Poverty is a mainstay concern among the First Nations’ women of Canada. In this context, First Nations refers to the indigenous people and will be used synonymously to mean the Aboriginal population of Canada. Past researches on the issue found that the rates of poverty of the Aboriginal women in the country are about double that of non-Aboriginal women (National Collaboration Center for Aboriginal Health, 2010). In the light of this observation, this paper seeks to explore further the issue of impoverished First Nations’ women in Canada. This objective will be achieved through an in-depth evaluation of Canadian statistics on poverty and a review of related literature with respect to the Canadian female population. Indeed there is a clear-cut gap between the poverty levels of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women in Canada that may be evidenced by or consequential to various factors.
There are multiple arguments in support of the prevalence of impoverished Aboriginal women in Canada. The paper will examine major issues in an attempt to establish the nature of this concern from both prevalence and causative perspectives. A major concern to this respect is the perennial structural inequities that were instituted by colonialism among the Canadian population (Barsh, N.d, p. 1). Other significant issues include the government’s role, the role of the Aboriginal culture as well as the legal perspective. O’Donnell and Wallace (2012) found that the significant gap that exists between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women in the country with regard to poverty life-expectancy is evidenced by poor social welfare measures such as life expectancy. They noted that earlier research on the matter had found a disturbing gap in comparisons. In another research, Bowen et al (2009) found that Canadian Aboriginal women have high social risk for living in poverty than the non-Aboriginal female population. First Nations women in Canada are clearly impoverished as evidenced by the prevalence of higher poverty rates among this population as opposed to the non-Aboriginal counterparts. Further, the observation is a consequence of multiple factors.
References
Barsh, R. L. (N.d) Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples: Social Integration or Disintegration? Retrieved 21 May 2013 from http://www2.brandonu.ca/library/CJNS/14.1/barsh.pdf
Bowen, A., Stewart, N., Baetz, M. & Muhajarine, N. (2009) Antenatal Depression in Socially High-Risk Women in Canada. Journal of Epidemiol Community Health, 63 (5): 414-416. Retrieved 11 May 2013 from http://jech.bmj.com/content/63/5/414.full
National Collaboration Center for Aboriginal Health. (2010). Social Determinants of Health: Poverty as a Social Determinant of First Nations, INUIT, and Metis Health. Retrieved 13 May 2013 from http://www.nccah-ccnsa.ca/docs/fact%20sheets/social%20determinates/NCCAH_fs_poverty_EN.pdf
O’Donnell, V. & Wallace, S. (2012) First Nations, Metis and Inuit Women. Retrieved 10 May 2013 from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-503-x/2010001/article/11442-eng.htm
