Nations, as First Nations were ceded multiple reserves by treaty. First Nations can be grouped into cultural areas based on their ancestors' primary lifeway, or occupation, at the time of European contact. These culture areas correspond closely with physical and ecological regions of Canada. Ethnographers commonly classify indigenous peoples of the Americas in the United States and Canada into ten geographical regions with shared cultural traits (called cultural areas). The Canadian (in whole or in part) regions are Arctic, Subarctic, Northeast Woodlands, Plains, and Plateau. See the individual article on each tribe, band society or First Nation. The Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast communities centred around ocean and river fishing; in the interior of British Columbia, hunting and gathering and river fishing. In both of these areas, salmon was of chief importance. For the people of the plains, bison hunting was the primary activity. In the subarctic forest, other species such as the moose were more important. For peoples near the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River, shifting agriculture was practised, including the raising of maize, beans, and squash. Today, Aboriginal people work in a variety of occupations and live outside their ancestral homes. The traditional cultures of their ancestors, shaped by nature, still exert a strong influence on their culture, from spirituality to political attitudes. Contemporary issues First Nations peoples face a number of problems to a greater degree than Canadians overall, some with living conditions comparable to developing countries like Haiti. Indigenous peoples have higher rates of unemployment, rates of incarceration, substance abuse, health problems, homelessness, fetal alcohol syndrome, lower levels of education and higher levels of poverty. Residential schools Canada's federal residential school system began in the mid-1870s, building upon a patchwork of boarding schools established and operated by various Christian denominations. Member of Parliament for Assiniboia West, Nicholas Flood Davin, produced a report, known generally as the Davin Report, that recommended the establishment of a school system similar to that being created in the United States. One of its chief goals was to remove Aboriginal children from "the influence of the wigwam", which he claimed was stronger than that of existing day schools, and keep them instead "constantly within the circle of civilized conditions". While the history of the Indian Residential School system (IRS) is a checkered one, much criticism has been levelled at both the system and those who established and supported