10. SUMMARY

10.1 GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS

• First Nations people are mixed in their assessment of the performance of both the federal and provincial levels of government. Neither level is seen to be performing well by a majority, although a much larger proportion view their provincial government's performance as poor. Higher socio-economic status individuals and those having recent contact with the federal government are among the most critical of government performance.
  
• Ratings of government performance have remained stable since 2001. The views of First Nations people on the performance of the federal government are similar to the results of a recent survey of the general public, although First Nations people rate the performance of their provincial government more poorly than does the general public.
  
• A minority of First Nations people have had recent contact with the federal government (higher among affluent residents and those with Internet access), and those who have are only moderately satisfied with the quality of the service or information they received. The level of contact with the federal government is much lower than that reported by the general public, as is the level of satisfaction.
  
• The preferred means of communication with the federal government have not changed substantially from previous surveys, with television and radio continuing to be the preferred methods for receiving information. New methods of communication tested in this survey (pamphlets/newsletters, telephone/fax, general meetings and personal visits) were considered useful by a large number of respondents (particularly pamphlets/newsletters), but did not receive the highest ratings in terms of the most useful means of communication overall.
  Awareness of the Government of Canada's toll-free number has not changed from the previous survey (August 2001), with the majority of First Nations people remaining unaware of this service, as is also the case with the general public.

10.2 CHALLENGES FACING CHILDREN AND YOUTH

• Lack of education and substance abuse are most often identified as the challenges facing Aboriginal children and youth today. This view is held by both First Nations people (who place greater importance on the role of education) and the Canadian general public.
  
• Within the First Nations population, lack of education is a more predominant response among those with a household income in the middle range, a college-level education and between 45 and 54 years of age. First Nations youth themselves more often identify substance abuse as a challenge compared to other respondents.

10.3 QUALITY OF EDUCATION

• The on-reserve education received by Aboriginal children and youth is more often seen by First Nations residents and the general public to be of poorer quality compared to the education received by other Canadian children. First Nations people with greater exposure to the education system (i.e., who are parents) and those with a higher socio-economic status are more likely to rate on-reserve education as comparatively worse in quality.
  
• While both residents of reserves and the general public provide comparatively poorer ratings of the quality of on-reserve education, First Nations people tend to be somewhat more optimistic about the quality of on-reserve education than Canadians overall. This may be due in part to the strong emphasis First Nations people place on the importance of Aboriginal culture and language in on-reserve schools.
  
• According to First Nations residents, a key ingredient for improving the education for Aboriginal children is attracting and keeping qualified teachers. This is closely followed by improving facilities and teaching supplies, dealing with social problems and more parental and community involvement. Providing a more supportive environment in off-reserve schools received least support.
  
• Three-quarters of First Nations residents believe public schools should consider the special issues of Aboriginal children coming from a reserve. The types of special issues that were indicated focused, for the most part, on enhancing sensitivity to Aboriginal culture, languages and subjects (particularly pertinent for upper socio-economic status residents). A secondary issue was academic skills. Based on the current findings, it is suggested that further exploration (perhaps through a series of focus groups) would be useful for a fuller understanding of this issue.
  
• Overall, there is a strong belief that education plays an important role in assuring a better quality of life for Aboriginal children and youth. Recall that one in five mentioned lack of education as the most important challenge facing Aboriginal youth and there is a clear lean to the view that education on-reserve is worse than that received by other Canadians. Early childhood education is also widely perceived to be important for healthy development. The majority of First Nations people, however, believe the current quality of early childhood education to be adequate.
  
• The majority of First Nations people believe that they should have more control over what gets taught in their schools. One expression of this control is the inclusion of Aboriginal languages. Nine in ten believe Aboriginal languages should be taught in the schools and almost two-thirds believe the main language of instruction should be Aboriginal. The views of Canadians overall are generally less supportive of these issues.
  
• According to First Nations people, key reasons that youth in their community do not pursue post-secondary education are: financial barriers; lack of interest or emphasis on education; lack of academic qualification; and distance to PSE in institutions/difficulties in living outside of First Nations communities.

10.4 COMMUNITIES

• The majority of First Nations people living on-reserve are optimistic or at least neutral about their economic future over the next 12 months. Few feel their economic prospects will worsen over the coming year. While it is difficult to accurately track changes in attitudes over time (given differences in the measures used between the 2001 and 2002 First Nations surveys), economic optimism appears to be largely stable. First Nations people demonstrate less pessimism about their economic future over the next 12 months than Canadians overall.
  
• Sense of belonging among First Nations people is strongest to their own family (as it is for Canadians overall). First Nations people feel a stronger sense of attachment to their First Nation, however, than they do to Canada or to their province. This is a striking difference from the general public who feel a comparatively weaker sense of belonging to their ethnic or racial group.
  
• First Nations people support federal government involvement in preserving Aboriginal culture and heritage. Tourism activities are viewed as a way to encourage understanding of Aboriginal culture and heritage and are widely believed to have positive economic benefits for First Nations communities as well.
  
• The majority of First Nations people have lived within their own community during the past two years. Those who have lived off-reserve, however, are drawn from the higher socio-economic strata of these communities. Most agree that, among youth, the primary reasons for leaving the reserve are to improve one's formal education or to pursue employment.

10.5 HEALTH ISSUES

• First Nations people living on-reserve provide generally poorer ratings of their physical health than Canadians overall. At the same time, many claim to have a healthy or mostly healthy diet and most are also at least somewhat physically active (though the majority admit they should be exercising more).
  
• Good health, improvements in diet and adequate levels of physical activity are more prevalent among those with higher levels of education and income.
  
• Encouraging greater levels of physical activity presents challenges. As with most Canadians, commitments to work and family often create a time crunch that allows little room in individuals' daily schedule for exercise. There is also a significant minority (higher among older people) who suffer physical conditions that prevent regular exercise.
  
• Awareness of factors contributing to a healthy pregnancy is quite high among First Nations people 40 years of age or younger. Most can name at least one thing pregnant women can do to increase the likelihood of having a healthy baby, although this is less true among those under 25 years of age. Most frequent suggestions focused on diet, avoiding alcohol and tobacco, and exercise.
  
• Formal channels of health care, in particular, community health nurses are most often cited as the primary source of information about healthy pregnancies for those living in First Nations communities.
  
• There is broad recognition of the potentially harmful effects of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Awareness of FAS is also very high, with respondents mentioning a broad range of physical, mental and behavioural effects.
  
• On the other hand, while virtually all First Nations people have heard of FAS, there is a substantial minority (about 15 per cent) who are unclear about the meaning of FAS or the specific effects on the child. Particular segments that are lacking specific knowledge of FAS include those in smaller and economically disadvantaged communities and individuals with lower levels of education and literacy. Youth between the ages of 16 and 24 are also in need of additional information on the subject, particularly as they are in or entering their child-bearing years.

10.6 ENVIRONMENT

• Exposure to recent information on the topic of climate change among First Nations people is high and is very similar to levels recorded among the general public. Two-thirds of First Nations people have recently heard, seen or read something on this subject. Furthermore, most First Nations people are concerned with this issue and demonstrate a higher level of concern than do Canadians overall.
  
• Concern about climate change does not necessarily translate into support for Canada's commitment to the Kyoto agreement - while the majority of First Nations people support this agreement, the level of support is slightly lower than in the general public. Support for Kyoto tends to be higher among men, upper socio-economic status individuals and those who had recent contact with the federal government. Albertans are more likely to oppose the agreement compared to those in other regions.

10.7 WEB USAGE

• Access to the Internet remains at a stable level among First Nations people, albeit at a lower level than found in the general public. While the majority of First Nations people with access have used the Internet recently, usage levels are lower than that recorded by the general public. Just under one-half of Internet users visited a government web-site recently which is comparable to the general public.

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