Other Terminology

The word Aboriginal is used to refer to the people who have been in a region since the earliest times. Though you will still see this term used, most notably in the Truth and Reconciliation of Canada Commission documents, as this was the official government term used at the time of the Commission, the preferred umbrella term to use today is Indigenous. The term is still used to identify the people Indigenous to Australia.

An Afro-Indigenous person is someone who is both Black and Indigenous. Afro-Indigenous people are Indigenous but the unique experiences of living in two intersecting identities means that Afro-Indigenous people are sometimes acknowledged separately or in addition to people who are First Nations, Métis, and Inuit. Within Skoden, those who identify as Afro-Indigenous are included when the terminology Indigenous or First Nations, Métis, and Inuit are used.

Land that has been utilized for traditional purposes. This might be different from treaty territory as there were no colonial treaties yet negotiated when nations occupied various territories across this vast land. A traditional territory connects Indigenous peoples both ancestrally and contemporarily to the land.

The acronym Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour is commonly used in anti-racist and anti-oppression discourse and practice.

First Nations people who are registered under the Indian Act are still identified as this term legally. This makes the term federally legislated and colonial and therefore should not be used in any other way other than in its legal context.

In the context of the land now known as Canada, the term Indigenous people is used as an umbrella term for people who are First Nations, Métis, and Inuit. Note the upper case in Indigenous, just as you use upper case in Canadian, and English.

A Haudenosaunee word meaning “the village” from which Canada got its name.

This term is usually used to describe a person that could be either First Nations, Métis, or Inuit. Although it is still commonly used, it carries negative connotations and does not honour the distinctiveness of different Indigenous groups.

Used in the context of First Nations in the United States. Not used for First Nations in Canada.

A First Nations Reserve is land that the federal government designated for occupancy by a particular First Nation in treaty negotiations. The term used for this land in the United States is reservation.

What many First Nations refer to North America as.