2.1 Supporting Indigenous Youth Experiencing Homelessness
Indigenous peoples is a term used in Canada to describe three distinct cultural groups: First Nations (status and non-status Indians), Métis, and Inuit. There are approximately 1.4 million Indigenous people in Canada, representing about 4% of the country’s total population (Statistics Canada, 2009). Over 40% are under age 24, and 28% are under 14 (Statistics Canada, 2013). The Indigenous population has become highly urbanized. Since the 1970s, there has been a large migration of Indigenous peoples from rural areas and reserves to cities. More than 600,000—54% of the total Indigenous population—live in cities—and the numbers continue to grow (Statistics Canada, 2009). Urbanized Indigenous youth are the largest and fastest growing youth demographic in the country (Statistics Canada, 2013).