Module 1
Lakota
Siouan language speakers and were also British allies in the War of 1812. Like the Dakota, they too later returned to Canada as refugees, but under the leadership of Sitting Bull after the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876. While Sitting Bull returned to the U.S., a small group of Lakota stayed and were assigned a reserve at Wood Mountain in Saskatchewan but were not brought into the treaty relationship.
Treaty Indian
a First Nations person whose ancestors signed treaties with the federal government. This would automatically make someone also a 'status Indian'. However, there are also status Indians in Canada whose ancestors have not signed treaties; therefore, the term "status Indian" is not always synonymous with "Treaty Indian." All treaty Indians are also status Indians, but not all status Indians are treaty Indians.
Assiniboine
a branch of the Sioux because they are Siouan language speakers. Their own name for themselves is "Nakota." They are believed to be among the earliest group to inhabit the Plains.
Dakota
a branch of the Sioux; they were early residents of what would later become Canada and served as allies to the British in the War of 1812. Although, they migrated into the U.S., they later returned to Canada as refugees and were assigned reserves in Saskatchewan but not yet brought into treaties.
Amerindian
a more historical term used primarily by academics; it is a combination of the terms "American" and "Indian."
Native
a more informal term which is used synonymously with "Aboriginal." However, it refers to First Nations or Métis peoples rather than Inuit.
Reconciliation
a new buzzword and transformative process proposed by the TRC. The TRC defines reconciliation as establishing and maintaining a mutually respectful relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples in this country. In order for that to happen, there has to be an awareness of the past, an acknowledgement of the harm that has been inflicted, atonement for the causes, and action to change behaviour.
Aboriginal
a term that became especially common after Section 35 of the Constitution Act of 1982 legally defined Aboriginal peoples as Indian, Inuit or Metis. It remains widely used but is often replaced by the term "Indigenous."
Indian
a term used more historically; it remains in use within certain contexts only because it has a legal definition connected to Section 91 (24) of the Constitution Act, which gives the federal government jurisdiction over anyone considered to be "Indian" and also lands for "Indians". Thus, the government developed their own official criteria to determine who they would legally recognize as an "Indian" person; these membership rules were then included in a piece of legislation known as the Indian Act.
Indigenous
a term which now often used in place of "Aboriginal". In the past, it was used mostly in the global or international context to refer to Aboriginal groups in other countries. In the last few years however, it has become the term of choice to refer to Indigenous peoples in a general context because it aligns with the criteria within the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)
created as part of the 2007 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. The TRC's mandate was to inform Canadians about what happened in Residential Schools and to document this history. The TRC released its official report in 2015 with 94 Calls to Action. These calls to action are considered necessary to foster the process of reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples in Canada.
Métis
one of the three groups of Aboriginal defined in the Constitution. They come from both European and Indigenous ancestry but came to identify as a new nation or peoples with their own distinct culture.
Inuit
one of the three groups of Aboriginal peoples recognized in the Constitution Act. The Inuit have historically been referred to as Eskimos; however, this is considered a more pejorative term, not used by Inuit people themselves.
Dene
part of the Athapaskan language family and have occupied northern parts of Canada for thousands of years.
Sioux
refers to specific groups of people who are Siouan language speakers. In Saskatchewan, these include the Dakota, Lakota, and Assiniboine/Nakota.
Ethnogenesis
refers to the conscious recognition by a group of people who share similar cultural, linguistic, religious and economic backgrounds that they are a distinct nation or ethnic group. This term applies to Métis peoples here; the Métis have mixed ancestry but they developed their own unique lifestyles and culture and came to recognize themselves as a new 'nation' or people(s).
Nehiyawak
the self-ascribed term for Cree people. which in their own language, can be translated to mean "exact person." There are three groups of Cree people in Saskatchewan: Swampy, Woodlands, and Plains Cree.
Anishinabe
the self-ascribed term for Ojibwa people, which in their own language means "the People" or "original people." Historically referred to by the French as "Saulteaux".
Status Indian / Non-status Indian
these terms refer to First Nations people who are either registered as "Indians" according the membership codes of the Indian Act (status) or who have lost their status or are not eligible to be registered under the Indian Act (non-status).
Section 91(24)
this is the section in Canada's Constitution Act (originally in the British North American Act of 1867) which dictates federal jurisdiction over "Indians and Lands for Indians." This area of responsibility set up a special relationship between First Nations and the federal government and in order to help administer this area of responsibility, the government developed a long standing (and ultimately oppressive) piece of legislation known as the Indian Act which set out rules about who was defined as "Indian" and rules about land use, land control, and land appropriation (among many other aspects of life).
Section 35
this is the section in Canada's Constitution Act that legally defines Aboriginal Peoples as Indian, Inuit, and Métis.