Aboriginal population of Canada: growth dynamics under conditions of encounter of civilisations

Abstract

This paper endeavours to capture the broad configuration of demographic evolution of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada from the early contacts with Europeans to the present. The main stages thereof are identified and the underlying factors explored, against the historical background of Aboriginal and European civilisations' encounter. While taking stock of the past, the paper takes a glimpse into the future. It concludes with a review of demographicallydriven policy issues that the First Nations are likely to confront as they step into the 21s Century.

Lost Generations? Indigenous Population of the Russian North in the Post-Soviet Era

“…Similar to other Arctic regions (e.g., Romaniuc, 2003), there is evidence of links between the integrity of the traditional Indigenous culture (e.g., measured by the Native language proliferation) and higher fertility (Table 3). To a lesser extent, high Indigenous fertility can be associated with conditions of "underdevelopment," such as low levels of education and economic participation (particularly in "modern" industries) among Indigenous people, especially women.…”

“…In the past three decades, Indigenous mortality in Russia was persistently high and was not declining, except for short periods -most remarkably in the late 1980s during the "anti-alcohol" campaign (Fondahl, 1995). This trend illustrates a stalled mortality transition and contrasts with other northern Indigenous nations, which have experienced steady declines in mortality since the 1960s (AHDR, 2004, Romaniuc, 2003. In 1989-2002 the Indigenous death rate in Russia increased by about 1.0 per 1,000 (see also Klokov et al, 2004), although by 2004 it receded to the pre-crisis levels (see Figure 3).…”

History-based Explanatory Framework for Procreative Behaviour of Aboriginal People of Canada

“…An even more puzzling question is the recent stalling in fertility decline. Little comfort can be derived from the fact that it coincides with the economic stagnation in the early 1980's, as evidenced by a number of indicators brought up in this author's earlier papers (Romaniuc, 1987(Romaniuc, , 2000. The messages that these indicators send are actually contradictory.…”

Charting the growth of Canada's Aboriginal populations: problems, options and implications

“…There is no definitive answer to explain these shifts, beyond the fact that it is extremely difficult to establish fixed identities and stable boundaries in the delineation of ethnic or cultural groups (Eschbach, 1995;Hout and Goldstein, 1994;Lieberson and Waters, 1988). After documenting a similar situation in the United States among American Indians, Passel (1997) 19851986198719881989199119931994199619992000Cumulative Registrations (X 1000 awareness and self-confidence, which has contributed to a raising of North American Indian consciousness in certain individuals who had heretofore not identified with this culture.…”

“…This is not an insignificant number, as this total population count actually surpasses in size all but four of Canada's thirteen provinces and territories. Yet at the same time, some researchers have criticised the use of ancestry in the delineation of Canada's Aboriginal population, as being overly ambiguous and in some ways misleading (Romaniuc, 2000;Krotki, 1995). Whereas we can attempt to document through the census the total number of persons with Aboriginal ancestry, this tells us nothing about the degree to which an individual might actually feel "Aboriginal" or identify with "Aboriginal culture".…”