Indigenous Peoples
Culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region or from the people who inhabited a region prior to colonization.
The terminology used to refer to Indigenous Peoples in Canada, their legal status, and rights is complicated and a common source of confusion. Below are some of the commonly used terms and their meanings as understood by Mandell Pinder LLP.
Culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region or from the people who inhabited a region prior to colonization.
The term used in the Constitution Act, 1982, to refer to Indigenous Peoples of Canada, described in that document as including “the Indian, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada.”
As used in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, a term referring to Indigenous Peoples of Canada who are not Inuit or Métis. This use of the term “Indian” is no longer common.
As used in subsection 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867, a term referring to those Indigenous Peoples of Canada under the legislative jurisdiction of the federal government, being the Métis, Inuit, and status and non-status Indians.
As used in the Indian Act, a term referring to a person who meets certain requirements qualifying them to be registered under that statute, commonly referred to as having “Indian status.”
The term used in the Indian Act to refer to a group of “Indians” within the meaning of that statute who are recognized and granted legal status under that statute.
Indigenous Peoples of Canada who are not Inuit or Métis. This term has largely replaced the term “Indian” outside of the context of the Indian Act.
Indigenous Peoples who inhabit the Arctic and subarctic regions of what is now Canada, Alaska, and Greenland.
As used in the Constitution Act, 1982, a term defined by the Supreme Court of Canada as “distinctive peoples who, in addition to their mixed ancestry, developed their own customs, way of life, and recognizable group identity separate from their Indian or Inuit and European forebears.”
As defined and used by the Governing Members of the Métis National Council and the Manitoba Métis Federation, “a person who self-identifies as Métis, is of historic Métis Nation Ancestry, is distinct from other Aboriginal Peoples, and is accepted by the Métis Nation.”
An entity authorized to act on behalf of an Indigenous People.
Legal rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The law of an Indigenous People, also known as Indigenous legal traditions.
Canadian law applicable to Aboriginal Peoples.
A category of Indigenous rights recognized under Canadian law and protected under the Constitution Act, 1982. All Aboriginal rights are Indigenous rights but not all Indigenous rights are Aboriginal rights.
Human rights of Indigenous Peoples which are intrinsic to being human, and to maintaining dignity as human beings. Inherent rights of Indigenous Peoples are comprehensively addressed in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. All Aboriginal rights are inherent rights.
On this website and in our work, we strive to use the terminology regarding Indigenous Peoples and their rights in a consistent way that is sensitive to the preferences of Indigenous Peoples themselves. We generally use “Indigenous” rather than “Aboriginal” except when the legal context requires otherwise. For example, we use “Aboriginal law” to refer to the area of law we practice. (Indigenous law is the domain of our clients).
For further reading on how to write about and for Indigenous Peoples, we recommend Gregory Younging’s Elements of Indigenous Style: A Guide for Writing By and About Indigenous Peoples.