Aboriginal peoples in Canada

Aboriginal peoples in Canada
Notable First Nations people: Aatsista-Mahkan, Crowfoot, Joseph Brant, Andrea Menard, Adam Beach, Tony Whitford, Dan George, Tantoo Cardinal, Graham Greene (actor)
Total population
1,172,790[1]
Regions with significant populations
Languages
Aboriginal languages, Canadian English and Canadian French
Religion
Christian (mainly Roman Catholicism and Anglican), Anishinaabe, Wyandot

Aboriginal people in Canada, also known as First Nations, Inuit and Métis,^[2] are people who belong to recognized indigenous groups in the Canadian Constitution Act, 1982, sections 25 and 35, respectively as First Nations, Métis, and Inuit.

As of the 2006 Canadian Census there were over 1,172,790 Aboriginal people in Canada, 3.8% of the country's total population.^[3] This comprises 698,025 people of First Nations descent, 389,785 Métis, and 50,485 Inuit. National representative bodies of Aboriginal people in Canada include the Assembly of First Nations, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the Métis National Council, the Native Women's Association of Canada, the National Association of Friendship Centers and the Congress of Aboriginal People. These bodies however are not recognized by some indigenous people in Canada as representing their interests. Some such indigenous people prefer to rely upon their traditional laws and governance and pick their representation accordingly.

Some indigenous people assert that their sovereign rights have not been extinguished, and point to the Royal Proclamation of 1763 which is mentioned in the Canadian Constitution Act, 1982, Section 25, as well as to the British North America Act and the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties to which Canada and Great Britain are signatories, in support of this claim.

The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples was an important commission undertaken by the Government of Canada in the 1990s. It assessed past government policies toward Aboriginal people, such as residential schools, and provided many policy recommendations to the government. However, many recommendations made by RCAP have not been implemented by the federal government to date.

Under the Employment Equity Act, Aboriginal people are a designated group along with women, visible minorities, and persons with disabilities.^[4] They are not considered a visible minority under the Act and in the view of Statistics Canada.^[5]

Native languages

Main articles: Indigenous languages of the Americas and First Nations Aboriginal languages

Today, there are over thirty different languages spoken by indigenous people, most of which are spoken only in Canada and are in decline. Among those with the most speakers include Anishinaabe and Cree, together totalling up to 150,000 speakers; Inuktitut, with about 29,000 speakers in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Nunavik (Northern Quebec), and Nunatsiavut (Northern Labrador); and Mi'kmaq, with around 8,500 speakers, mostly in Eastern Canada. Many aboriginal peoples have lost their native languages and often all but surviving elders, speak English or French as their first language.

Two of Canada's territories give official status to native languages. In Nunavut, Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun are official languages alongside English and French, and Inuktitut is a common vehicular language in government. In the Northwest Territories, the Official Languages Act That there are over fifty different languages: Dene Suline, Cree, English, French, Gwichʼin, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktan, North Slavey, South Slavey and Tåîchô. However besides English and French, these languages are not vehicular in government; official status entitles citizens to receive services in them on request and to deal with the government in them.

Name controversy

Main article: Native American name controversy

Although Indian remains in place as the legal term used in the Canadian Constitution, its usage outside such situations can be considered offensive. The confusion can likely trace its lineage to the European explorer Christopher Columbus who was thoroughly convinced that he had discovered a new route to India. It also refers to self-identification of Aboriginal people who live within Canada, but who have not chosen to accept the extinction of their rights of Sovereignty or Aboriginal Title of their lands.

The terms First Peoples and First Nations have also been used synonymously, and are occasionally used as descriptive terms by U.S. Native Americans in solidarity with their First Nations relatives.

Capitalization

Organizational policies regarding the capitalization of Aboriginal differ. The Government of Canada's department Indian and Northern Affairs Canada advises that the term should always be capitalized and only used as an adjective, not a noun,^[6] and it is capitalized in the Canadian Hansard, the transcript of parliamentary debates which is considered to reflect good Canadian English style.^[7] Canadian Oxford Dictionary gives capitalized Aboriginal as a headword entry—signifying that it "represents the most common form in Canadian usage"—and provides aboriginal as a variant spelling.^[8]

Population

Statistics Canada records people who respond to the Canadian Census by reporting "Aboriginal identity."

National Aboriginal Day

Since 1996, National Aboriginal Day (June 21) has been an official day of celebration across the country.

Notable Aboriginal people in Canada

• Robbie Robertson, Cree singer
• Chief Dan George, Salish actor
• Tecumseh, Shawnee general
• Louis Riel, leader, politician, Métis
• Ovide Mercredi, Cree politician
• Graham Greene, Mohawk actor
• Kashtin, Innu singer
• Susan Aglukark, Inuk singer, activist
• Bill Reid, Haida artist
• Ethel Blondin-Andrew, Dene politician
• Tantoo Cardinal, actor, Métis/Cree
• Jonathan Cheechoo, professional hockey player, Cree
• Jordin Tootoo, professional hockey player, Inuit
• Harold Cardinal, Aboriginal Human Rights Activist, Cree
• Ted Nolan, former professional hockey player and coach

See also

• The Canadian Crown and First Nations, Inuit and Métis

Notes

References

• Katherine Barber, editor (2004). The Canadian Oxford Dictionary, Second Edition. Toronto, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-541816-6.

External links

• The Canadian Museum of Civilization - First Peoples Section
• Aboriginal Canada Portal
• Comprehensive Claims (Modern Treaties) in Canada - Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
• Aboriginal Perspectives educational Web site
• Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples
• Naming guidelines of the Government of Canada's Department of Indian and Northern Affairs
• Indigenous Peoples Issues and Resources: Canada
• Map of historical territory treaties with Aboriginal peoples in Canada
• CBC Digital Archives - The Battle for Aboriginal Treaty Rights
• Collection of Historical Images of the Canadian kwakiutl Natives
• A History of Aboriginal Treaties and Relations in Canada This site includes links to digitized primary sources and summaries of primary source documents, such as treaties.
• Chart of Aboriginal population according to their percentage of the total population in Canada, provinces and territories - 2001 Census, Statistics Canada
• First Nations Studies Essays
• First Nations Seeker
• Aboriginal Virtual Exhibits from Canadian Museums

First Nations in Canada (by province or territory) British Columbia · Alberta · Saskatchewan · Manitoba · Ontario · Quebec · New Brunswick · Nova Scotia · Prince Edward Island · Newfoundland and Labrador · Yukon · Northwest Territories · Nunavut