Aboriginal peoples in Canada are indigenous peoples recognized in the Canadian Constitution Act, 1982 as Indians (First Nations), Métis, and Inuit. The term "First Peoples" has also been used synonymously. As of the 2001 Canadian Census there are over 900,000 Aboriginal people in Canada. This includes approximately 600,000 people of First Nations descent, 290,000 Métis, and 45,000 Inuit. National representative bodies of Aboriginal peoples in Canada include the Assembly of First Nations, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the Métis National Council, and the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples. The term indigenous peoples has no universal, standard or fixed definition. ... The Constitution Act, 1982 (Schedule B of the Canada Act 1982 (U.K.)) is a part of the Constitution of Canada. ... Carved mask in Vancouver First Nations is a term for ethnicity used in Canada to replace the word Indian. It refers to the Indigenous peoples of North America located in what is now Canada, and their descendants, who are not Inuit or Métis. ... The Métis (pronounced MAY tee, IPA: , in French or , in Métis ) are one of three recognized Aboriginal peoples in Canada. ... Inuit (Inuktitut syllabics: ᐃᓄᐃᑦ, singular Inuk or Inuq / ᐃᓄᒃ) is a general term for a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic coasts of Siberia, Alaska, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Québec, Labrador and Greenland. ... The Canada 2001 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. ... The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is a body of Aboriginal leaders in Canada. ... The Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᑕᐱᕇᑦ ᑲᓇᑕᒥ) is an organization in Canada that represents over 40,000 Inuit. ... The Métis National Council is the national representative of the Métis people in Canada. ...

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. The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples was a royal commission established in 1991 to address many issues of Aboriginal status that had come to light with recent events such as the Oka Crisis and the Meech Lake Accord. ... System of government Canada is a constitutional monarchy as a Commonwealth Realm (see Monarchy in Canada) with a federal system of parliamentary government, and strong democratic traditions. ... The 1990s refers to the years 1990 to 1999; the last decade of the 20th Century, but in an economical sense The Nineties is often considered to span from the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 to the September 11 attacks in 2001. ... This article needs to be wikified. ...

Aboriginal languages

Today, there are more than 50 different languages spoken by Aboriginal peoples, most of which are spoken only in Canada and are in decline. A number of Native languages are still spoken, among those with the most speakers include Ojibwe and Cree, together totalling up to 150,000 speakers, and Inuktitut, with about 29,000 speakers in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Nunavik (Northern Quebec), and Nunatsiavut (Northern Labrador), and Mi'kmaq, with around 8500 speakers, mostly in Eastern Canada. Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa or Anishinaabemowin in Eastern Ojibwe syllabics) is the third most commonly spoken Native language in Canada (after Cree and Inuktitut), and the fourth most spoken in North America (behind Navajo, Cree, and Inuktitut). ... Cree is the name for a group of closely-related Algonquian languages spoken by approximately 50,000 speakers across Canada, from Alberta to Labrador. ... Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ... Motto: None Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Yellowknife Largest city Yellowknife Commissioner Tony Whitford Premier Joe Handley (Consensus government - no party affiliations) Area 1,346,106 km² (3rd) Land 1,183,085 km² Water 163,021 km² (12. ... Motto: Nunavut Sannginivut (Inuktitut: Nunavut our strength or Our land our strength) Official languages Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, English, French Capital Iqaluit Largest city Iqaluit Commissioner Ann Meekitjuk Hanson Premier Paul Okalik (independent) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 1 Nancy Karetak-Lindell 1 Willie Adams Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 1st 2... The Nunavik Region of Quebec, Canada Nunavik (ᓄᓇᕕᒃ) is a region making up the northern third of the province of Quebec, Canada. ... Capital Hopedale (legislative) Nain (administrative) Area Total Recognized 142,450 km² 72,520 km² Nunatsiavut is an area claimed by the Inuit in Canada - not to be confused with the territory Nunavut. ... The Mikmaq (also Míkmaq, Micmac, Migmaw; in Quebec, Migmaq) are a Canadian First Nations people indigenous to northeastern New England, Canadas Maritimes, and the Gaspé Peninsula of the province of Quebec. ...

Two of Canada's territories give official status to Aboriginal 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 specifies no fewer than eleven official languages: Dene Suline, Cree, English, French, Gwich'in, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, 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. Inuinnaqtun is an indigenous language of Canada. ... Dene Suline (also Dëne Sųłiné, Dene Sųłiné, Chipewyan, Dene Suliné, Dëne Suliné, Dene Soun’liné) is the language spoken by the Chipewyan people of central Canada (parts of Alberta, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Saskatchewan) and is also called Dene. ... Cree is the name for a group of closely-related Algonquian languages spoken by approximately 50,000 speakers across Canada, from Alberta to Labrador. ... The Gwichin (sometimes rendered as Kutchin or Gwitchin), literally one who dwells, are a First Nation people who live in the northern part of North America. ... North Slavey language is spoken in the Mackenzie District along the middle Mackenzie River from Fort Norman north, around Great Bear Lake, and in the Mackenzie Mountains of the Canadian territory of Northwest Territories. ... South Slavey language is spoken in the region of Great Slave Lake, upper Mackenzie River and drainage in Mackenzie District, northeast Alberta, northwest British Columbia. ... Dogrib or Tli Cho is a language spoken by the First Nations Tli Cho people of the Canadian territory Northwest Territories. ...

Capitalization

Policies regarding the capitalization of "Aboriginal" differ from organization to organization. The Government of Canada's Department of Indian and Northern Affairs advises that the term should always be capitalized ^[1]. However, the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, Official Dictionary of the Canadian Press (ISBN 0195418166), instructs that the term should not be capitalized when used as an adjective. Some proponents of capitalization argue that "Aboriginal" should always be capitalized just as other ethnic terms are, such as "Japanese", "Irish", or "German". The Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, also referred to as Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, is the department of the government of Canada with responsibility for policies governing First Nations and Canadas three northern territories. ... The Canadian Press is a Canadian news agency established in 1917 as a vehicle to distribute Associated Press material to Canadian news media, mainly because it was very difficult to spread news across such a huge country, covering many time zones. ... An ethnic group is a culture or subculture whose members are readily distinguishable by outsiders based on traits originating from a common racial, national, linguistic, or religious source. ...

See also

• Aboriginal Peoples Television Network
• Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics
• List of place names in Canada of Aboriginal origin
• National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation
• National Aboriginal Day
• MBC Radio

Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, or APTN, is a Canadian television network which airs and produces programming targeted to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities. ... Canadian aboriginal syllabic writing (often syllabics for short) is a family of writing schemes which are used to write a number of aboriginal Canadian languages from the Algonquian, Athabaskan and Inuit language families. ... This list of place names in Canada of Aboriginal origin contains Canadian places whose names originate from the words of the First Nations, Métis, or Inuit, collectively referred to as Aboriginal peoples in Canada. ... The National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation (NAAF) is a Canadian non-profit organization whose core focus is to provide scholarships for Aboriginal students. ... National Aboriginal Day is a Canadian day of recognition of the diverse cultures and outstanding contributions of the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. ... MBC Radio, or Missinipi Broadcasting Corporation [1] , is a large Aboriginal radio network in Canada. ...

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
• Map of historical territory treaties with Aboriginal peoples in Canada
• Hidden from History: Residential schools