Let’s Get It Right:
Fundamental Definitions and Facts
Aboriginal peoples: The descendants of the ______of North America. The ______ recognizes four groups of Aboriginal peoples – ______, ______, ______, and ______people. These are four separate peoples with unique heritages, languages, ______and ______.
Indigenous: means "______." In this sense, Aboriginal Peoples are indeed indigenous to ______. Its meaning is similar to Aboriginal Peoples, Native Peoples or First Peoples.
First Nations: refers to Aboriginal peoples ______contact or to legally defined Indian bands and Status Indians today.
Status Indian: First Nations peoples whose ancestors signed ______with the ______government or were recognized by the government as belonging to a First Nations community. Indian status can be gained by ______, ______, or ______. All Status Indians are registered with the federal government. Status Indians are governed by the rules of the ______.
Non-Status Indian: First Nations people whose ancestors were ______as Indians by the government or who lost their ______. The Innu who live in Labrador, for example, did not receive Indian status when Newfoundland entered Confederation in 1949. Non-status Indians are ______the Indian Act.
Inuit: An Aboriginal people in ______Canada, who live above the tree line in ______, ______, Northern Quebec and Labrador. The word means "______" in the Inuit language – Inuktitut. The singular of Inuit is ______. Like Status Indians, the Inuit receive special rights from the government although they are not covered by the Indian Act.
Métis: People of mixed First Nations and ______ancestry who identify themselves as Métis, as distinct from First Nations people, Inuit or non-Aboriginal people. The Métis have a unique ______that draws on their diverse ancestral origins, such as Scottish, French, ______, and Cree. The Métis do not have the rights of Status Indians at this time, although they are recognized as a separate Aboriginal people in the Canadian Constitution.
Band: is a group of Indians for whom the government holds ______called a reserve. There are about _____ Indian bands in Canada and ______reserves.
Indian Act: written in ______, the Indian Act defined who was an “Indian” under the law and outlined what “Indians” could and could not do. It was a clear statement of the federal government’s policy to act as ______over Aboriginal peoples, giving them “protection” but with the ultimate goal of ______them.
Bill C-31: The pre-legislation name of the 1985 Act to ______the Indian Act. This act eliminated certain ______provisions of the Indian Act, including the section that resulted in Indian women ______when they married non-Indian men. Bill C-31 enabled people affected by the discriminatory provisions of the old Indian Act to apply to have their Indian status restored.
Treaty: is an agreement between government and a First Nation that defines the ______of Aboriginal Peoples with respect to ______and ______over a specified area.
Treaty Indian: A Status Indian who belongs to a First Nation that ______with the Crown.