Aboriginal peoples in Canada

Aboriginal peoples in Canada are recognized in the Canadian Constitution Act, 1982 as the Indians (First Nations), Métis, and Inuit. The term First Peoples is often used synonymously. As of the 2001 Census there are over 900,000 Aboriginal peoples in Canada. This includes approximately 600,000 people of Indian or First Nations descent, 290,000 Métis, and 45,000 Inuit.

Representative bodies of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada include the Assembly of First Nations for the First Nations, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami for the Inuit, and the Métis National Council for the Métis.

The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples was an important commission undertaken by the Government of Canada in the 1990s. It assessed past government policies towards Aboriginal peoples, such as residential schools, and provided many policy recommendations to the Government.

Complete lists of First Nations, Métis Settlements, and Inuit communities have been broken down by Canadian province or region:

• Aboriginal peoples in Alberta
• Aboriginal peoples in Atlantic Canada
• Aboriginal peoples in British Columbia
• Aboriginal peoples in the Canadian Arctic
• Aboriginal peoples in Manitoba
• Aboriginal peoples in Ontario
• Aboriginal peoples in Saskatchewan
• Aboriginal peoples in Quebec

External links

• Aboriginal Canada Portal
• Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples
• Naming guidelines of the Government of Canada's Department of Indian and Northern Affairs