Regional Indigenous Cancer Plan Reference Material

Acronyms

AHAC - Aboriginal Health Access Centres
AIAI - Association of Iroquois & Allied Indians
CISPRT - Champlain Inuit Service Providers Relationship Table
COO - Chiefs of Ontario
FNIMuI - First Nation, Inuit, Métis, urban Indigenous people
GCT#3 - Grand Council Treaty #3
ICCU - Indigenous Cancer Care Unit
IHEC - Indigenous Health Equity Coordination Unit
IPHCC - Indigenous Primary Healthcare Council
IRCA - Indigenous Relationship and Cultural -Awareness
LHSC - London Health Sciences Centre
MLOHT - Middlesex London Ontario Health Team
MNO - Métis Nation of Ontario
NAN - Nishnawbe Aski Nation
OCP 6 - Ontario Cancer Plan 6
OFIFC - Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres
OH - Ontario Health
ONWA - Ontario Native Women’s Association
RCP - Regional Cancer Program
RICP - Regional Indigenous Cancer Plan
SOAHAC - Southwest Ontario Health Access Centres
Strategy 5 - First Nations, Inuit, Métis and Urban Indigenous Cancer Strategy 2024-2028
SWRCP - South West Regional Cancer Program

Terminology

FNMIUI

FNMIUI: "FNIMUI" stands for First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and urban Indigenous peoples, encompassing a broad spectrum of Indigenous groups in Canada.

Indigenous

Indigenous: "Indigenous" is a term broadly encompassing all Indigenous groups and is preferred in international contexts, like the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. While "Indigenous" is often chosen over "Aboriginal," the latter remains relevant for legal and consistent communication. "Indigenous" is gaining formal recognition, as seen in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act in British Columbia.

Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous Peoples: "Indigenous Peoples" refers to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis in Canada. Though synonymous with Aboriginal, "Indigenous" is preferred and often used globally. However, it's important to specify First Nations, Inuit, or Métis, as "Indigenous" can overlook unique identities and rights. The term should be capitalized when referring to the collective group.

First Nations, Inuit, Métis and Urban Indigenous People

Canada’s Constitution Act of 1982 recognizes “existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the [Aboriginal] peoples of Canada” who are explicitly defined as “the Indian now referred to as “First Nations”, Inuit, and Métis Peoples.”2

Ontario is home to the largest Indigenous population in Canada, with an estimated population of 251,030 First Nations, 134,615 Métis, 4,310 Inuit and 9,515 Indigenous-identifying people. The true number of Indigenous people in Ontario is likely to be much higher, as the Census of Population has been proven to significantly undercount First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.2 It has been demonstrated that the size of the Indigenous population in Toronto was underestimated by a factor of 2:4 in the Census.

First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples are constitutionally recognized nations with Aboriginal, Treaty and inherent rights and land claim agreements. The Indigenous population consists of status and non-status First Nations people who may live on- and off-reserve, Inuit, and Métis in urban, rural and remote areas in Ontario. Each community and nation has its own histories, languages, cultures, beliefs and practices as well as perspectives, protocols, infrastructure, accountabilities, jurisdictions and governance. Their health systems exist distinctly from the Ontario health care system. There are more than 40 Treaties and other land agreements covering Ontario, setting out the rights and responsibilities of First Nations and the provincial and federal governments.

First Nations

First Nations people are the first peoples of North America and they form the largest group of Indigenous people in Ontario, totaling an estimated 251,030peoples3. Politically, First Nations communities are represented at the provincial level by a Political Secretariat (Chiefs of Ontario) and four Provincial Territorial Organizations (Grand Council Treaty #3, Nishnawbe Aski Nation, Anishinabek Nation, and the Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians). There are also 14 Independent First Nations communities representing themselves. Canada’s constitution recognizes First Nations peoples and their existing treaty rights and places a fiduciary responsibility on federal and provincial governments for the health of Indigenous people.

Inuit

The Inuit are the original people from Inuit Nunangat, which includes four Inuit homelands (Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Nunatsiavut, Nunavik and Nunavut). The Inuit in Ontario have relocated here permanently or temporarily from their traditional homelands.The majority of the approximately 4,310 Inuit who live in Ontario are in the Ottawa area but Toronto and other large municiplaties in Ontario have growing urban Inuit populations. Official statistics on Inuit population sizes in Ontario do not accurately reflect the number of Inuit living in urban centres, with several sources reporting significantly larger numbers4. The true number of Inuit in Ontario and in the Ottawa area is likely to be much higher, as the Census of Population has been proven to significantly undercount First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.

At the heart of Inuit culture is family, which is in turn, surrounded by the community. Inuit families are typically large and deeply inter-connected as a result of powerful bonds formed through childbirth, marriage and adoption. Great respect is given to Inuit Elders who carry Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (traditional knowledge) that can be shared with younger generations.

The Inuit infrastructure in Ontario is comprised of multiple organizations working together to provide services to Inuit. Collectively they operate very differently than First Nations and Métis governance. Coinciding with the Inuit population, most Ontario Inuit service delivery organizations are located in Ottawa.

Métis

The genesis of the Métis culture and nation dates back to the 1600s when early European settlers first came into contact with local First Nations communities. Early unions between these predominantly male fur-trading European settlers and local First Nations women led to the emergence of a new and highly distinctive Indigenous peoples with a unique identity and consciousness.

The Métis are a distinct people with a unique history, culture, and language that draws on their diverse ancestral origins, including Ojibway, Cree, Scottish and French.There are approximately 134,615 Métis people living in Ontario.5 In the last decade, many more peoples in Ontario have begun to self-identify as Métis. Almost three-quarters (72 percent) of Métis people live in urban locations6, including 31 charter communities located along historic trading routes.

Urban Indigenous

The term urban Indigenous refers primarily to First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples living in cities and towns and recognizes the diversity between and within Indigenous communities. In Ontario, 88 percent7 of Indigenous peoples live off-reserve in urban or rural communities. This figure includes Métis people and Inuit who do not live on reserves. The 2002 federal court case Canada v. Misquadis defined off-reserve Indigenous peoples as a group of self-organized, self-determining and distinct communities analogous to a reserve community.8 The case legally recognized the urban Indigenous community as a political community unique and separate from the reserve.

Regional Indigenous Cancer Plan Overview