Editing First Nations in Canada (section)

{{Short description|Indigenous people in Canada who are not Inuit or Métis}}
{{Use dmy dates |date=February 2024}}
{{Use Canadian English |date=February 2024}}
{{Redirect|Canadian Indian|Canadians with heritage from the Indian subcontinent|Indian Canadians|Indians of Canadian descent|Canadians in India}}
{{other uses|First Nations (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
|group      = First Nations<br />{{lang|fr|Premières Nations}}
| image            = First Nations Distribution in Canada, 2021 Census.jpg
| caption          = Population distribution of First Nations Canadians by census division, 2021 census
|flag       =<!---- [[File:Flag of Haida.svg|upright|90x100px|border]][[File:Musqueam flag.svg|upright|90x100px|border]]<br />
[[File:Flag of Oujé-Bougoumou.svg|upright|90x100px|border]][[File:Flag of Eel Ground First Nation.svg|upright|90x70px|border]]<br />
[[File:Bandera innu.PNG|upright|90x100px|border]][[File:Temagama Ojibwa.png|upright|90x100px|border]]<br />
[[File:Kawawachikamach Band of the Naskapi Nation.jpg|upright|90x100px|border]][[File:Bandera Red Earth Cree.PNG|upright|90x100px|border]]<br />
[[File:Bandera Sechelt.png|upright|90x100px|border]]<br />
[[File:Flag of the Iroquois Confederacy.svg|upright|90x100px|border]][[File:Mikmaq State Flag.svg|upright|90x100px|border]]---->
|population = '''1,048,400'''<ref name="population2021">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2022-09-21 |title=Indigenous identity by Registered or Treaty Indian status: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts
|url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810026501 |access-date=2022-09-21 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref> ([[2021 Canadian census|2021]]) 
<br />'''{{Percentage|1048400|36991981|2}}''' of the total Canadian population

|languages  = {{plainlist|
* [[Languages of Canada#Indigenous languages|Aboriginal languages]]
* [[Aboriginal English in Canada|Aboriginal English]]
* [[Canadian French]]
}}
|religions  = {{plainlist|
* [[Christianity in Canada|Christianity]]
* [[Native American religion|Traditional beliefs]]
* Others (see [[Religion in Canada]])
}}
|related    = [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]], [[Alaska Natives]], [[Métis in Canada|Métis]]
}}
{{Indigenous Peoples of Canada}}

'''''First Nations''''' ({{langx|fr|Premières Nations}}) is a term used to identify [[Indigenous peoples in Canada]] who are neither [[Inuit]] nor [[Métis]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1307460755710/1536862806124|title=First Nations in Canada|publisher=Government of Canada; Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada|date=June 7, 2011|website=www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100013785/1529102490303 |title=Indigenous peoples and communities |publisher=Government of Canada |date=2021-06-11 |access-date=25 September 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925171702/https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100013785/1529102490303 |archive-date=25 September 2021 |website=[[Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada]] |language=en |quote=The Canadian Constitution recognizes three groups of Aboriginal peoples: Indians (more commonly referred to as First Nations), Inuit and Métis. These are three distinct peoples with unique histories, languages, cultural practices and spiritual beliefs. }}</ref> Traditionally, First Nations in Canada were peoples who lived south of the [[tree line]], and mainly south of the [[Arctic Circle]]. There are 634 recognized [[List of First Nations band governments|First Nations governments or bands]] across Canada.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afn.ca/description-of-the-afn |title=Description of the AFN |publisher=Assembly of First Nations |access-date=November 25, 2017 |archive-date=June 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612194615/https://www.afn.ca/description-of-the-afn/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Roughly half are located in the provinces of [[Ontario]] and [[British Columbia]].<ref name="one">{{cite web|url=http://www.afn.ca/article.asp?id=59 |title=Assembly of First Nations – The Story |publisher=The Assembly of First Nations |access-date=October 6, 2009  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090802164225/http://www.afn.ca/article.asp?id=59 |archive-date=August 2, 2009 }}</ref>

Under [[Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms|Charter]] [[jurisprudence]], First Nations are a "designated group", along with women, [[Visible minority|visible minorities]], and people with physical or mental disabilities.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chrc-ccdp.gc.ca/eng/content/equal-employment-opportunities-0 |title=Equal Employment Opportunities |work=Employer Obligations |publisher=[[Canadian Human Rights Commission]] |access-date=December 21, 2019 |archive-date=January 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126205611/https://www.chrc-ccdp.gc.ca/eng/content/equal-employment-opportunities-0 |url-status=dead }}</ref> First Nations are not defined as a [[visible minority]] by the criteria of [[Statistics Canada]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/ref/dict/pop127-eng.cfm |title=Visible minority |work=Dictionary, Census of Population, 2016 |publisher=Statistics Canada |date=October 25, 2017}}</ref>

North American indigenous peoples have cultures spanning thousands of years. Many of their [[oral tradition]]s accurately describe historical events, such as the [[1700 Cascadia earthquake|Cascadia earthquake of 1700]] and the 18th-century [[Tseax Cone]] eruption. Written records began with the arrival of [[Exploration of North America|European explorers]] and [[European colonization of the Americas|colonists]] during the [[Age of Discovery]] in the late 15th century.<ref name="Woodcock">{{cite book|last=Woodcock|first=George|author-link=George Woodcock|title=A Social History of Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jJtdu4rlj4oC&pg=PP1|year=1989|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-0-14-010536-0}}</ref><ref name="wolf">{{cite book|last=Wolf|first=Eric R.|author-link=Eric Wolf|title=Europe and the People Without History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eJWjES159ocC&pg=PP1|year=1982|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-04898-0}}</ref> [[History of Canada|European accounts]] by [[Animal trapping|trappers]], [[Merchant|traders]], [[Exploration|explorers]], and [[Missionary|missionaries]] give important evidence of early contact culture.<ref>{{cite web |title=Introduction |website=Codex canadiensis |publisher=[[Library and Archives Canada]] |date=August 1, 2006 |url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/codex/index-e.html |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20130529193125/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/codex/index-e.html  |archive-date=May 29, 2013 |access-date=October 7, 2009}}
</ref> In addition, [[archeological]] and [[anthropological]] research, as well as [[linguistics]], have helped scholars piece together an understanding of ancient cultures and historic peoples.