Weren’t Aboriginal peoplesAboriginal peoples, these peoples we now recognize as First NationsOften 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.First Nations and Inuit, conquered? How? And weren’t there a few colonial wars, with their winners and losers? We have all seen the Hollywood westerns; even though things did not happen the same way in Canada, we still tend to think that the fate of Aboriginal peoples must have been decided in 1760.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.
England clearly scored a definitive victory in North America that year, so there had to have been a conqueror. And if Aboriginal peoples were conquered, shouldn’t they just have agreed to integrate and bend to the rules of the majority? There are many who take this view.
Others hold the view that Aboriginal societies had little to offer the Europeans and that their backwardness made them inferior to the societies that invaded America. For those who hold this view, it was inevitable, and even desirable, that Aboriginal societies should abandon their ways of life and integrate into western society – an important step in their progress toward civilization. For those who hold this view, all of this seems self-evident. And yet!
The following essential content will help you understand the origins of the distorted perception of the First Peoples, the early relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples, as well as the legacy and contributions of Aboriginal nations.
Question 32 of 33
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