Glossary

A

  • Aboriginal peoples

    Often used interchangeably with “Indigenous peoples” and “First Peoples”, Aboriginal peoples refers to a diversity of nations and peoples with deep roots in the territories they have occupied for millennia. Their histories are intertwined through the impact of colonization and the cultural or physical genocides perpetrated against them by colonizing states. The Constitution Act, 1982 recognizes that there are three distinct Aboriginal peoples: Indians (now called First Nations), Métis and Inuit. There are 11 Aboriginal nations recognized in Québec: Abenaki (Waban-Aki), Algonquin (Anishinabeg), Atikamekw Nehirowisiwok, Cree (Eeyou), Huron-Wendat, Inuit, Maliseet (Wolastoqiyik), Mi’gmaq (Micmac), Mohawk (Kanien'kehá:ka), Innu (Montagnais) and Naskapi. Across Canada, there are nearly sixty Aboriginal nations.

  • Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN)

    The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) is a Canadian specialty channel. It is the first network by and for North American Indigenous peoples.

  • Aboriginal rights

    Since 1982, the Canadian Constitution has formally recognized that Aboriginal peoples have special rights because they occupied the territory prior to the arrival of Europeans: this is what is meant by “Aboriginal rights”. In the case of the Cree, Inuit and Naskapi beneficiaries of treaties with the governments of Québec and Canada, they are referred to as “treaty rights and freedoms”, according to Section 35 of the Constitution.

  • Amerindian

    The term Amerindian is a contraction of the term American Indian. It was widely used in social sciences and literature from the 1960s until quite recently. Since the early 1980s, the term First Nation has been adopted at the request of Indigenous people themselves. It is therefore recommended to replace the term Amerindian with First Nation.

  • Assembly of First Nations (AFN)

    The AFN is the national organization representing First Nations citizens in Canada, which includes more than 900,000 people living in more than 600 First Nation communities in cities and towns across the country.

  • Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador (AFNQL)

    The Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador is a political organization representing the First Nations of Québec and Labrador. The AFNQL was created in 1985. It is composed of the Assembly of Chiefs and an administrative office. The Assembly is composed of the Chiefs of the 43 First Nations communities located in Québec and Labrador and represents a total of 10 nations: Abenaki, Algonquin, Atikamekw, Cree, Huron-Wendat, Maliseet, Mi’gmaq, Innu, Mohawk and Naskapi.

  • Assimilation

    Assimilation involves actions aimed at making one group similar to another. When supported by policy, assimilation often becomes a forced process. For Canada’s Aboriginal peoples, such policies sought to eliminate certain groups by compelling them to adopt the dominant culture or way of life. However, assimilation can also occur naturally through the inherent pressures of the dominant society.

B

  • Band council

    The governing or administrative body of a Band, elected according to Band custom or procedures specified in the Indian Act. It usually consists of a chief and councillors who are elected for two- or three-year terms by eligible voters in the community.

  • Beaver reserves

    Also called hunting reserves for fur-bearing animals, this network of sanctuaries and reserves covers nearly 80% of Québec. This system, implemented by the federal and provincial governments in collaboration with Indigenous communities, aimed to counter the anticipated decline of beavers, which threatened the survival of Indigenous communities dependent on this resource.

C

  • Colonialism

    Political system advocating the occupation and exploitation of territories in the interests of the colonizing country. Historically, particularly within United Nations organizations, colonialism was understood to pertain solely to overseas territories, meaning those geographically separated from the colonizing nation. Consequently, the plight of many Indigenous peoples, referred to as “Nations within Nation-States,” remained outside the scope of international scrutiny. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted in 2007, addressed this issue by asserting that Indigenous peoples are equal to all other peoples and have the right to self-determination.

  • Community

    Geographic location where some members of First Nations and Inuit reside and with which they identify. In the case of First Nations, the term “reserve” is sometimes used, though “community” is preferred.

E

  • Enfranchisement

    Generally speaking, the term “enfranchisement” has a positive connotation, defined as the act of setting free or becoming independent. In the context of the Indian Act, however, it meant the voluntary or involuntary loss of Indian status. The enfranchised person had to leave their community of origin and was thus deprived of sharing cultural life with members of their group. The enfranchisement clause was removed from the Indian Act in 1985.

  • English regime

    The British regime was in effect from 1759 to 1867. After the surrender of Quebec City in 1759 and Montreal in 1760, the British established a military occupation regime. On October 7, 1763, the Royal Proclamation defined new administrative structures for the Province of Québec. On June 22, 1774, the Quebec Act was passed in London, officially reinstating French civil law. Several legislative changes would take place until Confederation in 1867.

F

  • First Nations

    A term that came into common usage in the 1970s to replace the word “Indian,” which some people found offensive. Among its uses, the term refers to the Status, Non-Status and Treaty Indians of Canada. Some Aboriginal peoples have replaced the word “Band” in the name of their community with the term “First Nation,” respecting their distinct language, culture, heritage and systems of knowledge. Although “First Nation” is widely used, it has no legal definition. Thus, a person might say that they’re from the Naskapi First Nation of Kawawachikamach, or the Atikamekw First Nation of Manawan, or the Mohawk First Nation of Akwesasne, etc., identifying both the nation to which they belong and their place of origin or residence.

  • First Nations Education Council (FNEC)

    The First Nations Education Council provides primary and secondary education services to its 22 member communities.

  • French regime

    From 1608 to 1759, to govern New France, the king delegated his powers to various administrators who were responsible for applying French policies.

G

  • Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee)

    The Grand Council of the Crees of Quebec represents the interests of eight Cree communities in James Bay and Northern Québec. In 1975, it signed the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement on behalf of the Cree. Today, it represents the approximately 20,000 Crees of Eeyou Istchee.

  • Guardianship

    In general usage, guardianship refers to the duty conferred on a person to take care of another deemed incapable, as well as their property. Within the context of the Indian Act, the concept of guardianship takes on a unique meaning as it applies not only to individuals but also to entire communities. The lawyer Renée Dupuis, author of a book on First Nations issues in Canada, summarizes this guardianship regime well: “Revised in 1951, the federal Act clearly constitutes a regime of guardianship of Indians (both individually and collectively) and of the lands reserved for them. Actually, the Indians have a status equivalent to that of a minor child, since they are subject to the control of the government, which has the authority to make decisions on their behalf. All aspects of the lives of individuals and communities are supervised, from an Indian’s birth to his death, from the creation of a band to the cessation of a reserve.” Note that several First Nations in Canada, including the Cree and Naskapi nations in Québec, are no longer subject to the Indian Act.

I

  • Indian

    The term Indian is still used legally to refer to people with Indian status under the Indian Act, which is still in force in Canada. However, it is considered outdated and should be replaced with First Nation or member of a First Nation.

  • Indian benefits

    A false belief that Aboriginal people living in their communities are automatically entitled to a monthly cheque from the federal government.

  • Indian residential school system

    The Indian residential school system was officially established in Canada in 1892. It was the result of agreements entered into between the Government of Canada and the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches. The government terminated these agreements in 1969. The purpose of these establishments was simple: the evangelization and progressive assimilation of Aboriginal peoples.

J

  • James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA)

    The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement was signed in 1975 by the governments of Canada and Québec, certain government corporations, and the Cree and Inuit nations, as part of the James Bay hydroelectric development project. It is considered the first modern treaty.

K

  • Kativik School Board

    The Kativik School Board, or Kativik Ilisarniliriniq, was created under the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. It serves all Inuit communities in Nunavik.

  • Kiuna Institution

    The Kiuna Institution is the first college dedicated to the education of Québec’s Indigenous peoples since the closure of Manitou College in 1976. It opened in 2011 in Odanak, near Pierreville, in the Centre-du-Québec region.

M

  • Métis

    Since 1982, the Canadian Constitution has recognized Métis as one of the three Aboriginal peoples of Canada. In a 2003 ruling, the Supreme Court of Canada set out essential criteria for recognition of Métis identity and the related rights: “The term "Métis" in s. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 does not encompass all individuals with mixed Indian and European heritage; rather, it refers to distinctive peoples who, in addition to their mixed ancestry, developed their own customs, and recognizable group identity separate from their Indian or Inuit and European forebears.”

N

  • Nation

    A group sharing a common culture, history and language.

  • Non-status Indian (or non-registered Indian)

    Non-status Indians are Aboriginal people who are not registered under the Indian Act, either because their ancestors were never registered or because they lost their Indian status under former provisions of the Indian Act.

  • Northern Quebec Inuit Association (NQIA)

    This is the organization that signed the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement on behalf of the Inuit.

P

  • Preferential treatment (or special treatment)

    A pejorative term used to refer to the distinct rights recognized for Indigenous peoples in matters of hunting, fishing, and trapping, often employed by interest groups to argue that these rights are exercised to the detriment of the “ordinary citizen” and to reinforce the notion that Indigenous peoples are granted excessive privileges.

Q

  • Quebec Native Women (QNW)

    Founded in 1974, Quebec Native Women Inc., or QNW, is an association that defends the interests of Aboriginal women from Québec and Aboriginal women living in urban areas.

R

  • Reserves (Indian)

    “Under the Indian Act, an “Indian reserve” is land held by the Crown “for the use and benefit of Indian bands”. Although reserves may serve as homes for indigenous people, they are at the same time tangible representations of colonial authority.”

S

  • Self-government

    This refers to Aboriginal peoples taking charge of their education, consolidating their political organizations, and negotiating agreements to assume responsibility for health and social services, public safety, economic development and land administration.

  • Status Indian (or registered Indian)

    Legally, status Indians are Aboriginal people who are recorded in the register maintained by the Department of Indian Affairs. Prior to 1985, the federal government established the rules determining who was and was not an Indian. Thus, in the context of the Indian Act, the categories “Status Indian” (or Registered Indian) and “Non-Status Indian” (or Non-Registered Indian) assumed enormous importance.

T

  • The National Indigenous Guardians Network

    Since 2016, the Indigenous nations of Québec and Canada have joined forces to create the National Indigenous Guardians Network.

  • Treaty

    A very old, yet modern way of establishing peaceful relations between peoples and nations. In Canada, there are two types of treaties with Indigenous peoples: peace and friendship treaties, and land treaties, i.e., those specifically dealing with land and land titles. The government’s objective with land treaties was to remove obstacles to colonization and to encourage First Nations members to abandon their lands and lifestyles and assimilate.

U

  • Ungava Peninsula Caribou Aboriginal Roundtable (UPCART)

    The UPCART is comprised of the Inuit of Nunavik (represented by Makivik Corporation), the Inuit of Nunatsiavut (represented by the Nunatsiavut Government), the Inuit of NunatuKavut (represented by NunatuKavut Community Council), the Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach, the Cree Nation Government, and all the Innu communities from the Québec region.

  • United Nations (UN)

    The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945. With 193 Member States as of 2023, the UN and its work are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter. The UN has evolved over the years to keep pace with a rapidly changing world. But one thing has stayed the same: it remains the one place on Earth where all the world’s nations can gather together, discuss common problems, and find shared solutions that benefit all of humanity.

  • United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)

    The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the UN General Assembly on September 13, 2007, by a majority of 143 votes to 4, is the result of extensive international advocacy by Indigenous Peoples. Link to document shared by the UN: https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2018/11/UNDRIP_E_web.pdf

W

  • Wampum belts

    Wampum belts were used as official archival documents and served to officialize treaties between First Nations or treaties that these nations concluded with European nations. They were also used to mark various Aboriginal social and political events. Wampum is a bead made of sea shells. By extension, necklaces, belts and other objects made of these beads are also called wampum.