2011 Land Claims and Self-Government Household Survey Report

2011 Land Claims and Self-Government Household Survey Report This report was written by Rachel Westfall at the Yukon Bureau of Statistics, on behalf of the Implementation Working Group and the Executive Council Office, Government of Yukon. For more information, contact [email protected]. Yukon Bureau of Statistics August, 2011 Table of contents Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 Methodology -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 Respondent demographics and weighting--------------------------------------------------------1 Results and discussion ------------------------------------------------------------------------------2 A. People’s understanding of land claims and self-government ---------------------------3 B. People’s opinions on land claims and self-government----------------------------------8 C. People’s experiences with land claims and self-government-------------------------- 20 Conclusion------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 24 Appendix 1. 2011 Land Claims and Self Government Operations Report----------------- 25 Appendix 2. Data tables -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 29 Question 1 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 29 Question 2 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30 Question 3 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 40 Question 4 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 47 Question 5 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 47 Question 6 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 48 Question 7 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 49 Demographics----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 50 Appendix 3. Survey questionnaire -------------------------------------------------------------- 51 ii Introduction In March and April, 2011, the Yukon Bureau of Statistics conducted the 2011 Land Claims and Self Government Household Survey on behalf of the Yukon First Nations, the Yukon Government and the Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN). The survey questionnaire was created by the Yukon Bureau of Statistics, with extensive support and input from the Implementation Working Group, which is comprised of representatives from Canada, Yukon, CYFN, and Yukon First Nations. The purpose of this survey was to assess the knowledge, understanding, and opinions of Yukon residents regarding land claims and self-government. The information will serve as a baseline, so that the effectiveness of education and awareness campaigns can be measured in the future. Methodology We designed the Land Claims and Self-Government Household Survey in a fashion that would allow us to produce estimates of the knowledge and opinions of adult Yukon residents. The interviews were conducted over the phone, and the interviewers entered the participants’ responses into an electronic database. The questionnaire included 16 questions in total, and each interview took around 10 minutes to complete. Participants were recruited by means of random digit dialing within active residential phone number blocks. Interviews were conducted with any one member of each household who was 18 years of age or older. Samples were drawn from two geographic categories: the Whitehorse area, and all other Yukon communities. Communities outside Whitehorse were sampled more heavily than Whitehorse, to ensure reliable estimates for rural Yukon. Respondent demographics and weighting The completed interviews comprised a sample of 1010 individuals. Responses were weighted to reflect Yukon’s actual adult population size and its age, sex, aboriginal ancestry, and geographic distribution, as estimated for December 2010 by the Yukon Bureau of Statistics. The following table describes the distribution of respondents in the sample, as well as the final population estimates after weights were applied. All the tables and charts in this report describe population estimates, except where otherwise indicated. 1 Demographics Sample Population estimate Frequency Percent Frequency Percent Male 456 45.19 14102 50.43 Female 553 54.81 13862 49.57 Aboriginal 266 26.52 6237 22.4 Non-aboriginal 737 73.48 21602 77.6 Lives in Whitehorse area 605 59.9 20995 75.04 Lives outside Whitehorse area 405 40.1 6985 24.96 Age 18-34 142 14.26 8234 29.79 Age 35-49 318 31.93 7979 28.87 Age 50-64 375 37.65 8343 30.19 Age 65+ 161 16.16 3081 11.15 Results and discussion This section of the report describes the main findings of the survey. The questionnaire included four types of questions: People’s understanding of land claims and self-government (questions 1 and 2); People’s opinions regarding land claims and self-government (questions 3 and 4); People’s experiences with land claims and self-government (questions 5, 6 and 7); And demographic questions (questions 8 through 16). Respondent demographics were used to weight the responses and generate population estimates. They were also used for comparative purposes in the analysis; for instance, for any given question, the responses of men and women can be compared. The respondent demographics are described in the previous section of this report. Here, we examine the results of the survey for each of the first three types of questions: people’s understanding, opinions, and experiences with land claims and self-government. 2 A. People’s understanding of land claims and self-government We used two approaches to measure people’s understanding of land claims and self- government. The first approach was to ask the respondents how knowledgeable they feel about the subject. The second approach was to use a series of nine true or false questions in order to test the respondents’ knowledge of facts such as whether all Yukon First Nations have land claim settlements. In Question 1, we asked the respondents how knowledgeable they feel about land claims and self-government in the Yukon, in general. The options included ‘very knowledgeable,’ ‘somewhat knowledgeable,’ ‘not very knowledgeable,’ and ‘not knowledgeable at all.’ Figure 1. How knowledgeable Yukon residents feel about land claims and self- government, in general. We found that just over half the adult Yukon population 11% 11% (54%) feels very or somewhat knowledgeable about Yukon land claims and Very know ledgeable self-government (Figure 1). Somew hat know ledgeable Figure 2 illustrates how Not v ery some demographic groups know ledgeable were much more likely than Not know ledgeable at others to say they felt 35% 43% all knowledgeable about the topic. For instance, government employees and contractors (65%) were much more likely than others (48%) to say they felt knowledgeable. Those who had lived in the territory for 10 years or more (58%) were more likely to feel knowledgeable than relative newcomers (42%). Aboriginal people (56%) were slightly more likely than non-aboriginal people (53%) to say they felt knowledgeable about the subject. However, non-aboriginal people who had an aboriginal child or partner (61%) were much more likely to say they felt knowledgeable than those who did not (52%). 3 Figure 2. Percentage of Yukon adults who say they feel very or somewhat knowledgeable about land claims and self-government in Yukon. Has lived in Yukon 10 years or more Has lived in Yukon less than 10 years Not aboriginal, has no aboriginal partner or child Not aboriginal, has an aboriginal partner or child Not aboriginal Aboriginal Not a government employee Government employee Lives outside Whitehorse area Lives in Whitehorse area Female Male Age 65+ Age 55-64 Age 35-49 Age 18-34 Everyone 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Percent Question 2 was comprised of a series of nine true-or-false statements. Interviewees were asked to say, based on their understanding of Yukon land claims and self- government, whether they thought the statements were true or false. Some of the statements proved to be more challenging than others. As there is a 50% chance of getting a true/false question right by flipping a coin, values well below 50% suggest a widespread misunderstanding that led numerous people to the wrong answer. Values well above 50% suggest that the information is common knowledge. Here is how Yukoners scored on each of the true-or-false questions. 4 a) All of the Yukon’s First Nations have land claim settlements. Correct answer: False. Percentage of adult Yukon residents who could answer it correctly: 77%. b) Non-members of a First Nation always need a permit from a First Nation to walk through their settlement land. Correct answer: False. Percentage of adult Yukon residents who could answer it correctly: 60%. c) Non-members of a First Nation always need a permit from a First Nation to stake a mineral claim on their settlement land. Correct answer: False. Percentage of adult Yukon residents who could answer it correctly: 14%. d) Self-governing First Nations can pass their own laws. Correct answer: True. Percentage of adult Yukon residents who could answer it correctly: 68%. e) Unless specifically replaced by a First Nation law, all territorial and federal laws apply on First Nation settlement land. Correct answer: True. Percentage of adult

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