A growing number of people of Aboriginal origin reside in urban areas. Some have chosen to live in the city while remaining in touch with, and proud of, their Aboriginal identity. Others are drawn to the city for various reasons, but often it is because there are no jobs or available housing in their home community
Proportion of Status Indians and Inuit Living in (Residents) and Outside (Non-residents) a Community
| Nation | Population | Residents % | Non-residents % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abenaki | 2 091 | 18,0 % | 82,0 % |
| Algonquin | 9 645 | 57,8 % | 42,2 % |
| Atikamekw | 6 321 | 84,3 % | 15,7 % |
| Cree | 16 151 | 89,3 % | 10,7 % |
| Huron-Wendat | 3 006 | 43,6 % | 56,4 % |
| Maliseet | 786 | 0,0 % | 100,0 % |
| Mi’gmaq | 5 104 | 49,8 % | 50,2 % |
| Mohawk | 16 727 | 82,7 % | 17,3 % |
| Innu (Montagnais) | 16 199 | 70,6 % | 29,4 % |
| Naskapi | 673 | 93,2 % | 6,8 % |
| Inuit | 10 464 | 92,8 % | 7,2 % |
| Total | 87 251 | 74,7 % | 25,3 % |
(Source: Canada, Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, 2017: Indian and Inuit Populations of Québec)
In a study on Aboriginal urbanization in Québec, Carole Levesque, professor at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique, and Édith Cloutier, executive director of the Val-d’Or Native Friendship Centre, show the extent of Aboriginal migration to urban areas and the new realities associated with this:
Currently, some 50 cities and towns in Québec, including Montréal, Québec City, Trois-Rivières, Gatineau, Baie-Comeau, Val-d’Or and Saguenay, have a relatively large Aboriginal population. In 2008, the urban Aboriginal population was 16 times higher than in 1980, representing an average growth rate of 70% between 2001 and 2006 and over 60% of the province’s total Aboriginal population. The number of Aboriginal people living in Val-d’Or, for example, rose by 270% between 1996 and 2006. (Statistics Canada 2008). The Aboriginal population is diverse, being made up of First Nations
First Nations, Inuit and MétisA term that came into common usage in the 1970s to replace the word “Indian,” which some people found offensive. Among its uses, the term refers to the Status, Non-Status and Treaty Indians of Canada. Some Aboriginal peoples have replaced the word “Band” in the name of their community with the term “First Nation,” respecting their distinct language, culture, heritage and systems of knowledge. Although “First Nation” is widely used, it has no legal definition.
Thus, a person might say that they’re from the Naskapi First Nation of Kawawachikamach, or the Atikamekw First Nation of Manawan, or the Mohawk First Nation of Akwesasne, etc., identifying both the nation to which they belong and their place of origin or residence.Métispeoples. All groups combined, at least 80,000 Aboriginal people were temporarily or permanently living in cities and towns across Québec in 2010; of that number, some 70% were living in rural communities and 30%, in Montréal and Québec City.Since 1982, the Canadian Constitution has recognized Métis as one of the three Aboriginal peoples of Canada. In a 2003 ruling, the Supreme Court of Canada set out essential criteria for recognition of Métis identity and the related rights: “The term "Métis" in s. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 does not encompass all individuals with mixed Indian and European heritage; rather, it refers to distinctive peoples who, in addition to their mixed ancestry, developed their own customs, and recognizable group identity separate from their Indian or Inuit and European forebears.”
The authors defined four categories of migration or movement of Aboriginal people who leave their communities for cities and towns across Québec: “occasional or transitory relocation,” which applies to the vast majority of Aboriginal people; “forced relocation,” caused by domestic violence or difficult living conditions in Aboriginal communities; “involuntary relocation” resulting from legal decisions, such as placement of children in foster care in non-Aboriginal communities or incarceration far away from the offender’s community of origin; and “voluntary relocation” stemming from a deliberate choice to leave one’s community of origin. (Ibid., 283-286).
Photo credit: Pierre Lepage
Furthermore, a number of Aboriginal organizations and bodies established in urban areas offer interesting job opportunities. One such body is Atikamekw Sipi (the Atikamekw Nation Council), which has a large service centre in La Tuque. The offices of Quebec Native Women have been located in Kahnawake for several years now, as is the head office of the First Nations Human Resources Development Commission of Québec, which also has points of service in several First Nations communities and urban centres. Waseskun House, a residential centre for Aboriginal offenders, the Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy Network, the Grand Council of the Crees, the Cree School Board, Makivik Corporation, the Kativik School Board
There are many Aboriginal organizations in the Québec City area as well, especially in Wendake, which is home to the offices of the Secretariat of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador, the First Nations Education Council, the First Peoples Business Association, Québec Aboriginal Tourism and the Société de communication atikamekw-montagnaise, among others. Native Para-Judicial Services of Quebec, an organization that assists Aboriginal people in matters relating to the criminal justice system, also has its head office in Wendake in addition to points of service in most of Québec’s regions.