Indigenous Topics

In the first book ever published on Indigenous quantitative methodologies, Maggie Walter and Chris Andersen open up a major new approach to research across the disciplines and applied fields. While qualitative methods have been rigorously critiqued and reformulated, the population statistics relied on by virtually all research on Indigenous peoples continue to be taken for granted as straightforward, transparent numbers. This book dismantles that persistent positivism with a forceful critique, then fills the void with a new paradigm for Indigenous quantitative methods, using concrete examples of research projects from First World Indigenous peoples in the United States, Australia, and Canada. Concise and accessible, it is an ideal supplementary text as well as a core component of the methodological toolkit for anyone conducting Indigenous research or using Indigenous population statistics.

When researchers want to study indigenous populations they are dependent upon the highly variable way in which states or territories enumerate, categorise and differentiate indigenous people. In this volume, anthropologists, historians, demographers and sociologists have come together for the first time to examine the historical and contemporary construct of indigenous people in a number of fascinating geographical contexts around the world, including Canada, the United States, Colombia, Russia, Scandinavia, the Balkans and Australia. Using historical and demographical evidence, the contributors explore the creation and validity of categories for enumerating indigenous populations, the use and misuse of ethnic markers, micro-demographic investigations, and demographic databases, and thereby show how the situation varies substantially between countries.

Aboriginal Statistics at a Glance provides data users with a thematic guide to Aboriginal data at Statistics Canada. It includes data for the First Nations (North American Indian), Métis, and Inuit populations. Each theme is illustrated with a chart presenting key indicators, a plain language definition of the indicator and links to related data tables and published articles to further assist users in meeting their data needs. Data sources include the 1996, 2001 and 2006 censuses of population, the 2006 Aboriginal Peoples Survey, the 2005 Canadian Community Health Survey, and the 2007/2008 Adult Correctional Services Survey.
Distributed by the Government of Canada Depository Services Program.