First Nations in Canada

First Nations (French: Premières Nations) are the people of native tribes who have lived in the lands that are now part of Canada before Europeans came there.

First Nations

Population distribution of First Nations Canadians by census division, 2021 census
Total population
1,048,400[1] (2021) 2.83% of the total Canadian population
Languages
Aboriginal languages Aboriginal English Canadian French
Religion
Christianity Traditional beliefs Others (see Religion in Canada)
Related ethnic groups
Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Métis

Many use the term because the people lived there long before Canada and to make it clearer that the they have many cultures, which are sometimes very different from others. Some consider the tem as respect to those who first cultivated certain patches of land.

The aboriginal people from Canada's Arctic are thought of as a different group of people and are called the Inuit.^[2]

The First Nations are important in the world because their stories have taught much about cultural values and how to live in harmony with the land.

Other words that have been used for First Nations people, tribes, and cultures have been "indigenous", "aboriginals", "Indians", "Native Indians", "Amerinds," or "Natives." Most people now consider "Indian" to be people from India.