Resource library

Abenaki

Southern Québec; homelands also extend into the United States · Odanak and Wôlinak are Abenaki communities in Québec.

Algonquin / Anishinabeg

Western Québec and eastern Ontario · Algonquin refers to a people; Algonquian is a larger language-family term.

Anishinaabe peoples

Great Lakes and neighbouring regions of Canada and the United States · A broad family of related peoples, including Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi.

Arctic histories & Inuit ancestors

Many generations of movement and adaptation

Atikamekw

Upper Saint-Maurice region, Québec · Manawan, Wemotaci and Opitciwan are Atikamekw communities.

Bannock: A Living History

Scroll through bannock’s histories, family connections and living First Nations, Métis and Inuit traditions.

Beringia

An ancient landscape of land, ice and changing seas

Bison & grasslands

Food, materials, relationships and restoration

Blackfoot Confederacy

Southern Alberta and Montana · The Confederacy includes Siksika, Kainai, Piikani and Aamskapi Pikuni. The last is based in the United States.

Canoe engineering

Different waters, materials and designs

Cayuga

Members live at Six Nations of the Grand River, Ontario, and elsewhere · A distinct Haudenosaunee Nation. This community location is not its full ancestral homeland.

Coast Salish peoples

Salish Sea, lower Fraser and surrounding coastal lands · A broad grouping of related peoples and languages, including many distinct Nations.

Contact was not one moment

Regional encounters in an already connected continent

Dakelh

Central interior of British Columbia · Dakelh territories include the lake country of the central interior.

Dakota

Saskatchewan and neighbouring regions · One of the distinct peoples whose languages and cultures are supported by SICC.

Deep-time evidence

Bluefish Caves and White Sands ask different questions

Dënesųłiné

Northern Saskatchewan and the wider northern interior · Dënesųłiné communities are part of the diverse Dene peoples.

Gitxsan

Skeena, Kispiox and Kitwanga rivers, British Columbia · These river valleys connect Gitxsan communities.

Gwich’in

Northern Yukon and Northwest Territories; also Alaska · A distinct people represented in the Yukon’s Indigenous language landscape.

Haida

Haida Gwaii, British Columbia · The islands of Haida Gwaii are central to Haida homelands.

Haudenosaunee Confederacy

Great Lakes and St. Lawrence region; homelands cross the Canada–US border · Six distinct Nations are connected through this Confederacy.

How do we know?

Read objects, oral histories, documents and images

Hän

Yukon River around Dawson; also Alaska · A distinct people represented in the Yukon’s Indigenous language landscape.

Indigenous Atlas of Canada

Explore Canada-wide treaty areas, Inuit Nunangat, community locations and reserve lands, with historical chapters and sourced population charts.

Innu

Québec and Labrador · Innu are distinct from Inuit, despite the similar-looking names.

Inuit Nunangat

Inuit homeland in Canada: land, water and ice · The homeland includes four Inuit regions. Inuit also live in cities and communities outside Inuit Nunangat.

Inuit snow house

Snow blocks, geometry and insulation

Inuvialuit Settlement Region

Western Arctic, including northwestern Northwest Territories · The Inuit of this region are Inuvialuit.

Kainai

Southern Alberta · A distinct Nation within the Blackfoot Confederacy.

Kanien’kehá:ka / Mohawk

Members live at Six Nations of the Grand River, Ontario, and elsewhere · A distinct Haudenosaunee Nation. This community location is not its full ancestral homeland.

Kaska Dena

Northern British Columbia and southern Yukon · Kaska communities and homelands extend across the provincial–territorial boundary.

Ktunaxa

Southeastern British Columbia and neighbouring US states · Ktunaxa homelands cross modern borders. Their language is distinct from neighbouring languages.

Lakota

Saskatchewan and neighbouring regions · One of the distinct peoples whose languages and cultures are supported by SICC.

Learning through the seasons

Observe change, place and patterns

Lil’wat

Mount Currie and Pemberton area, British Columbia · Lil’wat is a distinct Nation within the wider St’át’imc people.

Lil’wat istken

A home built partly into the earth

Mi’kmaq

Mi’kma’ki, across much of Atlantic Canada and Gaspé · Mi’kma’ki is the Mi’kmaw homeland, with its own districts and relationships.

Mi’kmaw wikuom

Bark, poles and overlapping layers

Modern treaties & self-government

Agreements are part of the present

Métis Nation

Prairie provinces and parts of Ontario, British Columbia, Northwest Territories and the northern United States · A distinct Indigenous people with shared histories, communities and nationhood. Métis does not simply mean anyone with mixed ancestry.

Métis Red River frame house

Upright posts, fitted logs and community life

Nakoda

Saskatchewan and neighbouring regions · One of the distinct peoples whose languages and cultures are supported by SICC.

Naskapi

Northeastern Québec and Labrador peninsula · Kawawachikamach is a Naskapi community near Schefferville.

Nisga’a

Nass River valley, British Columbia · Nisga’a communities are connected through the Nass River valley.

Nlaka’pamux

Fraser Canyon and Nicola valley, British Columbia · Nlaka’pamux homelands include river and valley country.

Northern Tutchone

Central Yukon · A distinct people represented in the Yukon’s Indigenous language landscape.

Nunatsiavut

Northern Labrador coast · The Inuit region in Labrador, with its own Inuit government.

Nunavik

Northern Québec · An Inuit region in Québec, distinct from Nunavut.

Nunavut

Central and eastern Canadian Arctic · An Inuit homeland region and a Canadian territory.

Nuu-chah-nulth

West coast of Vancouver Island · Related coastal Nations work together through the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council.

Odawa

Great Lakes region on both sides of the Canada–US border · One of the peoples connected through the Three Fires Confederacy.

Ojibwe

Great Lakes region on both sides of the Canada–US border · One of the peoples connected through the Three Fires Confederacy.

Oneida

Members live at Six Nations of the Grand River, Ontario, and elsewhere · A distinct Haudenosaunee Nation. This community location is not its full ancestral homeland.

Onondaga

Members live at Six Nations of the Grand River, Ontario, and elsewhere · A distinct Haudenosaunee Nation. This community location is not its full ancestral homeland.

Peace and Friendship treaties

Atlantic agreements and enduring responsibilities

Piikani

Southern Alberta · A distinct Nation within the Blackfoot Confederacy.

Plains Cree

Saskatchewan and neighbouring regions · One of the distinct peoples whose languages and cultures are supported by SICC.

Plains Cree tipi

A portable home, a carefully arranged frame

Potawatomi

Great Lakes region on both sides of the Canada–US border · One of the peoples connected through the Three Fires Confederacy.

Red River Métis

Red River and the wider Métis homeland · The Manitoba Métis Federation represents the Red River Métis, including citizens living beyond Manitoba.

Red River, resistance & scrip

Métis political action and land records

28 related resources

Residential schools & the work of truth

Children, Survivors and continuing responsibilities

11 related resources

Saulteaux

Saskatchewan and neighbouring regions · One of the distinct peoples whose languages and cultures are supported by SICC.

Secwépemc

Interior British Columbia, including the Kamloops area · Secwépemc communities share connections across a large interior homeland.

Seneca

Members live at Six Nations of the Grand River, Ontario, and elsewhere · A distinct Haudenosaunee Nation. This community location is not its full ancestral homeland.

Siksika

Southern Alberta · A distinct Nation within the Blackfoot Confederacy.

Southern Tutchone

Southwestern Yukon · A distinct people represented in the Yukon’s Indigenous language landscape.

Squamish cedar plank house

A Coast Salish example of shared living space

Swampy Cree

Saskatchewan and neighbouring regions · One of the distinct peoples whose languages and cultures are supported by SICC.

Syilx / Okanagan

Okanagan country, British Columbia and beyond the US border · Syilx communities have connections across the modern international border.

Sḵwx̱wú7mesh / Squamish

Southwestern British Columbia · Squamish and Lil’wat are distinct Nations with their own languages and traditions.

Tagish

Southern Lakes region of Yukon · A distinct people represented in the Yukon’s Indigenous language landscape.

Tahltan

Stikine River country, British Columbia · Tahltan homelands extend along the Stikine and inland.

The 1969 White Paper

Follow a policy debate about equality, land, treaties, and who gets to make decisions.

The eleven Numbered Treaties

Related agreements with important differences

The Indian Act

Understand the difference between a federal law, First Nations identity, and treaty rights through six short chapters.

4 related resources

The Red Paper

Explore the 1970 response to the White Paper and the continuing question of who decides a community's future.

The Three Sisters

Haudenosaunee agriculture and food knowledge

Tlingit

Southern Yukon, northern British Columbia and Alaska · A distinct people represented in the Yukon’s Indigenous language landscape.

Treaty 6

A living relationship, with local histories

26 related resources

Treaty relationships

Explore Treaty as an ongoing relationship, compare written and First Nations accounts, and begin with the place where you live.

30 related resources

Tse’khene

Northern interior of British Columbia · Tse’khene homelands include northern interior mountain and lake country.

Tsimshian

Skeena River and northern Pacific coast · Coast Tsimshian territories include the lower Skeena and its delta.

Tuscarora

Members live at Six Nations of the Grand River, Ontario, and elsewhere · A distinct Haudenosaunee Nation. This community location is not its full ancestral homeland.

Tłı̨chǫ

Northwest Territories · Tłı̨chǫ communities include Behchokǫ̀, Whatì, Gamètì and Wekweètì.

Tŝilhqot’in

Chilcotin watershed, British Columbia · The Chilcotin, Chilko and Taseko rivers are important within Tŝilhqot’in territory.

Upper Tanana

Western Yukon and neighbouring Alaska · A distinct people represented in the Yukon’s Indigenous language landscape.

Wanuskewin: Read the landscape

Prepare with a classroom activity, explore a source-derived landscape, and follow mapped paths through a clearly labelled interpretation of about 2,000 years ago.