Indigenous Peoples of Canada
This term refers to the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples recognized in the Canadian Constitution.
What are the Indigenous Peoples of Canada?
This commission operated from 2008 to 2015 and documented the experiences of Residential School Survivors.
What is the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)?
This practice involves sharing stories, teachings, and history orally across generations.
What is oral tradition?
Before European contact, Indigenous peoples in Canada spoke dozens of distinct languages belonging to several language families.
What are Indigenous languages?
This practice acknowledges the traditional Indigenous territory on which people gather, work, or live.
What is a Land Acknowledgement?
This Indigenous people traditionally inhabit Inuit Nunangat, the homeland that covers much of Canada's Arctic region.
Who are the Inuit?
These 94 recommendations were created to advance reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada.
What are the Calls to Action?
These events often feature dancing, singing, drumming, traditional regalia, and community gathering.
What is a Powwow?
This Cree word, often heard across Canada, means "hello" or "welcome."
What is Tansi?
This term describes the process of establishing respectful relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
What is reconciliation?
This Indigenous group emerged from the blending of First Nations and European cultures and has its own distinct identity, language, and traditions.
Who are the Métis?
September 30 is dedicated to recognizing survivors, their families, and communities affected by Residential Schools.
What is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation?
This instrument is commonly used in ceremonies, gatherings, and cultural celebrations to bring communities together.
What is a drum?
This concept emphasizes respect, responsibility, reciprocity, and relationships with the land.
What is stewardship of the land?
This principle encourages Indigenous peoples to maintain and strengthen their cultures, languages, and traditions.
What is self-determination?
This term refers to the traditional territories and lands occupied by Indigenous Nations before European settlement.
What are ancestral lands or traditional territories?
This term describes the forced removal of Indigenous children from their families to attend government-funded Residential Schools.
What is the Residential School System?
This teaching encourages people to consider the effects of their decisions on future generations.
What is the Seven Generations Principle?
This term describes traditional knowledge passed down through generations about land, wildlife, and community life.
What is Traditional Knowledge?
This document is an agreement between Indigenous Nations and the Crown about land, rights, and responsibilities.
What is a treaty?
This 1982 Canadian document formally recognizes and affirms Indigenous and treaty rights.
What is Section 35 of the Constitution Act?
This principle recognizes that reconciliation is not a single event but an ongoing commitment to building respectful relationships.
What is reconciliation?
This traditional practice involves giving thanks and recognizing the interconnectedness of people, animals, plants, and the environment.
What is a Thanksgiving Address or Gratitude Teaching?
This Indigenous language spoken by many Métis people combines elements of Cree and French.
What is Michif?
This United Nations declaration outlines the rights of Indigenous Peoples worldwide.
What is UNDRIP (United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples)?