First Nations of Canada: History and Culture

The First Nations of Canada correspond to one of the three groups of indigenous peoples in Canada. The other two groups are the Métis and the Inuit. Unlike the Métis and Inuit, most First Nations had reserves. On the other hand, it is not uncommon to see First Nations living outside of these reserves.

The term “First Nation” can refer to a broad ethnic group. However, in some cases it can be synonymous with "band". The term "band" was originally chosen by the federal government and is used under the Indian Act. However, this term is little appreciated by the First Nations since it primarily refers to small communities.

Canada's First Nations: Background

The origin of the First Nations, the first inhabitants of the North American continent, in Canada, dates back at least 12,000 years. The First Nations established themselves across Canadian territory between 40,000 and 10,000 BC. AD

The history of this indigenous people is above all characterized by a strong adaptation to the natural environment. It is also thanks to this that it is possible for us today, according to Alfred Kroeber, to distinguish ten indigenous cultural areas in North America. Among these indigenous cultural areas, six are represented in the current Canadian territory: the Arctic, the subarctic zone, the northwest coast, the Plateau, the Prairies and the forests of the northeast. From these areas, many nations developed with their own languages, cultures, religious practices and traditions.

The history of first contacts with Europeans in North America begins with fishing and whaling, and continues with the fur trade. It also continues with Christian missions. Later, the colonization of Canadian territory by France and the United Kingdom will radically change the way of life of the First Nations.

Various cultural assimilation policies were then adopted under the administration of the colonies, then by the Canadian government which became increasingly sovereign from 1867. These cultural assimilation policies were then abandoned in the 1970s and 1980s to make room for Canadian multiculturalism.

The First Nations of Canada: in what year did the first Native Americans arrive?

In the community of archaeologists and anthropologists, the question is still debated. During an ice age spanning from 100,000 to 5,000 BC; BC, the first Native Americans, originating from Asia, crossed the Bering Strait. The latter was, during this period, a vast ice shelf which connected present-day Siberia and Alaska.

American scientific studies carried out in the 20th century affirm that the occupation of Canadian territory dates back to around 15,000 and 5,000 BC. Arrowheads found in 2003 in southern Quebec made it possible to date a first human presence in the province, 10,000 years before the modern era.

However, this timeline was called into question by a 2017 study of human bones found in Blue Fish Cave in the Yukon. Anthropologists say these bones date back to at least 25,000 BC. AD

Although the precise date of the arrival of the Native Americans still remains uncertain, their exact origin is now known. Indeed, in May 2020, a study led by the German Max-Planck Institute demonstrated the existence of a common gene between bones of hunters from the Russian region of Lake Baikal, dating from 13,500 BC. AD, and those of the first Amerindians.

The First Nations of Canada: the six main geographic groups

Before Europeans settled in the region, First Nations occupied what is now Canada. In particular, they were able to meet all of their material and spiritual needs thanks to resources from the surrounding nature.

To better study the traditional cultures of Canada's First Nations, historians have grouped them into six main groups based on the main geographic regions of the country as it currently exists.

Among these six groups were:

• The First Nations of the wooded regions: they occupied the boreal forest in the east of the country;

• The Iroquois First Nations: they lived in the far south, on fertile land suitable for growing corn, beans and squash;

• The Plains First Nations: they lived on the Prairies;

• The First Nations of the Plateau: they occupied a large territory ranging from semi-desert spaces in the south to high mountains and dense forests in the north;

• The First Nations of the Pacific Coast: they had access to abundant salmon and seafood resources to feed themselves and to gigantic red cedars to build their homes;

• The First Nations of the Mackenzie and Yukon river basins: they occupied a hostile environment composed mainly of dark forests, arid lands and a marshy formation called “muskeg”.

The First Nations of Canada: were they at war with each other?

Within the First Nations of Canada, conflicts were permanent.

A fratricidal war between the Iroquois peoples and the Five Iroquois Nations of Lake Ontario was already in the news when the French navigator Jacques Cartier sailed up Saint-Laurent in 1534. The conflict was fueled by the search for a chimerical kingdom of Saguenay, a northern El Dorado that many settlers dream of. In order to expand their territory, the Iroquois then attacked the Algonquins, Hurons and Montagnais. From the 18th century, these three tribes allied themselves with the French. The latter then seized the stakes of this alliance to enrich themselves with the fur trade.

Throughout the century, the Iroquois took on their neighbors: the Mohicans and Abenakis to the east; the Eries, the Miamis and the Illinois to the west; the Hurons and the Népissingues to the north.

After nearly a century of relentless war, forty Native American nations — under the governance of the governor of New France and a Huron chief named Kondiaronk — and the Five Nations signed a Treaty of Great Peace in Montreal in 1701 .

In the 18th century, during the Franco-British wars in the colony, the Iroquois allied themselves with the English, while the Algonquian peoples remained loyal to the French. Following the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763, which saw France abandon its North American colony to England, pro-French warlords, such as Outaouais Pontiac, triggered a Pan-American uprising in the colonies of New -England.

As for the Iroquois, allied with the British during the American War of Independence, they saw their ancestral lands occupied by the army of George Washington in 1779. The end of a predatory people.