Enhancing Aboriginal Youth Health
Focus on staying in school, community involvement & family connections
by Thor Larson (Research Editor, GETOUT! Ideas Factory), July 26, 2005
» A deeper understanding
» Identifying the risks & challenges
» Signs of progress
» Aboriginal youth not-in-school
» Focus on resilience: school, community & family
» Innovative programming for Aboriginal youth
» works cited
Numerous publications have documented that the health rates of young Aboriginal Canadians are lower than that of non-Aboriginal Canadians the same age.
The 1999 Annual Report from the BC Children’s Commission identifies that Aboriginal children and youth encounter harmful life events at disproportionate rates to the rest of society. The commission points out a number of significant health differences for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal youth:
- the suicide rate for Aboriginal males aged 10-19 is over 8 times that of non-Aboriginals that same age, and 20 times higher for female Aboriginals.
- the death rate for Aboriginal children from all causes is more than 3 times higher than for the general population.
- approximately 8% of the Province’s children and youth are Aboriginal, yet on average 37% of children and youth in continuing custody of government care are Aboriginal.
- limited studies of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome find a rate for Aboriginal populations that are 10 times higher than of the general population.
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Despite the negative picture these statistics paint, some more optimistic trends have been identified by the McCreary Centre Society’s 2000 Aboriginal Youth Health in British Columbia report.
Based on the most extensive youth health survey conducted in the province, the report provides an up to date and in-depth account of the current situation of Aboriginal youth health.
While not overlooking the enduring struggles facing Aboriginal youth, the authors identify some encouraging developments and suggest several strategies to help this population of youth achieve healthier lifestyles: physically, mentally, and spiritually.
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Identifying the risks & challenges
A number of factors are identified as in need of improvement. These factors serve as priorities for the Aboriginal youth-serving sector:
- Aboriginal students continue to experience sexual and physical abuse. The rates of physical abuse are higher for Aboriginal youth with 31% of Aboriginal girls and 16% of Aboriginal males report having been physically abused, compared with 20% of non-Aboriginal females and 13% of males. Rates of sexual abuse are also higher among Aboriginals; 28% of females and 6% of males report some experience of sexual abuse compared with non-Aboriginal females (14%) and males (3%).
- 51% of Aboriginal youth report that they often experience common emotional health troubles, such as “feeling low”, “a bad mood”, or “feeling nervous”.
- Suicide continues to be a leading cause of death among young people, especially young men, in many Aboriginal communities. Suicide has touched the lives of most Aboriginal youth: 64% know someone personally who has attempted or committed suicide.
- Aboriginal youth are more likely to smoke tobacco than their non-Aboriginal peers. About a third of females and 22% of males are regular cigarette smokers.
- An increase in marijuana use was one of the most striking trends between the 1992 and 1998 Adolescent Health Survey. Among Aboriginal students, the percentage who have ever used marijuana increased from 46% to 60% during this time period.
- Aboriginal students are more likely to experience racial discrimination.
- Aboriginal girls experience more violence than non-Aboriginal girls.
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Also acknowledged are signs of progress:
- 84% of Aboriginal students rate their own health as good or excellent. However, despite generally good health, 44% report experiencing one or more physical health troubles.
- Most feel strongly connected to their family and school.
- Nearly two-thirds want to continue their education beyond high school.
- Aboriginal students are waiting longer to have sex. The proportion of sexually active Aboriginal youth declined significantly from 52% of males and 51% of females in 1992, to 40% of males and 38% of females in 1998.
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Aboriginal youth not-in-school
One limiting factor of the report is that it was only administered to youth who were in school at the time.
However, attendance in school has been highlighted as a protective factor when it comes to the health status of Aboriginal youths.
The Aboriginal Youth Health report does acknowledge this disparity and draws upon past surveys of street-involved youth to round out the profile. The authors claim that, “not surprisingly, street-involved youth are much more likely than other youth to be involved in risky behaviors such as drug use, to have been abused, and to have physical and emotional health problems.”
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Focus on resilience: school, community & family
The McCreary report stresses the resilience that staying in school provides. Highlighted is the unmistakable connection between education, health, and success in later life.
Yet, the report finds that Aboriginal youth are less likely than other adolescents to finish high school, or to go on to higher levels of training or education. Only 38% of Aboriginal students completed Grade 12 within 6 years of entering Grade 8, compared with 78% for non-Aboriginal students. Furthermore, only 4% of Aboriginal students who graduated from high school in 1997-1998 were admitted to a BC university, compared with 22% of BC high school graduates overall.
The authors of the report recommend, “BC must find better ways to reduce the drop-out rate among Aboriginal students, to support programs that encourage them to finish high school, and to help more Aboriginal youth continue their education after secondary school”.
The report also emphasizes the protective factors of community involvement and recreational activities.
While 78% of youth surveyed had volunteered in some project in the past 12 months, the most frequent type of activity for Aboriginal youth are organized or unorganized sports.
Connectedness to family is another important protective factor identified by the report. Students with strong connectedness to their family are found to be less likely to experience emotional distress or to engage in risky activities, and are more likely to plan to continue their education after high school.
Programming for Aboriginal youth must consider how these protective factors (staying in school, community involvement and connectedness to family) can be fostered and strengthened, so that Aboriginal communities can be supported in the pursuit of encouraging healthier and more resilient youth.
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Innovative programming for Aboriginal youth
A number of Vancouver-based organizations are at the forefront in providing innovative programming for urban Aboriginal youth, encouraging the building of connections within the community and fostering the protective factors of youth.
The Urban Native Youth Association’s Aboriginal Youth First Program is a three year pilot project which offers sports and recreation programming to Aboriginal Youth in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver (DTES).
The program is based on a 2003 survey of 223 Aboriginal youth that identified the sport and recreational needs of Aboriginal youth in the DTES. The survey process itself engaged young Aboriginals to assist in its design, conduct and analysis.
The Aboriginal Youth First program focuses on engaging disconnected Aboriginal youth through a mixture of drop-in, structured and competitive actives with an aim to create programs that include leadership training, skills training, and basic life skills.
Basketball teams, Capoeira lessons, canoe clubs, and cultural retreats are among the programs developed through this initiative. Additionally, a number of skill-building activities encourage the development of long-term skills helping them in their recreational activities and assisting them in obtaining volunteer opportunities and jobs in coaching, refereeing, sports medicine, and scorekeeping.
Redwire Native Youth Media Society is a media and arts organization devoted to the expression of Aboriginal Youth. Their mandate is to grant Aboriginal youth with an “uncensored forum for discussion, in order to help youth find their own voice”.
The Redwire Magazine is a quarterly magazine that has been published and distributed nation-wide since April of 1997 and is the first Aboriginal youth-driven magazine in Canada.
The Knowledgeable Aboriginal Youth Advocates (KAYA) is a project that aims to create “mentorship in all levels of the community so that Aboriginal youth can build their capacity to participate in the processes that affect them.”
KAYA offers training workshops for youth by youth to encourage the development of communication and decision-making skills from an Aboriginal perspective. The project’s ultimate goal is to assist Aboriginal youth become informed advocates for their community. Additionally, KAYA engages in information sharing for organizations, facilitation of community events, youth groups, advisory councils, board committee, and attendance at meetings relevant to youth issues in order to help programs and services better meet the needs of youth by engaging their insights and energies.
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- McCreary Centre Society (2000). “Raven’s Children: Aboriginal Youth Health in BC” (2000). McCreary Center Society at
http://www.mcs.bc.ca.
- BC Children’s Commission (1999). “Annual Report”. Victoria, BC: BC Children’s Commission.
- UMYAC (2005). “Knowledgeable Aboriginal Youth Advocates”. UMYAC 2005/2006 Lower Mainland Projects at
http://www.bcaafc.com/umayc/Projects/Vancouver/index.html.
- Redwire Magazine at
http://www.redwiremag.com.
- Urban Native Youth Association at
http://www.unya.bc.ca.
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