Indigenous peoples in Canada: First Nations, Inuit and Métis

Indigenous peoples appear in almost every chapter of Discover Canada: in Who We Are, in Canada’s history, in the rights chapter, in Modern Canada and even in the Oath of Citizenship. This article brings those facts together, from life before Europeans arrived to reconciliation today, and ends with a timeline and the most common mix-ups.

A note on words: “Aboriginal” and “Indigenous”

Discover Canada uses the term Aboriginal peoples. Today the Government of Canada and most Canadians usually say Indigenous peoples. Both terms mean the same three groups: First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The word “Aboriginal” is still used in the Constitution and in the citizenship oath, in the phrase “Aboriginal and treaty rights”. You may see either word on the test, so learn both.

The guide also explains that the older legal term for First Nations is “Indian”. Early European explorers used this name because they believed they had reached the East Indies. In everyday speech today, “First Nations” is the respectful term.

Three distinct peoples

The ancestors of Indigenous peoples are believed to have come from Asia many thousands of years ago, long before any European arrived. Today there are three separate groups. Each has its own history, culture and languages, so do not treat them as one people.

Note that Cree and Haida are individual First Nations, not a fourth group. Indigenous languages such as Cree and Inuktitut are important, but Canada’s two national official languages are English and French. Inuktitut is an official language in Nunavut.

Before Europeans arrived

Indigenous peoples lived across the whole land, and their way of life depended on where they lived:

• The Huron-Wendat and the Iroquois of the Great Lakes region were farmers as well as hunters.
• The Cree and Dene of the North-West were hunter-gatherers.
• The Sioux of the Plains followed the bison herds.
• The Inuit lived off the wildlife of the Arctic, on land and at sea.
• Peoples of the West Coast dried and smoked fish so they could keep it.

Indigenous groups also fought wars with each other over land and resources. The name “Canada” comes from kanata, an Iroquoian word for “village”, and lacrosse, Canada’s national summer sport, was first played by Indigenous peoples.

Contact, the fur trade and alliances

Contact with Europeans changed Indigenous life deeply. Indigenous people had no immunity to European diseases, and very many died. At the same time, for about 200 years after contact, the two sides were linked by trade, religion and military alliances. These ties helped lay the foundations of Canada.

• The fur trade. Europe wanted beaver pelts, and French traders and First Nations worked together to supply them. In 1670 King Charles II gave the Hudson’s Bay Company trading rights over the lands that drain into Hudson Bay.
• Champlain’s allies. Samuel de Champlain allied with the Algonquin, Montagnais and Huron. Their enemy, the Iroquois Confederacy, fought the French for about a century and made peace with them in 1701.
• Joseph Brant led thousands of Loyalist Mohawks north into Canada after the American colonies declared independence.
• Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief, fought beside the British and Canadians in the War of 1812.

The Royal Proclamation of 1763 and treaties

In 1763, soon after Britain took control of New France, King George III issued the Royal Proclamation. It was the first document to guarantee the territorial (land) rights of Indigenous peoples. It also became the basis for negotiating treaties, which are formal agreements between Indigenous peoples and the Crown. The guide is honest that these treaties were not always fully respected.

Rights in the Constitution today

Canada’s Constitution protects two kinds of rights: Aboriginal rights, which come from Indigenous peoples’ history as the first peoples of this land, and treaty rights, which are set out in treaties.

The key text is section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. It recognizes and affirms the existing Aboriginal and treaty rights of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada, and it says that these peoples include the Indian (First Nations), Inuit and Métis peoples. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms, in the same Act, adds a second protection in section 25: the rights in the Charter must not take away from the treaty rights or other rights of Aboriginal peoples. For the test, the short version is enough: Aboriginal and treaty rights are protected in the Constitution.

Louis Riel and the Métis

• 1869–1870, Red River. Canada took over the huge North-West from the Hudson’s Bay Company, but nobody consulted the 12,000 Métis of Red River. Louis Riel led them in an uprising to defend their rights. As a result, Canada created the province of Manitoba in 1870, and many people see Riel as the father of Manitoba.
• 1873. Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald set up the North West Mounted Police (today’s RCMP) to bring order to the West and to help in negotiations with First Nations.
• 1885, the North-West Rebellion. A second rebellion broke out in present-day Saskatchewan. Riel was tried and executed for high treason. His execution was strongly opposed in Quebec.

Today many Canadians see Riel as a hero who defended the rights of the Métis.

Residential schools and the 2008 apology

From the 1800s until the 1980s, the federal government placed many Indigenous children in residential schools. The goal was to assimilate them, which means to make them give up their own culture and take on the culture of the majority. Their languages and traditions were mostly forbidden. The schools were poorly funded, and many students suffered hardship and abuse. In 2008 the federal government formally apologized to former students.

Reconciliation: dates and changes to know

Reconciliation means building a respectful relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, based on the truth about the past.

• National Indigenous Peoples Day, June 21. A day to celebrate the cultures and contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis, close to the summer solstice. Until 2017 it was called National Aboriginal Day.
• National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, September 30. It honours residential school survivors, the children who never came home, and their families and communities. Many people wear orange on this day. It was first marked in 2021, so it is newer than Discover Canada and the guide does not mention it. Because the test is based on the guide, learn the 2008 apology first, and know September 30 as part of life in Canada today.
• The Oath of Citizenship, 2021. The oath was changed so that new citizens promise to observe the Constitution, which “recognizes and affirms the Aboriginal and treaty rights of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples”. This answered a Call to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Our guide to the citizenship oath explains the change phrase by phrase.

Nunavut, 1999

Nunavut was created in 1999 from the eastern part of the Northwest Territories. It is Canada’s newest territory, and most of the people who live there are Inuit. Its name means “our land” in Inuktitut, and its capital is Iqaluit.

Indigenous peoples in other chapters

• Government. On First Nations reserves, band chiefs and councillors have major responsibilities, such as housing and schools. This is one form of Indigenous self-government.
• Arts. Kenojuak Ashevak was a pioneer of modern Inuit art. Emily Carr painted West Coast forests and Indigenous artifacts.

Timeline

For dates from every chapter on one page, see our key dates guide.

Common mix-ups

• Inuit vs Métis. Inuit live in the Arctic and speak Inuktitut. Métis are of mixed Indigenous and European ancestry, live mostly on the Prairies and speak Michif. Neither group is a First Nation: the Inuit are not “one of the First Nations”.
• Largest and smallest. First Nations are the largest group; Inuit are the smallest.
• 1763 vs 1982. 1763 is the Royal Proclamation, the first guarantee of land rights. 1982 is when Aboriginal and treaty rights were written into the Constitution, together with the Charter. And 1759 is the battle on the Plains of Abraham, not the Proclamation.
• 1960 vs 1948. Aboriginal people gained the vote in 1960. Japanese Canadians gained it in 1948.
• 2008 vs 1982. 2008 is the residential schools apology; 1982 is the Charter.
• 1869–1870 vs 1885. Red River led to Manitoba; the 1885 rebellion in Saskatchewan led to Riel’s execution.
• Brant vs Tecumseh. Joseph Brant led the Loyalist Mohawks after 1776; Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief, fought in the War of 1812.
• “Inuit” vs “Nunavut”. Inuit means “the people”; Nunavut means “our land”.
• June 21 vs June 24. June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples Day; June 24 is Quebec’s Fête nationale.

Ready to practise? Review the Who We Are and Rights and Responsibilities chapters, then take Practice Test 1.