Tsuut’ina’s massive development among several urban initiatives as Indigenous youth flock to cities

Chief says 500-hectare project on Calgary’s western edge will help move First Nation through ‘dark period’

By Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press, Jan 3, 2018

Bulldozers and excavators are cutting a broad swath through the reserve land of the Tsuut’ina in southwest Calgary as part of a transformative project gets underway.

The push to finish the city’s ring road has meant a $340.7-million payment to the First Nation for the land, and has helped create opportunities for economic reconciliation, said Lee Crowchild, chief of the Tsuut’ina.

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Top 5 Cities in Canada With the Most Indigenous People

Image: Blackfire.

First Nations, Métis and Inuit might be the fastest-booming populations in Canada

David P. Ball, Indian Country Media Network, October 6, 2017

Some Canadians seem to think Indigenous Peoples mostly dwell in far-flung remote reserves.

But in fact the majority of indigenous people live in Canada’s cities, and according to the latest census, off-reserve First Nations, Métis and Inuit are the fastest-booming populations in the whole country.

Canada’s growing indigenous population reshaping cities across the country

Ninoondawah Richard, with the Aboriginal Youth Opportunity, teaches young people spiritual traditions and drumming . JOHN WOODS/GLOBE AND MAIL

Increasingly prominent communities are apparent, but significant social change is still elusive

by Joe Friesen, December 26, 2016

Across Canada, cities are being reshaped by growing indigenous populations.

In the biggest cities on the prairies, and in smaller northern centres close to First Nations reserves, an indigenous population is growing in size and political influence. Already, changes at the local level are signalling a societal turn.

Urban Rez: Matrix or Movement?

WarriorPublications.wordpress.com

May 2011

According to the 2006 government census, 60 per cent of Natives in BC lived in urban areas (some 196,075 Natives). Vancouver, with nearly 41,000 Natives, had the third largest urban Native population, after Winnipeg and Edmonton. In contrast, only 26,000 Natives were reported to live on reserves in BC (it should be noted that not all reservations are rural, as there are numerous reserves within/near urban areas, i.e., the Squamish, Tseil-Watuth, and Musqueam in Metro Vancouver). There are numerous reasons for this urbanization trend (also occurring on a global level), including the lack of educational opportunities, employment, housing, and healthcare available in many rural regions.