English - Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies

Ontario has an amazing diversity of First Nations people. The original
people in Ontario were from a number of different Nations. Residents
of Ontario who do not have Aboriginal heritage are guests of the First
Nations people. The Métis peoples represent the creation of a new
people and culture that were born of the original European visitors
and First Nations people. The Inuit have recently become part of
the Ontario Aboriginal population, as they descended from the
Arctic to meet their individual health needs and seek educational
opportunities.
Ontario is a gathering place for Aboriginal peoples, particularly
in larger urban settings. To effectively work with Aboriginal
families, child welfare professionals require:
> An understanding of the demographics of Aboriginal peoples,
> A history of the particular Nation or Clan that they are
working with and,
> > An understanding of the impact of that history on the socio-economic
conditions of Aboriginal peoples today.
Because of the diversity of the communities and peoples that child welfare
professionals service, the brief history in this section is designed to be a brief
introduction in your own individual research about the particular demographics of
your community.
See Appendix A: Glossary of terms for explanations of the terminology in the
Practice Guide.
This section is intended to help child welfare professionals navigate the different
peoples that make up the term “Aboriginal peoples” and the services and resources
to which each group has access. As a child welfare professional, you may work with
individuals who identify as:
> > Aboriginal
> > First Nations people (“Indians” as defined in the Indian Act) who live in their
community (on reserve) and have a legal status defined by the federal
government