How should I refer to Indigenous People?

Indigenous Peoples – (uppercase “I” and uppercase “P”) refers to all of the Nations across Turtle Island and sometimes around the world.

Indigenous people – (uppercase “I” and lowercase “p”) refers to some people who are Indigenous but maybe their Nations are unknown to you or they come from multiple Nations; can also refer to people Indigenous to other places besides Turtle Island. (“Indigenous” should always have an uppercase “I”).

First Nations – refers to the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island who are not Inuit or Métis, e.g. Anishnaabeg (Ojibwe), Nêhiyawak (Cree), etc.

Inuit – refers to people who are Indigenous to the arctic. (Singular: Inuk).

Métis – refers to a very specific, distinct people, born post-contact, of intermarriage between European fur traders and women Indigenous to Turtle Island. They have their own language and culture as well. (People like myself, who are Anishnaabe on my mom’s side and French on my dad’s side, are not Métis, because we have not come from that direct lineage of Métis people).

Outdated Terms: Indian, Aboriginal. 

*Note: Indigenous people may still use these words to refer to themselves. If you are not Indigenous, you should not use them.

Indigenous people are not a monolith. There are many Nations across this continent which we call Turtle Island. This is why sometimes you see the wording “Indigenous Peoples”; when you see that, you know folks are referring to all/more than one Nation. This is also why, when I speak of genocide in Canada, I sometimes say “genocides” if I am speaking about multiple Nations, because there are multiple distinct Nations who are still being affected today by the ongoing colonial project.

It is a best practice to call people what they want to be called, and be as specific as possible. For example, if you didn’t know who my people are, you could say “Indigenous people”, but if you knew my people are Ojibwe / Anishnaabe, you could get more specific by saying “Anishnaabe” (singular) or “Anishnaabeg” (plural), and if you know where we come from, it would be even more specific to say “Opwaaganisiniing Anishnaabeg”.

Turtle Island

The name for our continent (Mishiikenh M’nising / Turtle Island) comes from our creation story. We’re Anishnaabeg. Other Nations from across Turtle Island will have their own name for it. This name in particular has really caught on widely, but I want to reiterate that Indigenous people are not a monolith. Make an effort to learn the place names that the Indigenous people of your area use.

Indigenous Peoples and Canada

It’s important to know that because Indigenous Peoples have been here since time immemorial, our Nations are much, much older than Canada. Canada was formed by displacing Indigenous people and this process of colonization and the genocides associated with it are still ongoing today. Again, because we are not a monolith, there may be some Indigenous people who identify as Canadian. You should know that many Indigenous people DO NOT identify as Canadian. In fact, calling someone an Indigenous Canadian may cause high offense and harm.

Indigenous Peoples DO NOT belong to Canada. We have been here longer than Canada. You should never say “Indigenous Canadians” or “Canada’s Indigenous people”. When referring to a local Indigenous community, it is NOT appropriate to say “our Indigenous community” (unless, of course, you yourself belong to that community); the more appropriate thing to say would be “the local Indigenous community”. In this context, words like “our” are a subtle* way of placing ownership over another group.

*Subtle because there are many people who may not pick up on that detail or notice it at all and may not realize they are causing harm by using it. However, I would not call this a microaggression, but rather, outright aggression and harmful.

Reconciliation

The word reconciliation is often used as a shorthand for “Truth and Reconciliation”. It is incredibly important that Canadians understand that it is impossible to jump directly to healing and reconciliation without walking through truth and accountability. 

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation was formed as a response to the horrors of “residential schools”. There are many reports about this, including the 94 Calls to Action. Canadians must understand that “residential schools” may have ended but they are only one part of the still ongoing genocides. Once you understand this, you’ll see that these 94 Calls to Action are not the be all and end all of what needs to be done, but rather, a starting point on the road to justice. Visit my resources page for more on reconciliation.

Residential Schools

“Residential Schools” were much more like concentration/forced labour camps. This was part of an assimilation process that is still ongoing today. Residential Schools started in the 1600s by French missionaries for almost 100 years, then other religious groups started them up again in the 1800s. They began receiving federal funding in 1883 and the Indian Act was passed in 1876. The last residential school closed in 1996.

The residential school system has been replaced with other oppressive systems like the child welfare/apprehension industry, over-policing in the mass criminalization and incarceration industry, and under-policing in that the police don’t properly investigate or do anything about the thousands of cases of MMIWG2S (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two Spirit relatives). Canada spends a certain amount per person on things like education and healthcare. The amount per person is much lower for Indigenous people and this is not just on reserves, but even in urban settings, which results in schools that have higher Indigenous populations of students getting much less funding than others. Canada has kept and continues to keep Indigenous people in forced poverty by relegating them to reserves (historically) which were often the least desirable land areas, (and modernly, by) poisoning the lands, waters, animals in their area via industry making it impossible for self-sufficiency and living off the land as we have always done. This resulted in a forced dependency on programs and services.

Many communities do not have access to the very basic of human rights and needs, like clean water to drink, cook, bathe, etc., e.g. Neskantaga First Nation has not had clean water for almost 30 years and counting.

The Indian Act and Canada as an Apartheid State

The Indian Act is an oppressive piece of legislation that is still in place today. All legislation in Canada and the Indian Act are built upon the Doctrine of Discovery which says that non-Christians are not humans. It’s more evidence that Canada is (and has always been) an apartheid state. To learn more about the Indian Act, here are 21 things you may not have known about the Indian Act. There is also a book by the same name for more detail.

You should also know that while there are many legal cases underway currently, this fact that all foundational legislation is built upon dehumanizing Indigenous Peoples makes most of what is happening still incredibly unfair. Indigenous people were not legally allowed to get legal representation until 1950 – giving federal and provincial governments an incredibly unfair advantage to oversimplify it.