Over the span of many centuries, the Aboriginals and their way of living have changed to adopt with the circumstances. Today the Aboriginals have developed both in social and economical ways. They constitute of nearly 4.5% of the total Canadian population and the government, time and again, takes measures for their upliftment. The Aboriginals have also slowly and steadily moved to urban habitats, with around 50% of them living in urban areas.
The population of Aboriginals is increasing at a faster rate than the overall population of Canada. Also the Aboriginal population is relatively younger as compared to the country’s population. The high birth rate, improving life expectancy and increasing tendency of people recognizing themselves as aboriginals has led to the rise in population. The reason for rising number of people identifying themselves as aboriginals is due to the awareness of Aboriginals, with number of events like the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP), the Oka crisis, the creation of Nunavut territory and the recent court decisions for the rights of Aboriginals.
The Aboriginals have also started developing economically. Recently, there has been an increasing interest among the people of North America as well as Europe, in Aboriginal history and culture. This rising interest has led to the development of Aboriginal Tourism, creating lots of opportunities for the economic development. Some Aboriginals are also creating business ventures to support their self governments and to improve their socio-economic conditions. Many Aboriginals are also employed or seeking employment while others rely on activities like fishing, hunting or agriculture.
But in spite of the efforts being taken for the development of Aborigines, things still need to be improved. The Aboriginal communities are generally male dominated. The women have to face myriad problems, like health, violence, abuse, illiteracy to name a few. Many organizations are working on the development, health and education of Aboriginal women. The lack of health facilities is also a big concern. Due to their geographical isolation the Aboriginals cannot get access to the health care facilities. Diabetes, arthritis, tuberculosis and hypertension have an increased presence amongst the Aboriginals. Also the literacy rate of the Aboriginals is significantly lower than the Non-Aboriginal population. The RCAP had identified that most of the Aboriginal youth do not complete their high school. They also found out that the majority of students felt that schooling ruined their identity. Violence and crime is another grave problem of the Aborigines. A study found that Aboriginals are more prone to violence than the Non-Aboriginal peoples.
But the condition is improving rapidly. The gap between the Non-Aboriginals and Aboriginals is decreasing. The government is providing many facilities and taking numerous efforts their development. In a few years the Aboriginals will enjoy the same status like the Non-Aboriginals and will be as developed as them.
