First Nations and Indian Peoples
First Nations refers to Canada’s indigenous or the aboriginal peoples, the original inhabitants also known as the Indian peoples. The term “Indian” is used in the context of the Indian Act to refer to any of the Aboriginal peoples of the Western Hemisphere (excluding the Inuit and the Métis). First Nations refer only to Indian peoples. The term attempts to elevate Aboriginal peoples to a status of first among equals in their quest for self-determination and self-government alongside the English and French founding nations in Canada (Gadacz, 2014). The term is not used by Aboriginal peoples outside ...