First Nations, Métis & Inuit in Canada: Dictionaries, encyclopedias & terminology

Amendments to the Canadian Constitution in 1982 recognize and affirm "the existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada", specifically the Indian, Inuit and Métis peoples. A 1996 report from The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples laid out a process to recognize and define Canada's Aboriginal peoples according to the Constitution. The federal government has ignored these recommendations and continues to maintain and develop the Indian Act, an out-of-date legislative mechanism created for colonial control over Indian reserves and their residents. In this collection, preeminent authors in the field canvass a range of issues, including who defines Aboriginality, interpretations of the Constitution, and the concept of recognition internationally.

This book describes of only a very few of the over 300 tribal peoples of North America as well as fragments of their histories, religions, art, languages, an individual lives, but it does offer some introduction to the peoples, issues and ideas (past and present) that make up Native North American history and culture.

Focuses on people of Canada; includes a section devoted to Indigenous groups. Provides an introduction that provides a good overview of the history Canada's aboriginal people, major tribal groups, their language, territory, history, economic life, social organization, culture and religion, education, and politics.

In Indigenous Writes, Chelsea Vowel, legal scholar, teacher, and intellectual, opens an important dialogue about the wider social beliefs associated with the relationship between Indigenous peoples and Canada. In 31 essays, Chelsea explores the Indigenous experience from the time of contact to the present, through five categories--Terminology of Relationships; Culture and Identity; Myth-Busting; State Violence; and Land, Learning, Law, and Treaties. She answers the questions that many people have on these topics to spark further conversations at home, in the classroom, and in the larger community.

Published by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs in 2002, this guide is one of the Canadian government's early attempts to provide writers with background information and guidance on appropriate word usage and style issues. Issued also in French under title: Terminologie autochtone.