as strong.

The Chart further provides a comparison of the study results with those of the general public. Strongest sense of belonging for both First Nations people and for the general public is to family. Canadians in the broader public, however, tend to feel a stronger sense of belonging to Canada and their province, compared to First Nations people. On the other hand, First Nations people feel a stronger attachment to their First Nation than Canadians do to their ethnic group or race.

More analysis of these findings below...
* Ratings of belonging to family and to one's First Nation are quite consistent across sub-groups. Those with lower levels of education and literacy and who are unemployed rate their sense of belonging to family somewhat lower than other First Nations people. Sense of belonging to one's First Nation is higher among Quebeckers.
* Those with lower levels of education and literacy, whose mother tongue is an Aboriginal language, with children attending school on-reserve have a stronger sense of belonging to Canada than other First Nations people. Conversely, those with higher income level and Internet access provided a weaker rating. Across regions, residents of Ontario and Quebec provided weaker ratings of attachment to Canada, while those from Saskatchewan and Manitoba provided strongest ratings.
* Proportionately, more individuals with a lower socio-economic status rated their level of attachment to their province strongly, compared with the rating of attachment provided by those with middle to upper SES levels. Youth, those with average literacy skills, parents whose children attend school on-reserve and residents who live in smaller, less affluent communities also have a stronger sense of belonging to their province. Fewer residents of Ontario and Quebec rated their sense of belonging to their province as strongly as those in other regions.