Posted @withregram • @jarisoftheprairies #LanguageMatters In #Canada, the term #Aboriginal was described in The Constitution Act as an umbrella term to refer to the collective of all #FirstNations (both status and non-status), #Métis, and #Inuit. For a number of reasons, including the desire to describe ourselves in a way that doesn’t come from a colonial government’s legal Act, the term Aboriginal has generally been replaced by #Indigenous, although Aboriginal is still perfectly acceptable and not derogatory. The term Indigenous is also an umbrella term that refers to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit. Often, the term Indigenous is incorrectly used to only refer to First Nations. Previously, First Nations have been referred to as #Native or #Indian (as per The Indian Act). Some First Nations may still refer to themselves with these terms, including #N8V and #NDN. In the USA, #AmericanIndian and #NativeAmerican are the terms used to describe the First Peoples within the colonial borders of the United States of America. There are many First Nations identities and with enormous diversity between First Nations (e.g., Plains Cree, Saulteaux, Dakota, Dene, etc.), with many different languages and dialects among all the First Nations. Many First Nations people will identify themselves as their specific identity. For example, instead of saying, “I am First Nations,” I would instead say, “I am Saulteaux.” As per the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan’s definition, Métis means “a person, who self identifies as Métis, is distinct from other Aboriginal peoples, is of historic Métis Nation Ancestry and is accepted by the Métis Nation.” Every descendant of a Métis person is also Métis. First Nations blood quantum is not used to describe or validate a person’s Métis-ness. The language of the Métis is #Michif. Inuit are an Indigenous people living primarily in Inuit Nunangat. Inuit is the plural term, which means “people,” used to describe #Inuk (singular) persons. The majority of Inuit live in 51 communities spread across Inuit Nunangat, the Inuit homeland encompassing 35 percent of Canada’s landmass and 50 percent of its coastline. The language of the Inuit is #Inuktut. Languag https://www.instagram.com/p/CMiFWzDD0gT/?igshid=1n1hf3v58uhdw
