First Nations’ growth presents opportunities

The latest results are out and once again Indigenous people lead the nation in population growth. Between 2006 and 2016, Canada’s Indigenous population grew four times faster than the rest of the population.

At this rate, within a few years it is estimated that we will constitute between 18.7 per cent and 22.7 per cent of the provincial population — and in a couple of decades, we could be up to 2.5 million nationally.

While the rest of the provincial population ages and the baby boomers retire, the median age of First Nations people in Saskatchewan is 28, and 30 per cent are under the age of 14.

We also have 56 per cent of our population living off the reserves; Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Thunder Bay have the greatest percentage of Aboriginal people in the country.

This paints a very different picture than the rest of the population. Our people are young and mobile, and rural to urban migration for many Indigenous people is just as daunting as migrating from one country to another.

This demographic information is not new for those of us in Indian Country. We have witnessed a steady growth in our population from the last half of the 20th century to the present.

The rebirth of the First Nations has been nothing short of spectacular. In 1900, Saskatchewan was home to 10,000 of Canada’s 100,000 First Nations people. We were considered a dying race and little was done to improve our lot. In fact, our population further dropped as a result of the 1918 flu epidemic.

The government sold reserve land and children were sent to boarding schools because we had no other future. The girls were trained to be domestics and the boys to be farmhands. Indian administration was basically warehousing our people.

It wasn’t until after the Second World War that we began to receive improved health care and the infant mortality rate began to drop. Gradually, our population began to grow. I recall working for the FSIN in 1972 when the provincial First Nations population was 36,000 and we were one of the bigger groups across the country. In 2016, according to the census, Saskatchewan had a First Nations population of 114,000.

Today, First Nations hold huge events compared to the past. The Saskatchewan First Nations Summer Games, the annual powwow of the First Nations University of Canada and the FSIN Christmas Powwow require huge venues to accommodate the thousands of people who attend.

Every year more than 10,000 First Nations people enter the workforce. Some have university degrees and technical training; others need more education. They are entering a workforce that is much older and has a large group of retiring baby boomers.

While much emphasis is placed on using immigration as the source of skilled labour, governments and employers have to recognize the enormous potential that exists within the First Nations workforce. Up to now, our people have been either unemployed or underemployed, and in times of economic downturn we are the first to be laid off because of a lack of seniority.

The census is a snapshot of a point in time. We have moved on one more year since the information was gathered for the latest reporting. But the overall trend is impossible to ignore. We are a rapidly growing segment of Canadian society and both federal and provincial governments must invest in our potential.

Education and training must be among the priorities for governments. Educated and productive people can make enormous contributions to society, both financially through taxation and economic activity, and also as role models for future generations.

This latest census is a wake-up call to our leaders and the federal and provincial governments. We require investment and leadership to take us forward.