This article reviews literature on the gradual construction of teenage pregnancy as a social issue in North America. It shows how teen motherhood emerged not as an issue unto itself, but as a microcosm of numerous, closely intertwined phenomena including: the evolution of Western views on human sexuality and gender roles; the place of religious values in society; and the emergence of various modern technologies, the social and medical sciences, and how such disciplines view childhood, motherhood, and women in society. In particular, it shows that even as teen pregnancy is today viewed primarily through public health and/or socioeconomic lenses, it has never been completely divorced from its original construction – as an indicator of failure to adhere to social, religious, and moral values. The article closes with an informal content analysis of several First Nations-related documents that highlight both similarities and differences to the non-Aboriginal perspective.

In times like ours, when people are inundated with notions of consumerist identities, culture is often seen mainly as a resource to be tapped into for economic development. This certainly is true of blatant consumerist culture produced by such economic behemoths as Hollywood, but it is a narrow view on the importance and functions of culture. The objective of this issue of the International Indigenous Policy Journal is to demonstrate the radical importance of culture and spirituality in not only defining a people and their society but also in affecting their well-being and how these things are all interrelated.

It is well-documented that European culture differs from that of Aboriginal culture. Perhaps one of the most striking differences is in the relationships and attitudes each group has towards land. For Europeans the land is a commemorative gift of the creator there to be exploited for economic benefit; for Aboriginal peoples, the land is also a gift but one that a continuing extension of the creator’s immanence in which all things are related to one another. The one is an economic relation, the other a spiritual relation that denotes family. When two very different cultural systems encounter one another, there are bound to be clashes. Regardless, it is the overriding interests of the state that take precedence in countries where religious freedoms are constitutionally guaranteed – but such guarantees apply only insofar as the religions seeking freedom mirrors that of the dominate society. This paper explores these differences in relationships to land and how Aboriginal religious freedom suffers as a result, which has significant impacts on well-being and cultural continuity.

The article reports on ongoing reflections on how to improve the structures and processes by which relevant research findings produced outside Canadian government departments (for example, in universities, think tanks or other research institutions) can be more effectively found, assessed for potential biases, synthesized and disseminated to provide support to government analysts, advisers and decision makers. The focus is on how to structure and routinize research use by government analysts and advisers within a large Canadian department that has a strategic research directorate and many program divisions. Our starting point is the current situation where literature reviews that are produced and used by government analysts and advisers do not correspond to the systematic review standards. We discuss four alternative models. In two models, the whole production process would be controlled from within the department. In the other two models, external actors such as university‐based teams or independent non‐governmental evidence centres would carry the leadership in producing those reviews.