What are the three groups of Aboriginal peoples in Canada?

First Nations, Métis and Inuit. These three groups are distinct peoples with unique histories, languages and cultural practices.

What is the Métis people?

The Métis are people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry who developed a distinct culture. They played a key role in Canadian history, particularly in the fur trade and western settlement.

Canadian Citizenship Test · Study Guide

Aboriginal Peoples

The First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples — Canada's original inhabitants, their history, cultures and rights.

Aboriginal peoples are the original inhabitants of Canada. There are three main groups:

**First Nations**
There are more than 630 First Nations communities in Canada. First Nations peoples have diverse cultures, languages and traditions. Many First Nations peoples traditionally hunted, fished and farmed. They include peoples such as the Cree, Ojibway, Mohawk, Blackfoot, Haida, Mi'kmaq and hundreds more.

The Haudenosaunee Confederacy (Iroquois), made up of six nations, is one of the world's oldest participatory democracies. The Huron-Wendat of the Great Lakes region built longhouses and were farmers and hunters who helped the first Europeans survive the harsh winters.

**Inuit**
The Inuit are Aboriginal peoples of the Arctic. "Inuit" means "the people" in Inuktitut, the Inuit language. The singular form is "Inuk." The Inuit have their own language and culture adapted to life in the far north.

**Métis**
The Métis are a people of mixed Aboriginal and European heritage who developed their own distinct culture. Many Métis people descend from the unions of European fur traders and First Nations women. The Métis have their own language, Michif, and cultural traditions.

**Aboriginal rights**
Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 recognizes and affirms existing Aboriginal and treaty rights. The federal government has a special relationship with Aboriginal peoples — treaty rights are honoured by the Crown.

**Residential schools**
For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, the government operated residential schools that separated Aboriginal children from their families and culture. This caused lasting harm. In 2008, Prime Minister Harper formally apologized to Aboriginal peoples for the residential school system. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2015) made 94 Calls to Action to advance reconciliation.

**Reconciliation**
Today, Canadians and the government are working toward reconciliation — building a renewed relationship based on mutual respect, trust and partnership with Aboriginal peoples.