American Indian Wars
The 2010 United States Census found 2,932,248 Americans who identified themselves as being American Indian or Alaskan Native, about 0.9% of the US population. The Canada 2011 Census found 1,836,035 Canadians who identified themselves as being First Nations (or Inuit or Métis), about 4.3% of the Canadian population. No consensus exists on how many people lived in the Americas before the arrival of Europeans, but extensive research continues to be conducted. Contemporary estimates range from 2.1 million to 18 million people living on the North American continent prior to European colonization, but the US Census Bureau stated in 1894 that North America was an almost empty continent in 1492 and that Indian populations "could not have exceeded much over 500,000."
Sixties Scoop
Canada's 1.4 million First Nations, Inuit and Métis people disproportionately experience poor living conditions and substandard schooling, among other issues. A 2016 study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives found that 51 percent of First Nations children live in poverty. This number increases to 60 percent for First Nations children who live on reserves, with poverty rates reaching 76 percent in Manitoba and 69 percent in Saskatchewan for First Nations children living on reserves. The study found poverty rates were 30 percent for non-status First Nations children, 25 percent for Inuit children, and 23 percent for Métis children. (Canada has an overall child poverty rate of 18 percent, ranking it 27 among 34 countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.)