Page 285 - THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 9 to 12 | First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Studies

The definitions provided in this glossary are specific to the curriculum context in which the terms are used.
1973 land claims policy. A policy created by the federal government to negotiate and settle Aboriginal rights and title claims. This policy is also known as the comprehensive land claims policy, and the agreements under the policy are also known as modern treaties.
Aboriginal. A term sometimes used for the descendants of the original inhabitants of North America. Section 35(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982, states, “In this Act, ‘aboriginal peoples of Canada’ includes the Indian, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada.” These separate groups have unique heritages, languages, cultural practices, and spiritual beliefs.
Aboriginal title. The inherent right of Indigenous peoples to their lands. The Canadian legal sys- tem recognizes Aboriginal title as sui generis – that is, it is unique in that it derives from Indigenous peoples’ occupation of the land since time immemorial. See also sui generis.
amauti. A parka worn by Inuit women that allows a baby or young child to be carried on either the back or front of the woman’s body and to be moved from one position to the other without exposing the child to the elements.
Anishinaabe. A group of culturally related First Nations peoples living in central Canada and the United States, including the Algonquin, Odawa, Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Oji-Cree.
Aotearoa. The traditional Mãori name for New Zealand, the word means “the land of the long white cloud”.
band. A term used in the Indian Act to refer to “a body of Indians ... for whose use and benefit in common, lands ... have been set apart”.
Each band has its own governing band council, usually consisting of a chief and several councillors. The members of a band usually share common values, traditions, and practices rooted in their language and ancestral heritage. Today, many bands prefer to be known as First Nations. See also First Nations.
band council. A governance structure that is defined and mandated under the provisions of the Indian Act. A band council of a First Nation consists of an elected chief and councillors. See also band.
bannerstones. Carved stones of various shapes and complexity used as counterweights for spear-throwing devices that predated the bow. They may also have been significant for cere- monial, spiritual, or status purposes.
Beaver Wars. A series of wide-ranging conflicts throughout much of the seventeenth century involving a number of First Nations as well as emerging colonial powers (as supporters of specific First Nations or active participants in the conflict) over control of territory in the Great Lakes region that supported the trade
in beaver furs.
Berger Commission. Also known as the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry, a commis- sion of inquiry appointed by the federal government in 1974 to investigate the impact of a proposed natural gas pipeline in northern Yukon and the Mackenzie Valley in the Northwest Territories. The inquiry included community hearings to gather local First
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GLOSSARY