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Background Aboriginal peoples experience a disproportionate burden of disease, compared with other Canadians. However, relatively little information is available about mortality among Métis and non-Status Indians. Methods This study calculates potential years of life lost before age 75 (PYLL) for people aged 25 to 74 by all-cause and cause-specific mortality, and examines the effect of socio-economic factors on premature mortality. Age-specific and age-standardized PYLL rates were calculated for 11,600 Métis, 5,400 non-Status Indians, and 2,475,700 non-Aboriginal adults based on the number of person-years at risk up to age 75. Results Métis and non-Status Indian adults had about twice the risk of dying before age 75, compared with non-Aboriginal adults. While the largest percentage of PYLL was due to non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, relative and absolute inequalities were greatest for injuries. Socioeconomic indicators such as income, education and employment explained a large share of the disparities in premature mortality. Interpretation The results highlight the losses of potential years of life due to chronic diseases, as well as the possible importance of injury prevention programs for Métis and non-Status Indians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Compared with other Canadians, First Nations peoples experience a disproportionate burden of illness and disease. Potential years of life lost (PYLL) before age 75 highlights the impact of youthful or early deaths. Data and methods The 1991 to 2001 Canadian census mortality follow-up study tracked a 15% sample of adults aged 25 or older over more than a decade. This study examined mortality among people aged 25 to 74--55,600 Status Indians (39,200 on reserve and 16,500 off reserve) and 2,475,700 non-Aboriginal adults--all of whom were enumerated by the 1991 census long-form questionnaire. Age-standardized PYLL rates were calculated, based on the number of person-years at risk before age 75. Results Status Indian adults had 2.5 times the risk of dying before age 75, compared with non-Aboriginal adults. Results did not differ greatly by residence on or off reserve. Relative and absolute inequalities were greatest for unintentional and intentional injuries. Socio-economic factors such as income, education, housing and employment explained a substantial share of the disparities in premature death. Interpretation Status Indian adults had higher rates of premature mortality. Socio-economic factors played an important role in those disparities. Injuries were important contributors to both relative and absolute inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Canadian Geographer is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The objective of this study was to explore HIV testing experiences and service views of Canadian Aboriginal youth in order to provide information for HIV testing services. An exploratory, mixed-method, community-based research design was used for this study. Findings reported here are from 210 survey participants who had experienced an HIV test. Youth were recruited through 11 Aboriginal organizations across Canada, including AIDS service organizations, health centers, community organizations, and friendship centers. Youth who had tested for HIV ranged in age from 15 to 30 years of age (20% were <20), and came from First Nations (75%), Metis (14%), and Inuit (9%) backgrounds. Participants lived in all provinces and one territory. Over half (62%) were female. While the majority of survey respondents indicated at their last HIV test they had been treated with care (80%), respect (77%), or kindness (76%), some reported being treated with hostility (19%), fear (12%), discrimination (11%), avoidance (10%), or being treated in a bored way (15%). When asked about information they had received, 28% of survey respondents could not remember; 23% said they were not given any information, and 24% said their questions were not answered. Emotional reactions to testing ranged from anxiety/apprehension (64% of survey respondents) to being 'calm' (19%). When asked for suggestions to improve testing services, participants indicated emotional support, compassion, professional yet personable services, and personalized HIV information were important. Study results suggest that to facilitate HIV testing for Aboriginal youth, testing services and counseling must be respectful, compassionate, non-judgmental, and culturally responsive in order to provide emotional support and HIV information that is meaningful and memorable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Although Aboriginal children seem to be more susceptible to developing obesity and metabolic disorders than other ethnic groups in Canada, few studies have examined adiposity comprehensively in this population. The purpose of this study was to assess total and central adiposity in Canadian Aboriginal and Caucasian children matched by age, gender and maturity. Methods. A total of 212 Aboriginal and 204 Caucasian children (8–17 years) were recruited. Heights, weights and waist circumferences were measured and classified using international standards. Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) indicated relative total body and trunk fatness. Age of peak height velocity was predicted from somatic growth. Descriptives with independent t-tests and Chi-square analyses were run to detect ethnic differences. ANCOVA was used to assess differences in total body and trunk fatness (covariates height, chronological age and biological age) in girls and boys separately. Results. Overweight/obesity and central adiposity were more prevalent in Aboriginal children compared with Caucasian children (p < 0.05). Ethnic differences in total body and trunk fatness were also significant, with Aboriginal girls and boys presenting, on average, 5.4% and 6.0% more total body fatness and 7.6% and 8.3% more trunk fatness, than Caucasian girls and boys, respectively (p < 0.01). Conclusion. Canadian Aboriginal children have greater prevalence of overweight/obesity and central adiposity, and higher relative total body fatness and trunk fatness than their Caucasian peers, which may predispose them to cardiovascular and metabolic disorders at a very young age. Longitudinal research is needed to confirm the associated health risks in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how Indigenous Canadian children's literature might challenge adult and child readers to consider different meanings and worldviews of the environment as a land-based value system. As three teacher educators from elementary and university classrooms, we use reader-response theory to explore a collection of rich alternative narratives of Indigenous land-based knowledge systems available in the work of Indigenous authors and illustrators of children's literature. Our study considers how Indigenous picture books might serve to decolonize environmental consciousness through offering accessible and immersive Indigenous stories of the land. As we respond to and analyze these picture books, we work from a prior commitment to decolonization as a critical self-reflexive political process in which one's colonized beliefs are explicitly pinpointed, challenged and countered by Indigenous worldviews and perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to examine factors associated with HIV testing among Aboriginal peoples in Canada who live off-reserve. Data were drawn for individuals aged 15-44 from the Aboriginal Peoples Survey (2001), which represents a weighed sample of 520,493 Aboriginal men and women living off-reserve. Bivariable analysis and logistic regression were used to identify factors associated with individuals who had received an HIV test within the past year. In adjusted multivariable analysis, female gender, younger age, unemployment, contact with a family doctor or traditional healer within the past year, and “good” or “fair/poor” self-rated health increased the odds of HIV testing. Completion of high-school education, rural residency, and less frequent alcohol and cigarette consumption decreased the odds of HIV testing. A number of differences emerged when the sample was analyzed by gender, most notably females who self-reported “good” or “fair/poor” health status were more likely to have had an HIV test, yet males with comparable health status were less likely to have had an HIV test. Additionally, frequent alcohol consumption and less than high-school education was associated with an increased odds of HIV testing among males, but not females. Furthermore, while younger age was associated with an increased odds of having an HIV test in the overall model, this was particularly relevant for females aged 15-24. These outcomes provide evidence of the need for improved HIV testing strategies to reach greater numbers of Aboriginal peoples living off-reserve. They also echo the long-standing call for culturally appropriate HIV-related programming while drawing new attention to the importance of gender and age, two factors that are often generalized under the rubric of culturally relevant or appropriate program development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study, part of a Canadian national study of fathers’ involvement, opened up First Nations and Métis fathering as a new area of inquiry. Conversational interviews with 80 Indigenous fathers illuminated the socio-historical conditions that have shaped Indigenous men’s experiences of learning to be a father and becoming a man in the context of changing gender relationships and the regeneration of circles of care. Indigenous fathers’ experiences unfold in a socio-historical context fraught with difficulties. However, the study findings suggest cultural strengths and sources of resilience unseen in research and community programs driven by Euro-western perspectives. This research can inform efforts to reduce systemic barriers and reconstitute positive father involvement following disrupted intergenerational transmission of fathering in Canada and elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To investigate (i) oral health inequalities between off-reserve Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children entering junior kindergarten (JK) in the Thunder Bay District, Northwest Ontario, Canada, (ii) oral health inequalities between kindergarten-aged (4 years old) Aboriginal children living on reserves in the Sioux Lookout Zone (SLZ), Northwest Ontario and those living off-reserve in the Thunder Bay District and (iii) early childhood caries (ECC) trends among SLZ children between 2001 and 2005. Methods: Cross-sectional oral health data (dmft/s Indices) for 416 (2003/2004), 687 (2004/2005) and 544 (2005/2006) 3- to 5-year olds attending JK in the Thunder Bay District were collected by calibrated dental hygienists with the District’s Health Unit. Secondary analysis of oral health status data from two studies conducted in the SLZ between 2001 and 2005 provided the dmft of random samples of children younger than 6 years of age living in 16–20 First Nations communities. Results: When compared with non-Aboriginal children aged 3–5 years attending the same schools in the Thunder Bay District between 2003 and 2006, off-reserve Aboriginal children had 1.9 to 2.3 times the risk of having ECC (dmft > 0), 2.9 to 3.5 times the risk of a dmft > 3 and 1.8 to 2.5 times the risk of untreated decayed teeth after adjusting the prevalence ratios for child’s age and sex, school’s risk level and clustered-correlated data. The mean dmft of on-reserve Aboriginal 4-year olds in 2005 was 11.2 and 5.9 for their off-reserve Aboriginal counterparts. In 2001, the mean dmft scores (95% confidence interval) of 2-, 3- and 4-year-old Aboriginal children in the SLZ were: 9.1 (8.3–9.9), 12.4 (11.8–13.1), 13.1 (12.1–14.2). In 2005, similarly aged SLZ children had a mean dmft of: 6.2 (5.2–7.1), 8.9 (8.2–9.6), 11.2 (10.5–11.9), representing significant reductions in caries severity (32%, 28% and 14.5%, respectively). Conclusions: Significant disparities in caries experience exist between off-reserve Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children living in the same locales and between Aboriginal children living on- and off-reserve in northwestern Ontario. The study showed decreased trends in the severity of ECC for children in the SLZ occurring over the 5-year period. Despite this progress, the oral health of young Aboriginal children in Ontario continues to lag far behind that of non-Aboriginal children, demanding further programs and policies to tackle the social determinants of oral health and resolve these inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inuit have experienced significant lifestyle changes in the past 50 years. Most recently, urbanization has resulted in greater numbers of Inuit living in urban centres in southern Canada. Little is known about Inuit parenting, and nothing has been published on Inuit parenting in an urban context. The present study sought to address this gap by describing the parenting of Inuit living in a large Canadian city and examining emergent themes for evidence of autonomy and relatedness. In partnership with the Tungasuvvingat Inuit Family Resource Centre, 39 Inuit parents completed an interview about their parenting experiences. Based on interviews, major parenting themes included: child characteristics; parenting behaviours and beliefs; affection and love; stressors; and responsive and respectful parenting. The majority of parenting themes linked to relatedness, although there was evidence of autonomy in both parenting behaviours and child characteristics. Results are interpreted in light of the autonomy-relatedness framework and theoretical implications of findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To review the current literature to determine if there is a case for examining the presence of toxins in traditional foods and the environment as a possible risk factor for type 2 diabetes in Canadian Aboriginal populations. Study design. Literature review. Methods. The scientific literature on possible causes of type 2 diabetes in Aboriginal populations in Canada was reviewed. Potential exposure through food and water to environmental toxins such as methyl-mercury, arsenic, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including bisphenol A and phthalates, as well as Aboriginal lifestyle and composition of the traditional diet is discussed. Results. There is growing evidence to suggest that environmental toxins may be associated with noninsulin- dependent diabetes mellitus (type 2 diabetes), which many consider to be endemic worldwide. In Canada, diabetes has reached epidemic proportions, especially among Aboriginal populations. Based on both molecular and pathological findings, some toxins found in the environment interfere with the functioning of the pancreas' islets of Langerhans cells, and consequently they affect insulin production. In addition, there is new evidence suggesting that obesity may be linked to endocrine disruptors, thus increasing the likelihood that obesity in itself may not be a chief risk factor for diabetes. Conclusions. Diabetes prevalence rates among First Nations, Inuit and Métis populations are 3-5 times higher than the general population. Accepted risk factors such as diet, lifestyle and genetics do not fully explain this phenomenon. However, as many environmental toxins bioaccumulate in the food chain and are found in wild game and fish traditionally harvested and consumed by Aboriginal peoples, these chemicals could present health risks not yet fully explored. As there is not enough evidence to rule out this possibility, further studies are suggested. If correct, such environmental risk factors, especially if they are encountered early in life, would have implications on Aboriginal public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers an original review of research and reports about young Indigenous children's language development needs and approaches to meeting them. The review addresses not only children's acquisition of an Indigenous language but also their acquisition of other languages (e.g., English and French), because their progress in one linguistic domain affects their progress in others. Indigenous children have inequitable access to supports for optimal health and development and experience persistently high rates of academic failure. A search of peer-reviewed literature yielded no empirical studies that systematically assessed Indigenous children's language development and no controlled studies that evaluated the outcomes of early language facilitation programs or early interventions. Investments in culturally appropriate supports for optimal language development of young First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children are relevant to a range of policy areas, including Residential School healing programs, social justice, education, literacy, community development, employment, and literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the potential impact of information and communication technology on social capital in First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities. The analysis led to the conclusion that both the "what" and the "how" of connectivity matter. Policy and research priority issues are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A confrontation with police at Ipperwash Provincial Park in 1995 resulted in Canada's first death of a First Nations protester in more than 100 years of land claims disputes. No media were present when police marched on a small band of protesters occupying the park, but nearly 400 newspaper articles appeared in the month after the shooting of Dudley George. These included 275 news articles, 64 opinion articles (editorials and columns) and 55 letters to the editor. These were analyzed to determine how they conformed to journalistic standards of verification and accuracy: Which sources were relied on; how were the stories framed; whose version of events was given prominence; was the opinion based on fact or stereotypes? This analysis found significant problems with the coverage. It also developed a new "framing" model for stories involving aboriginal-police confrontation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aboriginal peoples are over-represented in the Canadian corrections system. When released, they face challenges. Many return to the communities where their friends and family are but have few housing, educational, and employment opportunities, and have difficult choices to make. This participatory research study included interviews with 30 Aboriginal men who had done jail time and had lived in the downtown core of a major Canadian prairie city. It revealed five overlapping themes describing the experience of being released, getting by, finding a community that would receive them, staying out of jail, and trying to get ahead. The results indicate that there is a gap in services for Aboriginal men who have done jail time, and that housing models to meet this need should be developed with the input of residents in local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the increasing popularity of screening and brief intervention (SBI) for hazardous drinking within the wider population, there is a paucity of SBI research directed at Indigenous populations. In Canada, Aboriginal drinkers are less than half as likely to drink on a weekly/daily basis but more than twice as likely to binge drink compared to the general drinking population. As a result, there is a high rate of alcohol related deaths and hospitalisations compared to the non-Aboriginal population. Modification of these patterns and levels of hazardous drinking - especially binge drinking - among Aboriginal drinkers should markedly improve health outcomes. Although the efficacy of SBI has been demonstrated across a range of health care settings and sociocultural groups, there are potential systemic and cultural barriers to implementation of SBI for Aboriginal hazardous drinkers including the historic impact of alcohol on Aboriginal communities. Implementation of SBI must address these barriers and be sensitive to the historic relationship between Aboriginals and alcohol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Canada has recognized that Aboriginal and northern communities in the country face unique challenges and that there is a need to expand the assessment of vulnerabilities to climate change to include these communities. Evidence suggests that Canada's North is already experiencing significant changes in its climate—changes that are having negative impacts on the lives of Aboriginal people living in these regions. Research on climate change and health impacts in northern Canada thus far has brought together Aboriginal community members, government representatives, and researchers and is charting new territory. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this article we review experiences from two projects that have taken a community-based dialogue approach to identifying and assessing the effects of and vulnerability to climate change and the impact on the health in two Inuit regions of the Canadian Arctic. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the two case projects that we present argue for a multi-stakeholder, participatory framework for assessment that supports the necessary analysis, understanding, and enhancement of capabilities of local areas to respond and adapt to the health impacts at the local level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous peoples in both Canada and the United States have engaged in numerous protests. Nevertheless, although these protests led to an ongoing national social movement in the United States, this has not been the case in Canada. This article draws on the sociological literature of social movements to explain this difference. Both cases have some key factors necessary for the formation of national social movements. These common factors include making purposeful political challenges and using noninstitutional tactics of protest. However, other necessary factors—strong leadership by social movement organizations, well-developed political networks, and the development of a strong national collective identity—are much weaker in Canada than they are in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Realizing the potential of comanagement requires that resource managers and First Nations learn to work together more effectively. This is a distant objective unless negative preconceptions of traditional environmental knowledge and management systems are examined and overcome. This article attempts to foster understanding by exploring and dispelling three myths about aboriginal peoples' relationships to the environment: the primitive technology myth, the indiscriminate harvesting myth, and the "disappearing Indian" myth. We argue that each is unfounded and illustrate our views with a case study of Vuntut Gwitchin ideology, resource use, and management practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the international level, evidence supports the position that regardless of whether a country is industrialized or less developed, vulnerable populations living in poor social conditions are at disproportionate risk of injury. The Aboriginal population of Canada is one such vulnerable population. In addition to poor social conditions and marginalization related to historical injustices this population is faced with the challenge of working with little or no descriptive injury data relevant to the community level. it has been and continues to be a significant barrier to the adoption and implementation of injury prevention Strategies and programs. Recognizing that surveillance is an intrinsic component of public health practice, this study was undertaken to address a critical data gap facing Aboriginal communities. The objective of the study was to develop the conceptual design of an injury surveillance framework that would be culturally relevant, that is acceptable and owned by the target population', and would meet the specific requirements for injury data and data collection methods for the study population. The methodology was undertaken with focus groups at national and community levels, and relied on the use of strategic activities such as bench-marking, guided discussions, nominal group technique exercises and critical document reviews. The process of benchmarking served to identify that injury surveillance systems described in the literature, linking data to action, are not a predominant reality. The locus of control is often removed from the population of interest and resides primarily with experts under the jurisdiction and control of designated authorities. In order for the surveillance system to have cultural relevance, the focus group identified that the locus of control must be defined by the population of interest at the community level, and that the system must be germane and flexible to consider the local environment. The Aboriginal framework proposed places the locus of control with the community. in partnership with its data sources. Surveillance activities remain largely distinct from communities of interest, leading us to consider whether structural changes can serve to promote a link between data and action. Traditional or standard surveillance systems, by virtue of their structure, promote a disassociation between information and community action. Data management under the complete jurisdiction of sources external to a community appears to obstruct potential linkages between information and action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Canadian aboriginal people experience end-stage renal disease at rates 2.5–4 times higher than those found in the general population. Up to 60% of cases are due to diabetic end-stage renal disease, while most of the remainder are caused by a variety of types of glomerulonephritis. The greatest increase in cases of end-stage renal disease among aboriginal people since 1981 has been observed in those with diabetes. There appear to be three major contributing influences to the increase in diabetic end-stage renal disease among Canadian aboriginal people. First, the rates of type 2 diabetes mellitus have increased from virtually zero to several times those seen in the general population in less than 60 years. Second, aboriginal people with diabetes have seven times the rate of diabetic end-stage renal disease compared with their non-aboriginal counterparts. Finally, birth rates among aboriginal people are higher than in any other segment of the population. An epidemic of diabetic end-stage renal disease is the most important nephrological issue facing Canadian aboriginal people and threatens to overwhelm health care resources in many parts of the country unless effective early recognition and prevention programmes are established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the highlights of the conference "Ahzhekewada [Let Us Look Back] - Revisioning the Indians of Canada Pavilion held at OCAD University in Toronto, Ontario, on October 14-15, 2011. The conference included presentations by curators, artists, critics and scholars from around the world. They discussed a variety of issues including Aboriginal perspectives on critical and aesthetic theory, digital media and Web-based art, art history and cosmopolitanism and internationalism.