Take it from the Top
Seeing the Northern Life
According to Canadian Geographic - “Aboriginal” is the Canadian constitution’s collective term for our indigenous Indian, Inuit, and Métis peoples, now comprising more than 1.3 million (4.4 percent) of our population. Some 62 percent are native Indian, 30 percent are Métis, five percent are Inuit, and others belong to more than one aboriginal group. About one in five lives either in Ontario (22 percent) or British Columbia (19 percent). Less than half (47 percent) live on reserves, with the remainder in urban areas; half the First Nations community is under 25 years of age. They may see their people’s long struggle for land, resources, and self-government realized in their lifetimes because negotiations with the federal government and many provincial governments — more frequent and more fruitful in recent years — continue today. One of the most historic of hundreds of land settlements, ongoing since the 1970s, is the Inuit homeland, Nunavut. Ruling one-fifth of Canada’s landmass, its legislature is the first in North America to be run by a native government.
First Nations
The First Nations in Canada emcompass a number of groups. Wikipedia lists these and gives links to more detail about each. Each First Nation has their own government and again these are listed in Wikipedia by Province.
First Nations People can claim that they named Canada as the name has been in use since the earliest European settlement in Canada and actually originates from a First Nations word "canada" meaning "settlement" or "village" or "land".
The French colony of Canada, New France was set up along the Saint Lawrence River and the northern shores of the Great Lakes. Later the area became two British colonies, called Upper Canada and Lower Canada until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation iin 1867, the name Canada was officially adopted for the new Dominion (which was chosen to indicate Canada's status as a self governing colony of the British Empire), which was commonly referred to as the "Dominion of Canada" until after the Second World War.
First Nation Profiles allows you to search by Province, First Nation, Tribal Council, Reserve or Political Organisation and links to details about each Reserve and, were applicable, a link to the Reserve's homepage.
Maps
The current 50 languages of Canada's indigenous peoples belong to 11 major language families - ten First Nations and Inuktitut. Canada's Aboriginal languages are many and diverse, and their importance to indigenous people immense. This map shows the major aboriginal language families by community in Canada for the year 1996, and it is a part of a series of three maps that comprise Aboriginal Languages.
Source: Natural Resources Canada
The following links are to maps showing the First Nations Communities in each Province and Territory.
Source: INAC
British Columbia
Manitoba
New Brunswick
Nova Scotia
Prince Edward Island
Newfoundland and Labrador
Yukon
North West Territories
Nunavut
Useful Links
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, or INAC, are "responsible for two separate yet equally important mandates: Indian and Inuit Affairs and Northern Affairs. This broad mandate is derived largely from the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Act, the Indian Act, territorial acts and legal obligations arising from section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867; however, the department is responsible for administering over 50 statutes in total.
INAC is therefore responsible for delivering provincial-like services such as education, housing, and community infrastructure to Status Indians on-reserve, and for delivering social assistance and social support services to residents on-reserve with the goal of ensuring access to services comparable to those available to other Canadian residents. The vast majority of these programs and services are delivered in partnership with First Nations, who directly administer 85 percent of Indian and Inuit Affairs Program funds." (quote from INAC)
The First Nations Information Project set up a website to bring together information on First Nations. The project is intended to provide a mechanism to share knowledge, interests, and effective practices connecting the Aboriginal community from around this expanse country and the world. It lists the First Nations Communities across Canada and also gives a host of information about economic development, community planning, self-government, education etc. which can be accessed from it's homepage which you may find interesting and helpful.
bravenet.com