Lesson 10 - Indigenous in the City

Term

Definition

Additions to Reserves Policy Governs additions to already existing reserves for the purposes of fulfilling already existing treaty/land agreement obligations, to accomodate growth or protect important sites, or fulfil new settlement obligations. Some First Nations may choose to situate these additions in or near urban centres to provide additional economic opportunities to their members. (Reference)
Friendship centres First established in 1951, Friendship Centres work to address the needs of urban and recently urbanized First Nations, Métis, and Inuit. Friendship Centres act as hubs of Indigenous culture and provide information on employment and housing opportunities, spaces for ceremony and organize community-building activities. Currently there are 118 centres across Canada
Inuvialuit Settlement Region Inuvialuit territory covering approximately 435,000 square kilometres in the northwestern Northwest Territories and northern Yukon whose boundaries were established in the Inuvialuit Final Agreement (1984). The Inuvialuit own approximately 96,000 kilometres of this land, and have 12,980 kilometres of subsurface rights. (Reference)
Muktuk The edible skin and blubber of a whale, traditionally eaten raw. (Reference)
Policy ethos Refers to the general approach taken when developing public policies; the framework that guides the policy in order to fulfil its goals or aspirations. (Reference)
"Status blindness" Refers to services and programs offered in urban centers being available to all Aboriginal people, no matter if they are status, non-status, Métis, Inuit, etc.
Stonechild Inquiry The Stonechild Inquiry (2004) was convened to investigate the 1990 death of Neil Stonechild and "Starlight Tours," the practice of police transporting Indigenous men to the outskirts of a city in the middle of the winter, take their clothing, and leave them to walk home. The Starlight Tours are one example of the police hostility and brutality faced by Indigenous people. (Reference)
Treaty Land Entitlements A land claims process established to fulfill outstanding treaty obligations on the part of the federal government. This process recognizes that some First Nations did not receive all of the land that they were promised while they signed Treaty with Canada. Settlement takes the form of land grants or case settlements that are used to purchase land. (Reference)
Urban community of interest model An urban self-government model proposed by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (1996) that would establish city-wide, voluntary governing associations for Indigenous peoples to exercise control and self-government in various municipal sectors and institutions. These associations could also enter into agreements and negotiations with other Aboriginal and Canadian governments. (Reference)