Indigenous People

First Nations

• We have 617 different communities that are spread across 6 regions (Facing History & Ourselves)
• Though, even within these regions, “there is a richness and diversity of identity, culture, and customs, although the communities share similar characteristics, languages, stories, and outlooks “ Facing History & Ourselves)

Inunit

• refers…to the Artic indigenous population” (Facing History & Ourselves). They live in Alaska, Canada, and Greenland (Facing History & Ourselves). )
• The word “Inuit” means “people,” and the language they speak is Inuktitut, “though there are regional dialects that are known by slightly different names” (Facing History & Ourselves).
• Currently the Inuit communities in “Canada live in the Nunangat—loosely defined as ‘Inuit homeland,” a land that is divided into 4 regions (Facing History & Ourselves).

Metis

• Métis” is a term that does not completely encompass the “large and diverse group” that it represents (Facing History & Ourselves). “Métis,” which is a French word means “mixed.”
• “The terms describes descendants of both Europeans and First nations people” (Facing History & Ourselves).
• “The history of the Métis reflects the intermingling of the French and First Nations ways of life” (Facing History & Ourselves).
• “As time passed, the people from this community created their own distinct traditions from the First Nations and European Canadians, thus creating a new thread of Indigenous peoples, the Métis.