First Nations of Canada
The First Nations people of Canada are made up of four main groups, excluding the Inuit in the North and Métis. Each of these main groups contained many tribes, each of which had adapted to their environments which were all slightly different. The four main groups were subdivided by the following geographic areas:
- The Pacific coast and mountains.
- The Plains.
- The St. Lawrence valley.
- The North-East Woodlands (broad region, encompassing the woods near the Atlantic/maritimes to the tree-line in the Arctic).
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2 Plains Indians 3 Indians of the St. Lawrence 4 Indians of the North-East Woodlands 5 List of First Nations Groups |
Pacific Coast Peoples
Among the largest tribes were the Haida, Nootka, and Salish. These people ate fish, primarily salmon from the ocean, as well as fish from lakes and rivers, and roots and berries. They made use of the forests of the Pacific to build dug-out canoes, and houses made of evenly-split planks of wood. They used tools made of stone and wood. The native peoples of the pacific coast also made glorious totem poles, a trait often attributed to other tribes as well.
Plains Indians
The plains included primarily the Sioux, Blackfoot, the Plains-Cree, and the Plains-Ojibwa. These people used tipis as their home, covered with skins. Their main sustenance was the buffalo, which they used as food, and for all their garments. Tribal leaders often wore large headdresses made of feathers, something which is wrongfully attributed to all first nations peoples.
Indians of the St. Lawrence
The largest group near the St. Lawrence waterway was the Iroquois. They included the Huron peoples of central Ontario and the League of Five Nations who lived in the United States, south of Lake Ontario.
Indians of the North-East Woodlands
These included the Algonquins, Mi'kmaqs in the Maritimes, the Innu in Quebec, and the Cree and Ojibwa in northern Ontario and Manitoba.
This is a list of Canada's First Nations.
List of First Nations Groups
Pacific Coast
Plains Indians
Northeast Woodlands
St. Lawrence
Arctic Canada
Note: The Inuit and Métis are not considered "First Nations", though they are included in the term "first peoples".
See also: Métis, Native American, Assembly of First Nations
