First-year courses · Humanities

Indigenous peoples in Canada: an introduction

Introductory Indigenous studies flashcards: First Nations, Inuit and Métis, treaties, the Indian Act, residential schools, the TRC, section 35 and UNDRIP.

42 cards6 topicsAbout 15 minutes a roundTypical first-year Introduction to Indigenous Studies

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About this deck

This deck introduces key ideas from first-year Indigenous studies in Canada. It covers who First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples are as distinct peoples, the history of treaty-making from the Royal Proclamation of 1763 through the Numbered Treaties and modern agreements, the Indian Act and its effects, the residential school system and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, constitutional and legal rights under section 35, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Canada's 2021 law to implement it.

Indigenous peoples are many nations with their own languages, laws, governance and histories, so no deck can capture that diversity. Use these cards as a starting framework, and wherever possible learn from Indigenous authors, Elders, community organizations and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. Learning whose traditional territory you live and study on is a good first step.

Use current, respectful terms. Indigenous is the broad, preferred umbrella term. Aboriginal remains the legal term in the constitution, and Indian is used only where it names a legal category under the Indian Act. Whenever possible, use a specific nation's own name, such as Siksika, Haudenosaunee or Inuvialuit.

Common mistakes include treating First Nations, Inuit and Métis as one group, describing treaties only as land sales rather than ongoing relationships with obligations on both sides, and speaking about residential schools as only a distant past. The last school closed in 1996, and Survivors and their families live with the effects today.

Before you start: None.

All 42 cards

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Peoples and identity

Indigenous peoples: Umbrella term for the original peoples of a land and their descendants; in Canada it covers First Nations, Inuit and Métis.Example: The 2021 Census counted about 1.8 million people who identified this way, 5.0% of the population.
First Nations: Term for the many distinct nations south of the Arctic whose ancestors lived on these lands before European contact; there are more than 630 communities.Example: Cree, Anishinaabe, Mi'kmaq, Haudenosaunee and Siksika are examples.
Inuit: Indigenous people of the Arctic regions of Canada, as well as Alaska, Greenland and Chukotka, with their own language, Inuktut, and culture.Example: The singular is Inuk; the older term Eskimo is considered outdated and offensive in Canada.
Inuit Nunangat: The Inuit homeland in Canada, made up of four regions: Inuvialuit (NWT), Nunavut, Nunavik (northern Quebec) and Nunatsiavut (Labrador).Example: Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami is the national organization representing Inuit.
Métis: A distinct Indigenous people with its own culture, Michif language and history, which emerged in the historic Northwest, especially the Red River area, from the fur trade era.Example: The infinity flag and sash are well-known symbols.
Status Indian: Legal term for a person registered under the Indian Act, which brings certain federal rights and benefits; also called Registered Indian.Example: Someone can be First Nations without being registered (non-status).
Distinctions-based approach: Federal policy approach that recognizes the different rights, interests and circumstances of First Nations, Inuit and Métis rather than treating them as one group.Example: Separate funding agreements for First Nations, Inuit and Métis housing.

Treaties and early relations

Royal Proclamation of 1763: British decree that reserved large lands for Indigenous nations and required that their land be acquired only by the Crown through public agreement.Example: Often seen as a foundation for later treaty-making.
Treaty of Niagara (1764): Gathering of the Crown and about two dozen Indigenous nations that affirmed the Royal Proclamation through a wampum belt exchange.Example: Many Indigenous scholars see it as the companion to the 1763 decree.
Peace and Friendship Treaties: Agreements signed between 1725 and 1779 with Mi'kmaq, Wolastoqiyik and Peskotomuhkati nations in the Maritimes and Gaspé, without surrendering land.Example: The Supreme Court's 1999 Marshall decision upheld a treaty right to fish and trade under them.
Numbered Treaties: Eleven treaties signed between 1871 and 1921 between the Crown and First Nations across the Prairies, northern Ontario and parts of the North.Example: Treaty 6 includes the 'medicine chest' clause.
Treaty 7 (1877): Treaty made at Blackfoot Crossing between the Crown and Blackfoot Confederacy nations, Tsuut'ina and Stoney Nakoda nations, covering much of southern Alberta.Example: Calgary sits within its territory.
Treaty relationship: Understanding of treaties as lasting, nation-to-nation agreements with obligations on both sides, not one-time land sales.Example: Many First Nations stress oral promises made at signing, not just the written text.
Modern treaties: Comprehensive land claim agreements negotiated since 1975, settling rights to land and resources and often including self-government.Example: The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (1975) was the first.

Indian Act and policy

Indian Act: Federal statute first passed in 1876 that defines who is registered, governs reserves and band councils and historically controlled many aspects of First Nations life.Example: Still in force today, though amended many times.
Reserve: Land set apart by the Crown for the use and benefit of a First Nation band, with legal title held by the Crown.Example: Many reserves are a small fraction of traditional territories.
Potlatch ban: Amendment, in force from 1885 until 1951, that criminalized the potlatch and other ceremonies central to many West Coast nations.Example: Ceremonial regalia were seized and some later returned by museums.
Enfranchisement: Historic policy under which First Nations people lost their legal status, sometimes involuntarily, to become ordinary citizens.Example: Women who married non-status men lost status until 1985.
Bill C-31 (1985): Amendment to the Indian Act that ended enfranchisement, restored status to many who had lost it and let bands control their own membership.Example: Passed to align the Act with Charter equality rights.
Pass system: Practice introduced in 1885, without any law authorizing it, requiring some First Nations people on the Prairies to get an agent's permission to leave their reserve.Example: Used for decades to restrict movement.
Sixties Scoop: Large-scale removal of Indigenous children from their families by child welfare authorities, starting in the 1960s, and their placement mostly with non-Indigenous families.Example: Federal class-action settlements followed in later decades.
White Paper (1969): Federal policy proposal to abolish the Indian Act and Indian status, widely rejected by First Nations and withdrawn after strong opposition.Example: The Indian Association of Alberta replied with 'Citizens Plus', known as the Red Paper.

Residential schools and the TRC

Residential schools: Boarding schools funded by the federal government and run mostly by churches, designed to separate Indigenous children from their families, languages and cultures.Example: More than 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children attended; the last closed in 1996.
Survivor: Respectful term for a person who attended a residential school and lived through the experience.Example: Survivors' testimony was central to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement: 2006 agreement, the largest class-action settlement in Canadian history, that provided compensation and created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.Example: Implementation began in 2007.
Federal apology for residential schools (2008): Statement in the House of Commons on June 11, 2008, by Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologizing on behalf of Canada.Example: Indigenous leaders responded from the floor of the House.
Truth and Reconciliation Commission: Commission that ran from 2008 to 2015, gathered testimony from thousands of Survivors and witnesses, and documented the history and legacy of residential schools.Example: Chaired by Justice Murray Sinclair.
94 Calls to Action: Recommendations released by the TRC in 2015 addressing child welfare, education, language, health, justice and reconciliation.Example: Call 80 asked for a national day; it became a federal statutory holiday in 2021.
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation: Archive at the University of Manitoba that holds the statements, documents and records gathered by the TRC.Example: Survivors and families can request records.
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation: September 30, a federal statutory holiday since 2021 to honour Survivors and children who never came home; it coincides with Orange Shirt Day.Example: Orange Shirt Day began from Phyllis Webstad's story of her new shirt taken at school.
MMIWG National Inquiry: Inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (and 2SLGBTQQIA people) whose final report in 2019 issued 231 Calls for Justice.Example: The report is titled 'Reclaiming Power and Place'.

Rights and law

Section 35: Provision of the Constitution Act, 1982 that recognizes and affirms the existing Aboriginal and treaty rights of the Indian, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada.Example: It protects rights such as harvesting and, in some cases, title to land.
Aboriginal title: A collective right to land based on a nation's historic occupation, including the right to decide how the land is used.Example: Recognized for the Tsilhqot'in Nation in a 2014 Supreme Court ruling.
Duty to consult: Crown obligation to consult, and where appropriate accommodate, Indigenous peoples when it considers actions that might affect their asserted or proven rights.Example: Set out in the 2004 Haida Nation decision.
Calder case (1973): Supreme Court decision involving the Nisga'a that recognized Aboriginal title existed in Canadian law, prompting federal land claims policy.Example: The Nisga'a Final Agreement came into effect in 2000.
R v Powley (2003): Supreme Court ruling that confirmed Métis communities hold protected harvesting rights and set a test for identifying them.Example: Two Métis men from Sault Ste. Marie had hunted a moose.
Daniels v Canada (2016): Supreme Court ruling that Métis and non-status Indians are 'Indians' under section 91(24), meaning Parliament has jurisdiction over them.Example: It clarified which government Métis can negotiate with.

Reconciliation today

UNDRIP: UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the General Assembly in 2007, setting minimum standards for Indigenous peoples' survival, dignity and well-being.Example: Canada endorsed it in 2010 and declared full support without qualification in 2016.
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act: Federal law in force since June 21, 2021 requiring Canada to align its laws with the UN declaration, prepare an action plan and report annually to Parliament.Example: The Action Plan was released in June 2023.
Free, prior and informed consent: Principle in the UN declaration that Indigenous peoples should be able to give or withhold agreement, without pressure and with full information, before projects affecting them proceed.Example: Often discussed for mining and pipeline projects.
Self-government: Arrangements through which Indigenous nations make their own laws and run their own institutions in areas such as education, culture and land management.Example: The Nisga'a Lisims Government in northwestern BC.
Land acknowledgement: A statement recognizing the Indigenous peoples whose traditional territories a place is on, ideally paired with learning and action.Example: Many Canadian classes and events open with one.