History

Prior to significant attempts at settlement by various cultures beginning in the 15th century Canada was inhabitied by Aboriginal people (defined as Indian, Inuit and Métis ancestry) who originally migrated from Asian and Northern European countries. Since the settlement of Eurpoean cultures to Canada, these Aboriginal people have seen their land and their way of life slowly and continuously diminish. Since the Royal Proclamation of 1763 where native land was defined, and native law was determined to be the law of that land; colonist's have been progressively moving, developing and building on lands that were historically been declared native lands. This progressive intrusion has made relations between Aboriginal people and the rest of Canada's mainly euro-centrc culture volatile. In the name of assimilation, they have had their culture stripped away by a culture that doesn't want them, leaving them without an identity, a way of being, or a place to call home. (Lawson & Lawsom 2010)

A lack of identity and among the highest poverty rates in Canada have lead to Aboriginal Canadians to experience a broad range of health issues, and have the poorest health levels in the country. Aboriginal people have shorter life expectancies, experience more violent and accidental deaths, have higher infant mortality rates and suffer from more chronic health conditions. (CMHA, n.d.) Due to increasing pressures from outside cultures, and even some within their own culture to continue assimilating into "Canadian" culture Aboriginal people are facing more cultural stressors than a large majority of the rest of the population. Aboriginal people are different from most other culturally diverse groups in Canada in that they did not migrate here; they were migrated upon and forced to take on new values and ways of living. (Lawson & Lawson 2010) All of these forced hardships from taking children away from their parents to forced movement and migration lead to a general distrust of other cultures, and the historical trauma over the course of generations do not lead to the willingness to seek help from people outside of their own culture either.

Aboriginal culture had been affected significantly by "colonization and oppression, such things as residential schools, the reserve system and the Indian Act, all of these things impacted our understanding of culture. Because of this disconnect, native people have struggled to understand how to address the issues we're facing in our communities and how we relate off-reserve" (Bellett, 2011) Going forward it is important for and programs that have Aboriginal people as clients to be culturally aware, and to have the clients themselves be an important part of the counselling process. Because of the differences in cultures, counsellors continuing education and constant upgrading of skills should be a top priority in any agency.

media type="youtube" key="ksYSCWpFKBo" height="315" width="420" align="right" Historical Indian Treaties (Aboriginal People in the Canadian Military; In Defense of Their Homelands, 2010)