First Nations

First Nations is a term of ethnicity used in Canada that has widely replaced the use of 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 proper terms to refer to the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis collectively is Aboriginal peoples in Canada or First peoples or Indigenous peoples, tribes, or nations. A national representative body of the "First Nations" people in Canada is the Assembly of First Nations.

"Band" , "First Nation" and "Indigenous peoples, tribes, or nations"

A First Nation is a legally undefined term that came into common usage in the 1970s to replace the term "Indian band". A band is defined as "a body of Indians for whose collective use and benefit lands have been set apart or money is held by the Crown, or declared to be a band for the purposes of the Indian Act http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/pr/pub/wf/trmrslt_e.asp?term=10." There are currently over 600 First Nations or bands in Canada. Roughly half of these are located in the provinces of Ontario or British Columbia. See also: List of First Nations.

Related Topics:
Indian Act - Ontario - British Columbia - List of First Nations

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First Nations are headquartered on Indian reserves that have been created by treaties, such as Treaty 7. Some reserves are located within a city, such as the Opawikoscikan Reserve in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. There are more reserves in Canada than there are First Nations, as some First Nations were ceded by treaty more than one reserve.

Related Topics:
Indian reserve - Treaty 7 - Opawikoscikan Reserve - Prince Albert, Saskatchewan

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Not all of a First Nations ethnic group such as the Cree or Mi'kmaq live on a single reserve. For example, the Moravian of the Thames First Nation is a band of the Munsee (Lenape) ethnic group for whom the Moravian No. 47 reserve has been designated. However, they do not constitute all those of Munsee ethnicity in Canada ? other Munsee groups live on the Munsee-Delaware Nation and Six Nations of the Grand River reserves.

Related Topics:
Cree - Mi'kmaq - Moravian of the Thames First Nation - Lenape - Ethnic group - Moravian No. 47 - Munsee-Delaware Nation - Six Nations of the Grand River

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There is some controversy over the use of the term "First Nations" to either self-describe Indigenous peoples within Canada, or for non-indigenous peoples to refer to Indigenous peoples in this fashion. The reason for this controversy is that under international law covenants, "First Nations" per se, have no standing in international law. Indigenous peoples or nations, however, do.

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The Canadian government, and many Indigenous peoples within Canada, and many non-indigenous people use this term, because they are attempting to be respectful of the right of Indigenous people to use whichever word that they want to describe themselves. However, a careful distinction is often made about the use of the term "First Nations".

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In general, those Indigenous peoples within Canada who describe themselves as "First Nations" do not believe or hold with the concept of sovereignty of their Indigenous peoples nations, while those who do use the term, or insist upon the term "Indigenous peoples" are sovereignists.

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