First Nations - Terminology

Terminology

See also: Section Thirty-five of the Constitution Act, 1982

Collectively, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples constitute Aboriginal peoples in Canada, Indigenous peoples of the Americas or first peoples. "First Nations"' came into common usage in the 1980s to replace the term "Indian band". Elder Sol Sanderson says that he coined the term in the early 1980s. Others state that the term came into common usage in the 1970s to avoid using the word “Indian,” which some people considered offensive. Apparently, no legal definition of the term exists. Some Aboriginal peoples in Canada have also adopted the term “First Nation” to replace the word “band” in the name of their community. A band is a legally recognized "body of Indians for whose collective use and benefit lands have been set apart or money is held by the Canadian Crown, or declared to be a band for the purposes of the Indian Act."

As individuals, First Nations people are officially recognized by the Government of Canada by the terms "registered Indians" or "status Indians" only if they are listed on the Indian Register and are thus entitled to benefits under the Indian Act. They are considered "non-status Indian" if they are not so listed and thus not entitled to benefits, according to the Canadian state. Administration of the Indian Act and Indian Register is carried out by the federal government's Department of Indian and Northern Affairs.

While the word "Indian" is still a legal term, its use is erratic and in decline in Canada. Some First Nations people consider the term offensive, while others prefer it to "Aboriginal person/persons/people," despite the fact that the term is a misnomer given to indigenous peoples of North America by European settlers who erroneously thought they had landed on the Indian subcontinent. The use of the term "Native Americans", which the United States government and others have adopted, is not common in Canada. It refers more specifically to the Aboriginal peoples residing within the boundaries of the United States. The parallel term "Native Canadian" is not commonly used, but "Natives"' and autochtones (of Greek roots auto and chton- meaning land) are. Under the Royal Proclamation of 1763, also known as the "Indian Magna Carta", the Crown referred to indigenous peoples in British territory as tribes or nations. The term "First Nations" is capitalized, unlike alternative terms. Bands and nations may have slightly different meanings.