Dr. Peters is an urban social geographer. She received her BA (Hons) at the University of Winnipeg and her MA and PhD at Queen’s University in Kingston. Dr. Peters’ research focus has been First Nations and Métis people in cities. She has conducted research with a variety of community groups, including the Prince Albert Grand Council Urban Services Inc., the Saskatoon Tribal Council, Friendship Centres in Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Flin Flon, the Gabriel Dumont Institute, and the Central Urban Métis Federation Inc. Her recent edited book with Chris Andersen, titled Indigenous in the City: Contemporary Identities and Cultural Innovation, focusses on urban Indigenous experiences in Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand. In 2013 Dr. Peters was given the Canadian Association of Geographers’ Award for Service to the Discipline, for her work in developing the field of urban Aboriginal geographies.

Atlas of Urban Aboriginal People:

The Atlas of Urban Aboriginal Peoples attempts to make some information about Aboriginal people in urban areas in Canada available to a wide audience by mapping their changing residential locations in urban neighbourhoods. It is part of the research associated with the Canada Research Chair on Inner City Issues, Community Learning and Engagement held by Dr. Evelyn J. Peters at the University of Winnipeg.

The Atlas focuses on the five prairie cities of Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina, Edmonton, and Calgary from 1981 to 2011. It identifies the percentage of Aboriginal, Métis and First Nations people living in different census tracts and enumeration/dissemination areas of the city. The intent of the Atlas is to provide information about where Aboriginal people live in cities and patterns of changes over time as a basis for policy making and research.

View the Atlas

Rooster Town

Between approximately 1901 and 1960 a largely Métis community formed on the outskirts of the south western edge of Winnipeg. They built their own houses and the men worked in occupations such as teamster or gardener. By 1911 the community was recognized as a separate entity and was called “Rooster Town” or the “French Settlement” by the Winnipeg Free Press. By the 1950s, some families had four generations living in the Rooster Town area, and some residents had lived there for more than 50 years. In 1956 the City of Winnipeg began to disperse the settlement to build the Grant Park Mall and later the Rockwood School. By 1961 the community had been entirely dispersed.

While there is evidence that, as they were dispossessed of their lands, other Métis moved to the edges of towns and cities in order to make a living, this aspect of Métis life has not been well explored. These settlements are also largely ignored in urban histories. Using the manuscript census records, assessment rolls, the Henderson’s Directories, newspaper articles, scrip records, and oral interviews, Dr. Peters and her students Matthew Stock and Adrian Werner, together with the Lawrence Barkwell of the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) are working to recover the history and characteristics of this community in Winnipeg. The immediate goal is to produce an interactive website which will contain genealogies, maps, and information about the individuals and families who lived in Rooster Town.

Urban Aboriginal Organizations in Saskatoon

Based on research conducted while she was at the University of Saskatchewan, Dr. Peters is completing a book that explores almost two decades (1966-1985) of the history of three Aboriginal organizations in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The decades of the mid-century represented a period of rapid urbanization for Aboriginal people in Canada. Arriving in cities where existing cultural and service organizations were focussed on and staffed primarily by non-Aboriginal people, Aboriginal people created institutions to meet the needs of their own people. In the process they challenged the prevailing citizenship regime that defined who they were and how they should participate in urban society. Other researchers have documented the ways national and provincial Aboriginal organizations grew and challenged accepted notions of their place in Canadian society during this period. Unlike the US literature, though, there is almost nothing available that describes the evolution of philosophies and programs at the local level. This research attempts to fill this gap. While there were similarities in the issues they faced, the institutions which included the Saskatoon Indian and Metis Friendship Centre, Local 11, and the Saskatoon Tribal Council, were unique in the ways they shaped and were shaped by colonial histories, existing policies and legislation, personalities, and prevailing expectations about the nature of urban Aboriginal identities. As they developed, these organizations challenged existing views about the relationship between Aboriginal cultures and communities, and urban life. Add pictures

Urban Indigenous homelessness workshop and book

Organized together with Dr. Julia Christensen, Roskilde University, Trekroner, Denmark, and with a group of international scholars, this February 2014 workshop will explore the culturally and geographically distinct aspects of Indigenous homelessness in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. In particular, we have sought contributions that emphasize Indigenous research and university-community collaboration. While Indigenous people are over-represented in urban homeless populations in all of these countries, relatively few researchers work in this field. The workshop papers will be published in a book with the University of Manitoba Press. The international focus of the book, its emphasis on Indigenous issues, and the participation of Indigenous scholars and community members in writing about Indigenous homelessness means that this book fills a unique niche.

We position Indigenous homelessness in the wake of historic Commonwealth colonialisms and contemporary neoliberal policies. Indigenous people are overrepresented among homeless people in these countries. At the same time, chronic housing need, inappropriate architecture and planning, and other socio-structural disparities exist in rural Indigenous communities that contribute to both hidden forms of homelessness as well as rural-urban migration. While the shifting dynamics of the housing and job markets, as well as those of neoliberal social policy, can be linked to Indigenous homelessness just as they can be to homelessness among other demographic groups, only a small body of work has explored the particular reasons why Indigenous people are so highly overrepresented in the homeless populations of settler societies.

List of Papers

History of urban Aboriginal institutional development in Winnipeg

This is a project undertaken in co-operations with John Loxley, Economics, University of Mannitoba. Guided by an Aboriginal advisory committee, researchers interviewed Aboriginal activist involved in establishing Aboriginal organizations in Winnipeg in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. The completed videos will be available on the University of Manitoba Archives website shortly.

View Movie

Recent Publications:

Urban Aboriginal Issues:

Brandon J. and E.J. Peters. 2014. Moving to the City: Aboriginal Migration to Winnipeg. Winnipeg: CCPA

Peters, E.J., R. Maaka and R. Laliberte. 2014. I’m sweating with Cree culture not Saulteaux culture and there goes the beginning of Pan Indianism. In: Aboriginal Populations---Social, Demographic, and Epidemiological Dimensions, Frank Trovato and Anatole Romaniuc (eds.). Edmonton: University of Alberta Press. Pp. 285-302.

Peters, E.J., 2013 ‘Aboriginal Peoples in Urban Areas’ in H. Hiller (ed.) Urban Canada: Sociological Perspectives, Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press (188-211).

Peters, E.J. and Andersen, C. (eds.), 2013. Indigenous in the City: Contemporary Identities and Cultural Innovation. Vancouver: UBC Press.

Peters, E.J., R. Maaka and R. Lalilberte. 2013. I’m sweating with Cree culture not Saulteaux culture and there goes the beginning of Pan Indianism. In: Aboriginal Populations---Social, Demographic, and Epidemiological Dimensions, Frank Trovato and Anatole Romaniuc (eds.). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Peters, E.J. 2011. Emerging Themes in Academic Research in Urban Aboriginal Identities in Canada, 1996-2010. aboriginal policy research journal 1,1:78-105.

Peters, E.J. (ed.) 2011. Urban Aboriginal Policy Making in Canadian Municipalities. Kingston and Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press.

Peters, E.J. 2010. Aboriginal People in Canadian Cities. In: Canadian Cities in Transition: New Directions in the Twenty-First Century. 4th edition. Trudi Bunting, Pierre Filion, and Ryan Walker (eds.) Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press (375-390).

Peters, E.J., and O. Starchenko. 2008. Neighbourhood Effects and Levels of Segregation of Aboriginal People in Large Cities in Canada. (Ottawa: CMHC) View Paper

Wouters, S.L. and Peters, E.J. 2008 Urban Aboriginal Settlement Patterns and the Distribution of Housing Characteristics in Prairie Cities, 2001. Prairie Perspectives, Vol. 10:30-46.

Starchenko, O. and Peters, E.J. 2008. Aboriginal Settlement Patterns in Canadian Cities: Does the classic index-based approach apply? Environment and Planning A 40, 676-697.

Peters, E.J. 2007. First Nations and Métis people and diversity in Canadian cities. In: K. Banting, T.J. Courchene, and F. Leslie Seidle (eds.) Belonging? Diversity, Recognition and Shared Citizenship in Canada. Ottawa: Institute for Research on Public Policy. 207-246.

Aboriginal Homelessness in Canada:

Peters, E.J. and Craig, C. 2014. "Aboriginal Homelessness in Flin Flon, Manitoba". Prepared for the Flin Flon Aboriginal Friendship Centre. May. View Report

Peters, E.J. 2012. “I like to let them have their time.” Hidden homeless First Nations people in the city and their management of household relationships. Social and Cultural Geography, 13,4:321-338.

Peters, E.J. with PAGC Urban Services Inc. 2009. “Everything You Want Is There”: The Place of the Reserve in First Nations’ Homeless Mobility. Urban Geography 30, 4:1-29.

Peters, E. J. 2009. Report on Summer and Winter Daily Mobility Patterns of Aboriginal Homeless People in Saskatoon. Prepared for the Saskatoon Indian and Metis Friendship Centre, March. View Report

Peters, E.J. and V. Robillard, 2007. Urban Hidden Homelessness and Reserve Housing. In: J.P. White, P. Maxim and D. Beavon (eds.) Aboriginal Policy Research. Toronto: Thompson. 189-206.

Peters, E. J. 2007. Service Needs and Perspectives of Hidden Homeless First Nations People in Prince Albert. Prepared for the Prince Albert Grand Council, September. View Report

Other Recent Publications:

Siggner, A.J. and E.J. Peters. 2014. The Non-Status Indian Population Living Off-Reserve in Canada: A Demographic and Socio-Economic Profile aboriginal policy studies, 3, 3:86-108. 

Peters, E.J. 2011. Still Invisible: The Enumeration of Indigenous Peoples in Censuses Internationally, aboriginal policy studies, 1, 2:68-100.

Peters, E.J. and McCreary, T.A. 2009. Poor Neighbourhoods and the Changing Geography of Food Retailing in Saskatoon, 1984-2004. Canadian Journal of Urban Research, Vol. 18, 1:78-106.

Peters, E.J. 2008. Métis Populations in Canada: Some Implications of Settlement Patterns and Characteristics. Native Studies Review 17, 2:19-44

Workshop Overview

Organized together with Dr. Julia Christensen, Roskilde University, Trekroner, Denmark, and with a group of international scholars, this February 2014 workshop will explore the culturally and geographically distinct aspects of Indigenous homelessness in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. In particular, we have sought contributions that emphasize Indigenous research and university-community collaboration. While Indigenous people are over-represented in urban homeless populations in all of these countries, relatively few researchers work in this field. The workshop papers will be published in a book with the University of Manitoba Press. The international focus of the book, its emphasis on Indigenous issues, and the participation of Indigenous scholars and community members in writing about Indigenous homelessness means that this book fills a unique niche.

We position Indigenous homelessness in the wake of historic Commonwealth colonialisms and contemporary neoliberal policies. Indigenous people are overrepresented among homeless people in these countries. At the same time, chronic housing need, inappropriate architecture and planning, and other socio-structural disparities exist in rural Indigenous communities that contribute to both hidden forms of homelessness as well as rural-urban migration. While the shifting dynamics of the housing and job markets, as well as those of neoliberal social policy, can be linked to Indigenous homelessness just as they can be to homelessness among other demographic groups, only a small body of work has explored the particular reasons why Indigenous people are so highly overrepresented in the homeless populations of settler societies.

View Workshop Agenda

List of Papers

Australia Introduction
View Draft

Canada Introduction
View Draft

New Zealand Introduction

‘They don’t let us look after each other like we used to’: reframing Indigenous homeless geographies as home/journeying in the Northwest Territories, Canada
Julia Christensen, Roskilde University
Paul Andrew, Tulita Dene, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (NWT)
View Draft

Looking through the service lens: case studies in Indigenous homelessness in two regional Australian towns
Paul Memmott, University of Queensland
Daphne Nash, University of Queensland
View Draft

No Dumping: The Policing of Homelessness and the Racialization of Inner-City Space
Joshua Freistadt, University of Manitoba
View Draft

The Inclusion of Indigenous Voice in co-constructing “home”: A case of Indigenous Homelessness in a northern semi-urban community in Manitoba
Marleny M. Bonnycastle, Ph.D., University of Manitoba
Maureen Simpkins Ph.D , University College of the North
Annette Siddle, City of Thompson, Public Safety
View Draft

Community Engaged Scholarship: The Only Path to New Solutions for Old Problems in Aboriginal Homelessness
Wilfreda E. Thurston, University of Calgary
David Turner, Consultant
Cynthia Bird, Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary
View Draft

Rural Aboriginal Homelessness in Canada
Rebecca Schiff, Labrador Institute
Alina Turner
Jeannette Waegemakers Schiff
View Draft

Aboriginal ‘Fringe-dwelling’ in Geraldton, Western Australia: A Colonial Legacy
Sarah Prout, University of Western Australia
Charmaine Green, University of Western Australia
View Draft

Turangawaewae Kore: Nowhere to Stand
Deidre Brown, University of Auckland

“All We Need Is Our Land:” Exploring Southern Alberta Urban Aboriginal Homelessness
Yale D. Belanger, University of Lethbridge
Gabrielle Weasel Head
View Draft

The Role of Mobility Patterns in Australian Aboriginal Homelessness
Dr. Christina Birdsall-Jones
John Curtin Institute of Public Policy, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia
View Draft

Comparing Indigenous and non-Indigenous Respondents to the Health and Housing in Transition Study
Fran Klodawsky, Carleton University
Rebecca Cherner, Tim Aubry, University of Ottawa
Susan Farrell, University of Ottawa
Julie Parnell
Barbara Smith
View Draft

“We are good-hearted people, we like to share”: definitional dilemmas of crowding and homelessness in urban Indigenous Australia
Kelly Greenop, University of Queensland
Paul Memmott, University of Queensland

Indigenous homelessness in New Zealand: The enduring issue of definition
Kate Amore, University of Otago

Office:
Richardson College for the Environment and Science Complex
599 Portage Ave, Wpg, MB
3RC077

Phone:
204.982.1148

Email:
ej.peters@uwinnipeg.ca