ABSTRACT
This chapter explores why understanding diversity is critical to making sense of the health disparities across and within Indigenous populations in Canada today. Aboriginal and treaty rights are recognized under Section 35(1) of the Canadian Constitution Act, 1982, which states that " existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada are hereby recognized and affirmed. Along with a growing Indigenous population, a rise in its educational attainment, and the overall growing capacity to address health issues in ways that are culturally relevant, we are seeing also a groundswell of Indigenous political consciousness and action to address the ongoing legacy of health inequities. This groundswell has roots in the creation of the National Indian Brotherhood by Indigenous leaders across Canada, who recognized the need to band together and fights the proposed federal White Paper on Indian Policy in 1969.
