First Nations in Canada

First Nations
Population distribution of First Nations Canadians by census division, 2021 census
Total population
1,048,400 (2021)
2.83% of the total Canadian population
Languages
Religion
Related ethnic groups
Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Métis

First Nations (French: Premières Nations) are the indigenous people who have lived in the lands that are now part of Canada before the French and British people came there.

Many use the term because the people lived there long before Canada and to make it clearer that they have many cultures, which are sometimes very different from others. Some consider the tem as respect to those who first cultivated certain patches of land.

The Indigenous people from Canada's Arctic are called Inuits and are thought of as a different ethnic group to the First Nations, just like the Métis people

The First Nations are important in the world because their stories have taught much about cultural values and how to live in harmony with the land.

Other words that have been used for First Nations people, tribes, and cultures have been "indigenous", "aboriginals", "Indians", "Local Indians", "Amerinds," or "natives". Most people now consider "Indian" to be people from India.

References

  1. ↑ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-09-21). "Indigenous identity by Registered or Treaty Indian status: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
  2. ↑ "Terminology". First Nations & Indigenous Studies. Indigenous Foundations. University of British Columbia. Retrieved 19 June 2020.