Indigenizing Community Well-Being
Date
2018-03-30
Authors
Webber, Kimberly
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Abstract
Indigenous communities are distinct communities within Canada, with their own cultural beliefs, practices, and languages. These communities are viewed as some of the economically poorest communities in the country, but arguably, they are some of the wealthiest in terms of culture and kinship connections. In economics, well-being is often measured using income, life expectancy, education, and income. In Canada in particular, the well-being of Indigenous communities is often evaluated using a composite index called the Community Well-Being (CWB) Index. I believe that this and other measures do not fully encompass what it means for Indigenous communities to be “well-off.” Using data from the Canadian Census of Population, I am able to include language as an indicator of education in Indigenous communities. Using this new educational measurement, I am able to augment the current CWB Index in a way that reflects the holistic view of education in Indigenous communities, but would be cost effective for the Canadian Government to implement. I suggest that this new CWB Index will be more useful in evaluating the effectiveness of policies and programs within Indigenous communities.
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Keywords
Economics, Indigenous, Well-Being, Community, Indigenous Language