First Nations children, in Canada, are more than twice as likely to live in poverty than non-native children.  Children, on reserves, face poverty at a higher rate than any other child population, in Canada. Children, in Canada, particularly in Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan, are at a greater risk to live in poverty and in foster care.  Children on these reserves often go to bed hungry, wake up hungry, their homes are overcrowded with family members and have asbestos, likely mold, caused from unfinished houses in need of repair.  One big issue children face is the lack of clean drinking water. Often, homes have discolored water coming from the pipes and sometimes there is no water at all. Some houses have to get their water delivered and often times it is contaminated which needs a boil water advisory.  In fact, a lot of reserves, in Canada, has a boil water advisory, some as long as twenty years.

According to a report, First Nations Children living on a reserve, in Canada, whom live under federal jurisdiction, are far worse off than Metis, Inuit, non-status first nation children living under provincial jurisdiction. Most of these reserves, in Canada, lacks funded schools and child welfare services stand in the way of kids achieving their full potential. Children whom live in the far north, often, face high food price, resulting in poverty when their parents cannot afford such prices. The children, often, end up suffering. Even the food banks, in these areas, cannot stock their shelves enough to feed the people of these communities. Often times, children go to school hungry and the schools try to help, by feeding them. There are groups that help by sending food boxes and school supplies to help the schools and drop in centres but shipping costs stop people from helping. Our government offers food subsidies but these are not enough.

Our recently elected Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, has made statements that he will add funding for school programs, housing, to fix the drinking water problem, in the next five years, investing $1.8 billion dollars and funding for other programs, to help the poverty the first nations children face, as well as developing a plan to help lower prices of food in the northern communities and bring clean drinking water to all reserves in Canada. This funding will not even make a dent into what is needed, to help schools catch up to provincial standards.

Suicide rates among youth ages 10-18, on First Nation Reserves, is high as well. These youth suicides could have been prevented, if there were more services available to help deal with the issues plaguing these children. Poverty leads to so many tragedies and traumas for the first nation’s children. We live in 2017 and our First Nations children should not have to live in poverty and face the hardships they do. Everyone should have access to clean drinking water and food.