E/CN.4/2005/88/Add.3 page 12 Aboriginals, and a leading cause of death among Aboriginal children and youth is suicide, a severe social problem that requires long-term integrated policies at all levels. The suicide rate in Nunavut is 10 times higher than the national average. 41. Intrafamily abuse and violence are serious problems, but they are the tip of an iceberg that began to form when Aboriginal communities lost their independent self-determining powers and Aboriginal families lost authority and influence over their children. One promising approach has been the setting up of community healing lodges and healing centres to fill the acute need for residential treatment for people overwhelmed by social, emotional and spiritual distress. Child welfare is one of the services that Aboriginal people want most to control for themselves. There are numerous Aboriginal child welfare agencies, many of them funded by INAC across Canada serving status Indians. In Manitoba, Aboriginal children make up 21 per cent of Manitoba’s population under age 15 but 78 per cent of the children in care of Child and Family Services. C. The land question 42. Recognizing that Canada owes Aboriginal peoples lands and resources for both contemporary and historical reasons, RCAP called for enough land and resources to give them something adequate to call “home” - not just adequate physical and socio-economic space but a place of cultural and spiritual meaning as well to allow for traditional pursuits such as hunting and trapping, resources for economic self-reliance, and to contribute significantly to the financing of self-government. Despite some progress made, the Special Rapporteur recognizes that these objectives have not yet been met. 43. Over the years, First Nations have lost most of their ancestral lands and current reserves make up only a small fraction of their original habitat. It is clear that in any comprehensive settlement land rights and governing rights must be dealt with hand in hand, as in the Nunavut agreement. 44. The Comprehensive Land Claims Agreements define a wide range of rights, responsibilities and benefits, including ownership of lands, fisheries and wildlife harvesting rights, participation in land and resource management, financial compensation, resource revenue sharing and economic development projects. Since 1973, 16 comprehensive land claim agreements have been signed in Canada covering about 40 per cent of its territory, and over 60 negotiation processes are currently underway in nine provinces and three territories. 45. Through the Specific Claims process, First Nations negotiate with the Government rather than going through the courts. Of about 1,300 claims filed, only 115 are being negotiated and 444 have been resolved, while 38 are being reviewed by the Indian Specific Claims Commission, which provides an appeal mechanism for First Nations. First Nations have received more than Can$ 1.7 billion as well as the ability to acquire almost 3.5 million acres of land. However, Aboriginal critics indicate that at the current rate, outstanding claims will take many centuries to be addressed and that the settlements represent in total only a tiny fraction of the ongoing value of the lands and resources being accrued by non-native governments and citizens.