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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

1,172,7901
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 1,678,235 Aboriginal people in Canada, 3.8% of the country's total population.3 This comprises 1,253,620 people of First Nations descent, 409,065 Métis, and 65,885 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

Contents

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 People" 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

Policies regarding the capitalization of Aboriginal differ from organization to organization. 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."

Province/Territory Number  % of population  % of national aboriginal population
Newfoundland and Labrador 37,290 5 2
Prince Edward Island 3,680 1 0.1
Nova Scotia 48,210 3 2
New Brunswick 35,240 2 2
Quebec 264,190 1 9
Ontario 403,795 2 21
Manitoba 186,660 15 15
Saskatchewan 149,810 15 12
Alberta 244,560 6 16
British Columbia 250,900 5 17
Yukon Territory 7,810 25 0.6
Northwest Territories 20,905 50 2
Nunavut 25,165 85 2
Canada 1,678,235 4 100.0
Source: 2006 Census[1], [2]

National Aboriginal Day

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

Notable Aboriginals

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Aboriginal Identity (2006 Census)
  2. ^ In the Kawaskimhon Aboriginal Moot Court: Factum of the Federal Crown Canada; University of Manitoba, Faculty of Law; 2007; pg. 2
  3. ^ Aboriginal peoples - 2006 Census, Statistics Canada
  4. ^ Employment Equity FAQ at the Canadian Human Rights Commission
  5. ^ Definition of "Visible Minority" at Statistics Canada
  6. ^ Aboriginal people(s) in the Terminology Guide, Indian and Northern Affairs
  7. ^ [NatNews-north] CAPITALIZED: "Aboriginal peoples in Canada"
  8. ^ The Canadian Oxford Dictionary also capitalizes the word within its entries, when mentioning Aboriginal peoples, Aboriginal people, Australian Aboriginals, Aboriginal inhabitant, Aboriginal and European descent and Aboriginal plant or animal.

References

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

External links

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Indigenous peoples of the Americas
History
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