There are 650 diverse indigenous communities in Canada. Some of these are reserves, some are settlements and some are the results of modern-day treaties and land claims. Many of these communities are rural and distant from larger centers but there are some that are literal minutes away from large urban centers.
Of these 650 indigenous communities…
350 have a fire department, leaving almost half without fire and emergency services
100 (May 2121) are on a boil water advisory due to water borne illnesses and ecoli, many having elevated levels of heavy metals
Most are without local hospitals and have woefully inadequate medical facilities given the population of their communities (infrastructure, staffing, resources)
If you were looking for a new community to move to and raise a family, would you choose a community that is missing these vital pieces of infrastructure? No one would choose this lifestyle given our modern-day expectations. It should be no surprise that indigenous people don’t, either. Less than half of our Canadian Indigenous population actually lives on reserve.
Why do people live on reserve, then? Good question.
Indigenous people have strong ties to their communities and families. The security and comfort of being surrounded by people who understand you and support you is invaluable, especially in the face of racism that is endured off the reserve.
Services for Indigenous people are often limited to life on reserve. Housing and taxation exemptions are supplied to those who live on reserve only. Moving off of the reserve severely or completely limits your ability to access the benefits of treaty rights.
It would make sense given this context that the people with the resources and opportunities could make the decision to move to urban centers. They often do. If your family was struggling financially, you would be more likely to remain on reserve because you would need access to the supports for housing, taxation and welfare.
This results in the majority of the population on reserve living below the poverty line. “Indigenous peoples in Canada experience the highest levels of poverty: A shocking 1 in 4 Indigenous peoples (Aboriginal, Métis and Inuit) or 25% are living in poverty and 4 in 10 or 40% of Canada’s Indigenous children live in poverty.” I don’t mean to suggest that everyone on reserve is poor and struggling. There are many families that choose life on the reserve; build their homes, careers and families and have a good life. However, I would argue that poverty is a reality for the vast majority.
When you drive onto reserve land, you know you are on reserve. Sometimes, I have been driving down a highway and something changes. At times, it’s very subtle but there is something there that says ‘I’m on reserve.’ Our white privileged reaction to this is often based on the prejudice of the overculture (the dominant culture in a society, whose mores, traditions, and customs are those normally followed in public).
I will share some of the thoughts that I have had and what I have learned in my research. Maybe you can relate to them.
“It’s free land. Wow! I wish someone would give me free land!”
No, it’s not. Reserve land is owned by the Crown. The people living on it don’t own it, the band doesn’t own it, the government does. And as such, you can only do what the owner says you can do. The federal government supplies funding for housing and it is insufficient. The local government then needs to stretch the funding as far as it will go for as many families as possible. The result is cheap housing going to the largest, neediest families first. There is usually a long waiting list and you get bumped down the list if another needier family applies. This is why many families that have the resources tend to move off reserve.
Some families manage to get a mortgage and build private homes on reserve land. It is my understanding that this is a nightmare of paperwork and legalities. As you can imagine, banks are hesitant to give mortgages for homes built on Crown land. It is my understanding that it is a long battle with many meetings, lots of paperwork and astronomical interest rates.
“Indigenous people should take better care of their land and their homes. I know I would if I was given it all free.”
It’s like living in a rental apartment. Rental agreements are strict with expectations that you can’t do this and you can’t do that. You can’t paint your home the colors you want. You can’t put holes in the walls to hang pictures. You can’t do any improvements to the property without written permission of the owner and an agreement as to who will pay for what.
Any improvements, development or use allocation has to be approved by the Department of Indigenous Affairs. It is the band’s job to be a liaison between its people and the government but the landlord has the final say. If you’ve ever had to deal with the government, filling out the appropriate forms, connecting the correct dots, waiting intolerable amounts of time for ‘processing’ just to get a letter stating you did something wrong or that you don’t qualify because of some minutiae, I am certain you can relate to the attitude of ‘what’s the point of even trying?’
Add to this the fact that I pointed out earlier that a substantial amount of the reserve population lives below the poverty line. Families that are struggling to put food on the table are not going to have the resources to take care of properties. I’m not even talking about repairs and maintenance (again, the federal government’s responsibility). I am talking about having a lawn mower to mow the lawn. I am talking about having some extra money to spend on flowers and shrubs. I am talking about the fees that would have to be covered to remove unsightly old vehicles or furniture. When you only have so much money, it goes to the basic needs.
“Reserves are land that has been given to Indigenous people.”
Instead, think of it this way. If someone walked up to the home you live in and told you that they would ‘give’ you the shed while they lived in the house, would you consider that a gift? The language that we tend to use focuses on the generosity and kindness of the Canadian government to ‘give them land’. I prefer to think of it this way: the government has stolen the land and is allowing use of a small invaluable piece of it, under their rules.
The current state of most of Canada’s reserves is the sole responsibility of the federal government - the housing, the infrastructure, the poverty. It is a reflection of what the government itself has created and continues to promote with its policies.
It is an absolute travesty that reserves are not funded equally to municipalities in terms of basic services and infrastructure, especially when some of them border or are surrounded by large urban centres with full services. The current lack of infrastructure on reserves means that indigenous people in Canada are:
10 x more likely to die in a fire
26 x more likely to become sick from water borne diseases
2 x more likely to suffer infant mortality
3 to 5 x more likely to suffer from chronic illness such diabetes
There are seven Calls to Action from the TRC that relate directly to health and welfare. The government has known about these deficiencies for decades. Some water advisories date back almost 25 years. Yes, you read that right, 25 years. Justin Trudeau promised to tackle the lack of clean water on reserves by March 2021. His government has achieved great gains in this area but failed to meet their own mandate, stating it will take at least until 2023.
This problem is not going to go away or get any better without the government putting money where their mouth is. Reserves aren’t getting any bigger but the population is, with the indigenous population growing substantially faster than the Canadian average.
For me, it all comes back to the basic thought: why isn’t the infrastructure on reserves funded equitably to municipalities? I don’t care which government the money comes from: basic services are basic services. It is a fair argument that there is plenty of money in the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) - which reserves pay into - to pay for these improvements.
The bottom line is people are dying because they don’t have the basic services needed to live a healthy life. These communities are having to fight hard and yell to be heard, repeatedly. That is unforgivable in this first world country, at this time in history.
Do better, Canada.
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