Building Knowledge, Measuring Well-being

The document examines the socio-economic and health profile of First Nations people in Winnipeg and Manitoba, identifies gaps in data collection, and explores culturally relevant frameworks, such as the medicine wheel, for measuring community well-being and sustainability.

• There is a significant lack of recent, distinct statistics for First Nations peoples in urban areas because data is often grouped with Métis and Inuit populations, and census protocols may not suit the social context of Indigenous peoples.
• A 'policy void' exists due to jurisdictional disputes between federal and provincial governments; the federal government often claims First Nations people are no longer its responsibility once they leave reserves, while provinces argue they remain a federal legal responsibility.
• First Nations in Canada experience disproportionately high rates of chronic health issues compared to non-First Nation Canadians, including epidemic rates of diabetes, heart disease, and poor nutritional status.
• First Nations reserve communities in Manitoba face extreme living conditions, including the most crowded housing in Canada, with many homes lacking indoor plumbing and relying on wood stoves for heat.
• First Nations people in Manitoba face severe educational and economic disparities, being six times less likely to receive a university degree and having an unemployment rate four times higher than non-First Nations people.
• Urban migration to Winnipeg is driven by 'push' factors like reserve unemployment and poor housing, and 'pull' factors such as education, employment, and personal networks.
• In Winnipeg, affordable and subsidized housing is predominantly concentrated in the city's core or inner city, unlike in Edmonton where policies encouraged a more diverse distribution of low-income housing.
• Culturally relevant sustainability frameworks for First Nations often utilize the medicine wheel to reflect a holistic belief that mental, spiritual, emotional, and physical aspects of life are interconnected.
• The 2001 Census recorded 22,950 North American Indians in Winnipeg, with a significant portion of migrants being single individuals aged 20–39 with annual incomes under $15,000 from their previous communities.

APA

Rust, C. (2007). Building Knowledge, Measuring Well-being. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/building_knowledge.pdf

Chicago

Rust, Christa. Building Knowledge, Measuring Well-being. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2007. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/building_knowledge.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rust |first1=Christa |title=Building Knowledge, Measuring Well-being |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=October 2007 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/building_knowledge.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rust2007building, author = {Rust, Christa}, title = {{Building Knowledge, Measuring Well-being}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2007}, month = oct, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/building_knowledge.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }