Unit 5: Social Geography: Settlement, Aboriginal Culture, and Contemporary Northern Society Flashcards
List four factors that have affected economic development and population size in the North.
A. Relocation strategy and change from subsistence to market economy
B. Migration (both in and out)
C. Poor economic base
D. Low carrying capacity of the land
Bone describes 3 phases of population change in the North. What are they? What were the 4 main factors that fed change in Phase 2?
There were three phases of population growth
- —Phase 1: 1871-1941: slow but steady increase
- —Phase 2: 1941-1981: rapid increase
- —Phase 3: 1981-2015: no change
During Phase 2, the main factors that fed change were:
- Enormous influx of people with the resource boom
- A high rate of natural increase among the aboriginal population
- Policy change of Diefenbaker’s Northern Vision which increased public spending in the north.
- Resettlement of Indigenous peoples into communities.
List the main demographic features of the North.
- Steady population (no overall growth since 1980 - 1.5 million)
- Growing Aboriginal population share (high natural increase). 24% of North, 52% of territories
- Uneven distribution (96% subarctic)
- Low density
- Migration to north = no longer a dominant feature
- Young population.
List the five primary features of the provinces’ and territories’ northern urban populations.
- Smaller than southern urban counterparts
- Cost of living is higher, especially in the Arctic
- Largest cities around found on the southern edge of the Provincial north.
- Most arctic centres have less than 1,000 inhabitants.
- Weak economic base
Discuss the 3 types of urban communities in the North. and provide example of each.
- Regional centres.
- –Admin hubs
- –source of goods and services
- –E.g. regional capitals like Whitehorse or Yelloknife - Resource Towns
- –Products of resource economy
- –Based around a non-renewable resource, thus vulnerable to global prices and markets, but especially the lifespan of the source (e.g. ore vein).
- –Boom and Bust Life Cycle
- –E.g. Uranium City - Native Settlements
- –Products of post-colonial Canada
- –poor economic base, isolated, small populations.
- –Extreme cost of living
- –Pull of place despite poor economic opportunity
- –E.g. Clyde River.
Explain the significance of the Calder Case
1973 Decision, SC declared Aboriginal groups had title to their lands, even if they weren’t party to the numbered treaties.
The case forced the federal government to accept the legal concept of Aboriginal title.
It consequently initiated a process of new treaty making and comprehensive land claims negotiations to settle treaty rights.
Define “impacts and benefits agreements” and explain how they work.
They are agreements between Indigenous community organizations and development companies that negotiate compensation for the impacts of industrial development on Indigenous lands.
The agreement can address things like: environmental protection, education/training for workers, business opportunities, financial compensation (damage and royalties), dispute resolution.
Detail the conventional and less conventional explanations for the Aboriginal employment gap.
Lack of skills and education hurt their ability to find work. Most fail to complete high school which prevents them from getting into most trade schools or postsecondary institutions.
Skilled workers are flown in to work on projects and they take up opportunities, while their wages frequently do not re-circulate within the local economy like a local’s wages would.
What is the Income Security Program and what are its objectives? What are likely reasons for why the federal government does not want to fund such a program?
A program that encourages Cree to pursue harvesting activities by providing them income guarantees, benefits, and other incentives. The rationale is that by providing these securities, Aboriginal peoples could continue to maintain their traditional ways of life while being an option that is cheaper than full on relocating people into sedentary life.
Likewise, the cost of the program is offset by reduced need for welfare payments and other social programs that are endemic in settlements.
Explain the roles of traditional good for many northern Aboriginal people.
They have an important role as a cultural anchor and part of an Indigenous way of being. Provides a more affordable means of good nutrition compared to the high costs of store food.
How do the leading causes of death differ between Northern Canada and the rest of Canada?
They are higher across the board in all leading causes of death - suicide, accident, chronic respiratory, circulatory disease, malignant neoplasms, infectious disease.
What role has the federal government played since the 1950s in dealing with the lack of housing in the territories?
When it the government re-located Inuit in the 1950s, they promised to build housing, and has since then had a role in building social housing. However, there are a lot of housing issues at present (e.g. cost, crowding, quality). It is very expensive to deal with because costs are higher in the north. Likewise, government doesn’t recoup its investment through rent.
