First Nations Statistics taken from unicef In Canada, Aboriginal Children are: 7 times more likely to die in infancy

than others 50 times more likely to be hospitalized with preventable illnesses such as chicken pox Only half will complete high school Twice the number of Inuit and Metis children live in poverty than do other Canadian children 48% of the Aboriginal population is children and youth 31% of non-Aboriginal population is children and youth 1 in 4 children in First Nations communities lives in poverty, a rate more than double that of Canadian children on average. Much of this is a result of decades of policies that dislocated children from families and perpetuated disparity, generation after generation. Canada ranks 3rd in applying the Human Development Index (HDI), out of 177 countries. Canada ranks 68th in First Nation communities in applying the HDI 7 times more likely to become a teen parent than non-aboriginal teens Have 20% lower immunization rates than the general the population and First Nations children subsequently suffer from higher rates of vaccine-preventable diseases 38% of deaths were attributed to suicide for First Nations youth aged 10-19. 1999, the suicide rate among First Nations was 2.1 times higher than the overall Canadian rate. 5-10 times the rates of sexually transmitted diseases Early parenting increases the vulnerability of individuals and communities because they are already disadvantaged socio-economically and have limited access to education, employment and formal child care. The leading cause of infant mortality in First Nations populations is sudden infant death syndrome, which is linked to maternal smoking, climatic situations and socio-economic factors, such as sub-standard housing. There is a 22% gap gap in funding child welfare services for First Nations and Canadian children More Aboriginal children are in government care today that during the peak years of residential schooling era In 2003, the UN Committee expressed deep concern about the health of Canadian Aboriginal children, including the lack of accessible health care, high rate of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, and rate of youth suicide and diabetes that is among the highest in the world. In almost all health status indicators (measures of child health, such as diabetes and suicide rates) and in the determinants of health and well-being (inuences such as poverty and access to clean water), Aboriginal children fall well below the national averages for Canadian children.