Membership in a First Nation or Indian band

Part A - Short definition:

Not applicable

Part B - Detailed definition:

'Membership in a First Nation or Indian band' refers to whether a person reported membership in a First Nation or Indian band in Question 21. An Indian band is defined as a body of Indians for whose collective use and benefit lands have been set apart or money is held by the Crown, or who have been declared to be a band for the purpose of the Indian Act. Many Indian bands have elected to call themselves a First Nation and have changed their band name to reflect this. With the 1985 amendment to the Indian Act of Canada (Bill C-31), many Indian bands exercised the right to establish their own membership code, whereby it was not always necessary for a band member to be a Registered Indian according to the Indian Act.

Reported in:

2011

Reported for:

Population in private households

Question number(s):

Direct variable: Question 21

Responses:

Respondents could reply 'Yes, member of a First Nation/Indian band' or 'No' by checking-off the appropriate mark-in circle in Question 21. If a respondent replied 'Yes, member of a First Nation/Indian band,' they were asked to specify the name of their First Nation or Indian Band.

The resulting standard classification is:

• Member of a First Nation or Indian band
• Not a member of a First Nation or Indian band.

Selected groupings of Indian bands may be made available either in published tables or upon special request, subject to confidentiality and data quality constraints.

Remarks:

The 2011 NHS First Nations or Indian band question asked 'Is this person a member of a First Nation/Indian Band?' and the following notes were provided: If 'Yes,' which First Nation/Indian band? For example, Musqueam Indian Band, Sturgeon Lake First Nation, Atikamekw of Manawan.

As well, additional instructions were provided to respondents in the 2011 National Household Survey Guide:

• A First Nation/Indian band is a group of people for whom lands have been set apart and/or money is held by the Crown.
• A member of a First Nation/Indian band is an individual who is recognized as being a member of a First Nation/Indian band, as defined by either the band itself or the Indian Act.
• Individuals should report their First Nation/Indian band affiliation rather than their tribal affiliation—for example, 'Chemawawin First Nation Band' instead of 'Cree.'

Users should be aware that the estimates associated with this variable are more affected than most by the incomplete enumeration of certain Indian reserves and Indian settlements in the National Household Survey (NHS). In 2011, there were a total of 36 Indian reserves and Indian settlements that were 'incompletely enumerated' in the NHS. For these reserves or settlements, NHS enumeration was either not permitted or was interrupted before it could be completed, or was not possible because of natural events (specifically forest fires in Northern Ontario). For additional information, please refer to the Aboriginal Peoples Reference Guide, National Household Survey, 2011.

For additional information on the collection and dissemination of Aboriginal data, please refer to the Aboriginal Peoples Reference Guide, National Household Survey, 2011 and the Aboriginal Peoples Technical Report, National Household Survey, 2011.