Aboriginal identity development, language knowledge, and school attrition : an examination of cultural continuity ...

• Main Author: Hallett, Darcy
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2009
• Subjects: First Nations
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0092232; https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0092232

This dissertation elaborates on the concept of "cultural continuity" by exploring efforts on the part of First Nations conimunities to revitalize their cultures in ways that impact on the well-being of their young people. Previous work has demonstrated that although provincial Aboriginal youth suicide rates are alarmingly high, these rates vary significantly from one Aboriginal band to another. These earlier findings demonstrate that those bands that strive to connect to their cultural past and gain control of their cultural future were found to have fewer youth suicides. In fact, those communities that possessed all six previously identified markers of "cultural continuity" had virtually no suicides, while those bands that had none of these factors had an incredibly high suicide rate. Taking a lead from these earlier findings, this dissertation reports the results of three interlocking studies each of which is meant to extend and further evaluate the notion of cultural continuity. The first study ...