New stats on Aboriginal youth sport and culture activity

Earlier this month, StatsCan released a study entitled “Participation in sports and cultural activities among Aboriginal children and youth.” Based on the 2006 Aboriginal Peoples Survey, the report drew on a total of 11,940 respondents, representing nearly 170,000 children.

First, the overall picture:

• over 65% of Aboriginal children participated in sports at least once a week
• about 40% participated in cultural activities

There are three common associations underlying Aboriginal children’s participation in sports and cultural activities:

• higher level of parental education
• weekly contact with Elders
• involvement in additional extracurricular activities

The report points to key identifiers for increased participation in sports:

• being a boy
• being between 9-11 years of age
• being of very good to excellent health
• living in a household with higher income levels
• spending less than 4 hours a day in front of the TV or playing on the computer and video games.

Strong associations related to participation in cultural activities include:

• having four or more siblings
• having knowledge of an Aboriginal language

[ Image via adamwedlake.com ]