Modernization In Canada

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Impact of Modernization on Traditional Economies of Canada’s Isolated Northern Aboriginal Communities
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Introduction The Aboriginal people are also known as the indigenous people in Canada. They are comprised of three groups known as First Nation, Inuit and Metis people. They were the first inhabitants of the current Canada. They formed complex economic, social, cultural and political systems before the Europeans came to North America. The First Nations occupied south of the Arctic, Metis people live mostly in the Prairie Provinces and Ontario but are also found in other parts of the country, while the Inuit people are found in the northern regions of Canada. Indigenous economies refer to the traditional …show more content…

These factors influenced their settlement size and duration, their interaction with other communities and division of labor between genders. This subsistence economy involved activities such as fishing, gathering hunting, trapping and other activities that provided income kind, which is food, shelter, heat, clothing, and other forms of subsistence goods and services. The indigenous economic activities were not meant for exchange of profits or competition but for the sole purpose of the individual, families and the community (The National Aboriginal Economic Development Board, 2015). The surplus was shared at ceremonies and festivals that promoted social cohesion of the community. The indigenous economies focused on two major principles, sustainability, and …show more content…

Due to the contact between the settler population and the aboriginal people, the subsistence-based economies went through irreversible changes (Lang, Price, Pedersen, & Trovato, 2015). These impacts of these were experienced differently by each region and by over time, they have very much been the same, slow yet consistent, from the informal-based economy to a capitalistic based form of livelihood. There were three important factors that contributed to this transition. They include the distinct evolutionary culture of each of these traditional societies, the magnitude in which the individuals were attracted into the wage, money, market economy and finally the federal government’s role in the administration and support of the aboriginal communities. The formalization of the fur trade (acquisition and sale of animal fur) brought a great change to their way of living. After this, their tradition of subsistence economy changed to market needs. This brought about a conflict between them on resource availability and territorial boundaries when it came to hunting and trapping. The aboriginal societies became dependent on external markets and in return suffered from the destructive consequences of today’s capitalistic economies (Monique, 2016). One of the consequences was that they

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