iFamily History: FNMI The Indigenous Peoples of Canada

FNMI is an acronym used in Canada to identify the three Indigenous (or Aboriginal) peoples of Canada.[1] The three peoples are First Nations, Metis, and Inuit. Official government papers and documents often use the term Aboriginal but the current common term is Indigenous.

This post will give the basic coverage of each People, as well as definitions and terminology, including their preferred name for themselves and website resources to help with genealogical research for each. To learn more, refer to the sources in the endnotes.

Online Resources for Indigenous Peoples
Library and Archives Canada
On their page First Nations, Inuit and Métis historical terminology, the Library and Archives Canada webpage provides terminology for all FNMI including specific definitions for each of the three Peoples.[2]

FN = First Nations
The First Nations of Canada include more than 50 distinct Indigenous nations. Historically they were called Indians, and legally are still referred to as Indians in the Indian Act, but First Nation has replaced that term in common use for both individuals and bands, as Indian is considered an offensive term (but is currently still enshrined in law). The term includes Status, non-Status, and Treaty Indians. The term First Nation became commonly used in the 1970s and was first officially used in Canada in 1980 in the Declaration of the First Nations.[3]

A comparative term in the United States would be Native American. Some First Nations in Canada include communities in the USA as the US-Canada border goes through their traditional territory. Their preferred identification may vary person to person and nation to nation. If you are researching first person and talking to people from a cross-border nation, you can ask them what they prefer to go by. Many Indigenous Peoples have websites that share their history, culture, and current lives where you can find information on them and see how they refer to themselves. Otherwise, you can choose which term to use depending on your audience (whether Americans or Canadians).

Reservations
As reserve lands are governed by the Indian Act and the Indian Act only applied to First Nations until recently, First Nations are the only Indigenous peoples who can hold reserve lands. They may live on or off of these “reserve” lands. First nations may live either on and off of reserves.[4] The term “band” refers to a small community. The term First Nation is preferred now over the term “band” for many.[5]

Online Resources for First Nations
Library and Archives Canada
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/first-nations

This webpage has a list of each province and territory. Each title is a hyperlink to a page which lists the First Nations in that jurisdiction. Each individual webpage has a brief description, a Google Map showing the location of each first nation, and a list with the name of each nation. There are hyperlinks to the Nations webpage, if they have one.

Native American Nations
http://www.nanations.com/canada/
The Native American Nations website has United States and Canada Indian Tribes.

The site has a list of First Nations in each province. Some of the First Nations listed have contact information for the First Nations of Canada.

On the screenshot above, the left menu on the webpage has links to Free Indian Records. On the right side of this webpage, there is a table containing each province as well as the Northwest Territories. If you click on the name (hyperlink), it will take you to a webpage containing a list of all nations in that province or territory.

Under the links to provinces and territories is a list of "Other tribal Histories" with a link to a page for each. These pages give information on the history, organization, bands, locations, and more of each tribe.

On the right is the beginning of the Alberta page.

Warning: Many of the links do not work. The address and phone number hopefully will help. If you find a missing website or contact information, there is a contact to send this information to.

Note: Nations' borders do not match provincial boundaries, with some located in multiple provinces and some extending south to the United States.

Canada First Nations Genealogy Research Facebook
www.facebook.com/CanadaFirstNationsGenealogy

Can Genealogy
Links to First Nations, Metis and Indigenous resources.
www.cangenealogy.com/metis.html

M = Métis
Métis are the people whose ancestry is mixed European and Indigenous.[6] They were called “Half Breeds” until recently. Métis is pronounced “may tea.”

At the beginning of France’s colonization of New France, those in charge were against interracial marriage and relations. Soon the government needed the population to grow, but they were having trouble convincing enough European civilians to move to New France, so they encouraged the colonizers to marry the “Indians.” The descendants of these couples were referred to as Half-Breeds, but today they are referred to as Métis. The term also covers the descendants of First Nations women with English or Scottish men.

Hudson’s Bay Company was incorporated in London, England May 2, 1670. The purpose of the company was to “seek a northwest passage to the Pacific, to occupy the lands adjacent to Hudson’s Bay, and to carry on any commerce with those lands that might prove profitable.”[7] Not to be out done by Britain, a few Scottish men founded the North West Company in 1783. Many Métis are of Scottish ancestry. The two companies merged in 1821 under the Hudson’s Bay Company name and charter.[8]

Métis is not just a term to refer to people who have mixed ancestry. The Métis Nation has a unique culture that developed from their heritage and their history as a post-contact Indigenous community associated with the fur trade and the bison hunt.

Métis Scrip
“Scrip was a document, warrant, or certificate that entitled the holder to a certain allotment of crown lands in what is now Manitoba, Alberta, and Saskatchewan…”

They were given to

Metis residents
original White Settlers
members of the militia and the North-West Mounted Police.[9]

The Metis Scrip included an amazing amount of information, including parents' names, all the places the person has lived, the names of all their children--living and dead, and sometimes more.

Information and background is found at the following link. To search through the database, follow the instructions found on this link in the Collection Search. For instructions on how to search for scrip on the Library and Archives Canada website, https://library-archives.canada.ca/eng/collection/research-help/indigenous-heritage/pages/finding-metis-scrip.aspx.

Also check out my Metis Scrip post on this blog at https://ifamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2023/11/metis-scrip.html.

Online Resources for Métis
Hudson Bay Company Archives
https://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/hbca/index.html

Red River Ancestry
https://www.redriverancestry.ca/
Red River Ancestry website is an essential website for Métis. The years of those listed range from the mid 1700s to the mid 1900s. Each couple has a webpage. If the couple's parents are known the page lists the couple's parents, and if their parents are also on the site it links to their webpage. It gives a timeline of their lives with other relevant Canadian history. At the bottom of each couple’s page is the list of their children in birth order with names, birthdates, marriage dates and spouses’ name if they were married. Each couple, listed on this website, has a discussion page on the site.

For more information about this website, check out the Red River Ancestry post on this Blog at https://ifamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2023/11/red-river-ancestry-website.html.

I = Inuit
The Inuit people primarily inhabit the Arctic region, which includes northern Canada, Alaska, and Greenland. These are the people who historically lived in igloos, though they no longer commonly use them as their permanent dwellings. The word Inuit means the people.[10] Inuit is pronounced “in-u-it.”

Many of us grew up calling these people Eskimos. I liked the word and when I heard it I pictured a family in an igloo living and surviving in the Arctic cold with big white parkas fur-lined hooded parkas. Their ability to survive up there in the very long very cold white winters amazed me. As I grew up, my family would share “Eskimo Kisses” which I was fond of and made me feel connected to these people. The term came from Western explorers in the Arctic area who saw Inuit people rubbing noses as a greeting. The Inuit were not the only people greeting this way, but the name stuck.

I learned recently that the name Eskimo is disrespectful to Canadian Inuit and should not be used. The name “Eskimo” was given to them by other people. More recently, some people believed the word was from the Cree word meaning “eaters of raw meat” and therefore was meant as an insult, but Cree also ate raw meat, so this belief may be unfounded. Regardless, many Inuit in Canada dislike the term, do not identify with it, and prefer the name Inuit. In Alaska and Russia they prefer Eskimo. Inuit replaced Eskimo in the Canadian government in the 1970s.[11]

Surnames
For genealogical purposes it is important to note Inuit naming practices, as defined in the Library and Archives Canada website. “Before the first half of the 20th century, Inuit did not use last names. Traditionally, Inuit naming was genderless and children were/are often named after significant or recently deceased family members, regardless of gender or namesake. Until the 1970s there were no surnames.”[12]

Online Resources for Inuit
FamilySearch
Canada Inuit
www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Canada_Inuit

Library and Archives Canada
Inuit Genealogy
https://library-archives.canada.ca/eng/collection/research-help/indigenous-heritage/Pages/inuit-genealogy.aspx

End Notes

[1] The Canadian Encyclopedia, Historica Canada, Indigenous Peoples in Canada, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/aboriginal-people, accessed October 2023.
[2] Library and Archives Canada, First Nations, Inuit and Métis historical terminology,
https://library-archives.canada.ca/eng/collection/research-help/indigenous-heritage/Pages/indigenous-terminology.aspx, accessed October 2023.
Proper capitalization: Library and Archives Canada, Legistics First Nation(s) - Aboriginal, https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/csj-sjc/legis-redact/legistics/p1p12.html
https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/indigenous-peoples-terminology-guidelines-for-usage
https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/terminology/

First Nations
[3] The Canadian Encyclopedia, Historica Canada, First Nations in Canada, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/first-nations, accessed October 2023.
Britannica, Native American indigenous peoples of Canada and United States, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Native-American, accessed October 2023.
[4] Ibid.
[5] The Canadian Encyclopedia, Historica Canada, First Nations Bands in Canada, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/band, accessed October 2023.