PREFACE

Over the last century, Aboriginal peoples in Canada, like the rest of the country’s population, have been moving to urban areas. According to the 2006 Census, more than half (54 percent) of Aboriginal peoples now live in urban areas, and demographic projections forecast that this figure will continue to grow. Urban Aboriginal peoples have been seen as another aspect of the “Indian problem,” and until recently, governments at both the federal and provincial levels saw this “problem” as the responsibility of another jurisdiction. In the past, there was little research on this population; as a result, the dimensions of urban Aboriginal lives and the issues facing urban Aboriginal peoples have not been examined and analyzed in the rigorous fashion necessary to facilitate the development of good public policy. Over the last forty years, urban Aboriginal peoples’ organizations have been developing a body of knowledge and practice that is now the basis of a wide array of programming and services. These practices, and the knowledge gained from implementing them, have also not been systematically explored and shared among policy-makers. In an effort to close these knowledge gaps, the National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC) and the Office of the Federal Interlocutor for Métis and NonStatus Indians of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (formerly Indian and Northern Affairs Canada) co-led the creation of the Urban Aboriginal Knowledge Network (UAKN) in 2007. The goal of UAKN is to create a durable research infrastructure that focuses attention on urban Aboriginal concerns and contributes to a better quality of life for Aboriginal peoples living in cities and towns across the country. The network has focused its efforts on funding high-quality, policy-relevant research undertaken by local research centres that bring together urban Aboriginal community practitioners, academic researchers, and government policy analysts in an ongoing, constructive, multi-perspective dialogue on policy priorities and research needs. The output of the network is increased, improved, and shared research, which will provide a better understanding of how urban Aboriginal peoples are “living a good life,” or mino-biimaadiziwin, in the urban setting. This research will also provide a clearer understanding of the policy and programming approaches and elements that can contribute to good lives. At Fostering Biimaadiziwin: A National Research Conference on Urban Aboriginal Peoples, examples of how urban Aboriginal community members, academics,