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b. Assumptionsi. What is a Community?This Report on Aboriginal Connectivity is a community-centric exercise and the authors recognize that the identification of the community is critical when defining service levels and infrastructure gaps. Due to the various sources of data contained within this report, and our desire to expand the report beyond status Indians, it is necessary to develop a definition of a community that is broad enough to capture all data sets but not too broad as to render the statistics insignificant. We have chosen to use the following definition to guide our collection efforts and statistical analysis:"A locality which is considered to be an Indian, Inuit or Métis community (The most populated Indian reserve of each First Nation, Métis settlement, Inuit hamlet or census sub-division with 25 percent or more Aboriginal population) having the following attributes: a name, distinct physical location and territory, and Aboriginal governance structure, mandate and constituency." Three groups of Aboriginal Peoples comprise the Aboriginal community - North American Indian (INAC refers to this group as First Nation peoples), Métis, and Inuit. Among these groups there are 634 First Nations, 53 Inuit, and 50 Métis communities distributed through the country. These communities are made up of reserve communities and Aboriginal settlements. There are approximately 3,000 reserve parcels of land to which the 634 First Nation communities or Bands are a part. The urban Aboriginal population in Canada is growing. In 2001, over one-half (51%) of the population who identified themselves as Aboriginal lived in urban areas, up from 47% in 1996¹. This year we have devoted more time and effort to analyzing the urban Aboriginal picture. For more information on urban Aboriginal connectivity, please see the section entitiled, vii. Internet Access in Urban Areas, under lll. Connectivity Data, a. Internet Access at the Community Level. Aboriginal Population by Area of Residence
Statistics Canada - Cat. No. 97F0011XCB01001
¹ Statistics Canada - Aboriginal Peoples of Canada: A Demographic Profile, 2001 Census (Analysis series), Catalogue No.: 96F0030XIE2001007
ii. Identifying vs. Defining an Aboriginal CommunityOn one hand the Aboriginal population, or Aboriginal community as it is often referred, is distributed throughout every Indian reserve, Indian settlement, Métis settlement and Inuit hamlet in every province, territory and region in Canada. According to the 2001 Census, about 3 in every 10 Aboriginal people lived on rural reserves, and another three in 10 lived in census metropolitan areas. About one-fifth lived in urban areas other than census metropolitan areas, and the same for rural areas other than reserves, often isolated northern communities.Indeed, Aboriginal citizens, particularly in Prairie Provinces and the north constitute significant proportions of towns, villages, hamlets and rural communities other than Indian reserves and settlements. It is unlikely that a definition of an Aboriginal community will be defined entirely through the terms of this project, as this is a matter for the Aboriginal community itself. However, and for the purpose of the project, using existing and available data is an important first step in a process that will identify which and where such Aboriginal communities are located. At the heart of the Aboriginal community issue are the Aboriginal people themselves - how they define themselves and where they perceive their communities to be. iii. North American Indian (First Nation) Reserve CommunityThe Indian Reserve is a physical locality that is defined by legislation and supported by legal surveys and recorded and managed by the Indian Land Registration System (ILRS) at Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. According to ILRS, there are approximately 3,000 North American Indian (First Nation) Reserves.An Indian Settlement, also recorded but not maintained by the ILRS, does not have the same definition or legislative support as Indian Reserve under the Indian Act. "An Indian Settlement is a place where a self-contained group of at least 10 Indian people reside more or less permanently. It is usually located on crown lands under federal or provincial jurisdiction. Indian settlements have no official limits (boundaries) and have not been set apart for the use and benefit of an Indian Band as is the case with Indian Reserves." Only Status or Treaty Indians can have permanent residency or hold property without Band Council Resolution and Ministerial Authority. Since there are more Indian reserve communities (and settlements) than there are Indian Bands (First Nation bands) - some Bands have joint ownership in Indian reserves - Indian reserves and settlements should be specified in relation to their First Nation. The Hub of the Indian reserve business activity and service delivery is usually the responsibility of the central band administration - the Band Office. Other common facilities and services for the affiliated reserve communities if not located within the administrative offices are situated on the "main" reserve lands where the administrative functions are housed to support band operations. It is this reason coupled with the difficulties in contacting reserve level representatives that we have chosen to calculate connectivity statistics at the band level for the inaugural year of this report. For the complete list of First Nations communities included within this report please see Appendix A. iv. Inuit CommunityInuit are definite about their people, communities and homelands. In the events leading up to the Inuvialuit and Nunavut lands claims settlements, Inuit beneficiaries where enumerated through an enrolment exercise similar to the Indian Registration to support their claims. Inuit, though a majority live north of the tree line, live throughout the country.For the complete list of Inuit communities included within this report please see Appendix A. v. Métis CommunityThe Métis community is perhaps the most difficult to define as there is no enrollment procedures similar to the Inuit and Indian Registrar. The provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, so far, are the only provinces that formally recognize Métis settlements. The Métis community is distributed throughout many different communities including villages, towns, hamlets, rural municipalities, as well as Indian settlements throughout Canada. For the complete list of Métis communities included within this report please see Appendix A.vi. Defining Remote and Northern Communities
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