Understanding poverty in Indigenous Communities

The Residential School system in Canada, which operated from the late 1800s until 1996, caused immense trauma to Indigenous children through emotional, physical, mental, spiritual, and sexual abuse, along with forced assimilation into Western culture. Many children died due to poor conditions, and the intergenerational trauma continues to affect Indigenous communities today, contributing to higher rates of mental illness. The Indian Act of 1867 restricted land ownership on reserves, and systemic discrimination in areas like healthcare, justice, and employment further exacerbates poverty. Educational barriers, such as inadequate funding and poor schooling on reserves, perpetuate economic instability, while historical trauma from residential schools is linked to substance abuse and mental health issues. Poverty is always measured in colonial and capitalistic terms.

Poverty studies in Canada are almost exclusively based on material income measurements focused on the affordability of goods and services. Recent research on First Nations poverty reveals a complex picture of the First Nations perspectives of poverty that are more inclusive of a holistic state of being with indicators reflective of culture and the impact of colonization. First Nations perspectives of poverty are different than mainstream definitions. Conceptions of poverty include indicators such as the impact of colonization; culture, as demonstrated by language fluency; connection to family and community; participation in a balanced economy; the effects of racism; and self-determination in overcoming or preventing poverty.

For example, we are above the median income standards within our household living in small-town BC. We respect our financial privilege but also know that we are not “wealthy” because of this. We do not just count our financial wealth; we know that well-being is more than this. Our well-being includes knowing who we are, where we come from, who we belong to, knowing why we are here so we know where we are going. Our wealth includes our connection to the land and all her resources, our spirit, our values, culture, and teachings. Our son is wealthy or is well because he is proud of his identity, his kinship, his territories, and his ability to be in a reciprocal relationship with all living things. He knows his dad’s traditional territory through landmarks, origin and non-origin stories, songs, protocols, and practices of his people. He is learning his responsibilities and what will be expected of him as a young leader who will mentor the people yet to be. His heart is full of love, connection, belonging, and awareness to critically think for himself and make decisions with love and light.

I share this to demonstrate the differences in how we understand wealth and well-being. Living in two worlds is challenging because our global economic systems see our son’s value based on the ‘formal’ education he is expected to obtain, which provides him with the ability to follow, toe the line, and be a good value to a colonial and capitalistic economic system that requires constant growth despite its painful impact on everything. This system does not hold room for other ways of thinking, being, or doing, as it upholds only what we are taught.

How do we hold and value his self-awareness, self-worth, identity, intuitiveness, spiritual giftedness, cultural knowledge, his neurodivergency, which allows him to see the world in 12D and not just 2 or 3D, and his immense sense of justice for all living things, to create a balance of wellness into all our systems? So much of who he is did not come from this ‘formal’ education system, it came from everywhere else, including the land itself. He will become the greatness he is destined for because he sees the world in ways that are not held within our current economic systems, and he will lead the transformation required for a new way of being, doing, and knowing, especially for the people yet to be.

So, poverty in Indigenous communities can be seen as a deficit from a colonial and capitalistic way and absolutely needs addressing because our current economic systems require it. But we also must hold space for transformation for our knowing of what wealth and well-being is beyond this system and embrace what our children are begging for. This is why I choose to come here in this lifetime, to lay the foundation for our son for this work and provide him with the knowledge, tools, and skills required for his journey of transformation. We are not here to uphold the status quo. This is not in our best interest. We borrow the land from our children and they deserve better.