The following is a partial list of First Nations peoples of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, organized by linguistic-cultural area. It only includes

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

people, which by definition excludes

Metis Metis or Métis may refer to: Ethnic groups * Métis, recognized Indigenous communities in Canada and America whose distinct culture and language emerged after early intermarriage between First Nations peoples and early European settlers, prima ...

and Canadian

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

groups. The areas used here are in accordance to those developed by the ethnologist and linguist

Edward Sapir Edward Sapir (; January 26, 1884 – February 4, 1939) was an American Jewish anthropologist-linguist, who is widely considered to be one of the most important figures in the development of the discipline of linguistics in the United States. Sa ...

, and used by the

Canadian Museum of Civilization The Canadian Museum of History (french: Musée canadien de l’histoire) is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of C ...

Northwest Coast

These people traditionally eat fish, primarily

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

and

eulachon The eulacheon ( (''Thaleichthys pacificus''), also spelled oolichan , ooligan , hooligan ), also called the candlefish, is a small anadromous species of smelt that spawns in some of the major river systems along the Pacific coast of North Americ ...

from the ocean, as well as fish from lakes and rivers, and roots and berries. Recently discovered

clam garden A clam garden (k’yuu kudhlk’aat’iija in the Haida language, lux̌ʷxiwēys in the Kwakʼwala language) is a traditional Indigenous management system used principally by Coast Salish peoples. Clam gardens are a form of mariculture, where F ...

s suggest that they were not limited only to hunting and gathering. They made use of the forests of the Pacific to build dug-out

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

s, 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 make

totem pole Totem poles ( hai, gyáaʼaang) are monumental carvings found in western Canada and the northwestern United States. They are a type of Northwest Coast art, consisting of poles, posts or pillars, carved with symbols or figures. They are usually m ...

s, a trait attributed to other tribes as well. In 2000 a

land claim A land claim is defined as "the pursuit of recognized territorial ownership by a group or individual". The phrase is usually only used with respect to disputed or unresolved land claims. Some types of land claims include aboriginal land claims, A ...

was settled between the

Nisga'a The Nisga’a , often formerly spelled Nishga and spelled in the Nisga'a language as (pronounced ), are an Indigenous people of Canada in British Columbia. They reside in the Nass River valley of northwestern British Columbia. The name is a r ...

people of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

and the provincial government, resulting in the return of over 2,000 square kilometres of land to the Nisga'a. Major ethnicities include the: *

Coast Salish peoples The Coast Salish is a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak one of the Coa ...

** Shishalh (

Sechelt Sechelt (, Shishalh language chat'lich) is a district municipality located on the lower Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. Approximately 50 km northwest of Vancouver, it is accessible from mainland British Columbia by a 40-minute ferry tr ...

) ** Squamish **

Pentlatch The Pentlatch or Pentl’ach or Puntlatch or Puntledge language is a Salishan language that was spoken on Canada's Vancouver Island in a small area between Comox and Nanaimo, British Columbia. The Pentlatch people formerly numbered at least 3,0 ...

(a.k.a. Puntledge, extinct) ** Qualicum **Comox-speaking: *** K'omoks (Kwak'wala speaking today) ***

Sliammon The Tla'amin First Nation (Comox language: ɬəʔamɛn), formerly Sliammon Indian Band or Sliammon First Nation, is a First Nations self governing nation whose lands and traditional territories are located on the upper Sunshine Coast in southwes ...

***

Homalco The Homalco First Nation (Comox language: χʷɛmaɬku, also spelled Xwémalhkwu) is a First Nations government located in Bute Inlet near the upper Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, Canada. The Homalco are also known, with their neighbours the ...

***

Klahoose The ƛoʔos Klahoose are one of the three groups comprising the ''ʔayʔaǰuθəm'' Tla'Amin or Mainland Comox. The other two divisions of this once-populous group are the χʷɛmaɬku Homalco and Sliammon (which is a corruption of "Tla A'min") ...

** Halkomelem-speaking ***Hulquminum (Island Halkomelem): ****

Hwlitsum The Hwlitsum or Lamalchi or Lamalcha are an indigenous people whose traditional territories were in the Gulf Islands of British Columbia, Canada. Their traditional villages were on Canoe Pass, which is known in their language as Hwlitsum, and on ...

(Lamalcha or Lamalchi) ****

Snuneymuxw The Snuneymuxw First Nation (pronounced ) is located in and around the city of Nanaimo on east-central Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The nation previously had also occupied territory along the Fraser River, in British Columbia. Pr ...

(Nanaimo) ****

Snaw-naw-as The Nanoose First Nation, also known the Snaw-naw-as First Nation, is a First Nations government located on central Vancouver Island in southwestern British Columbia, Canada, in the vicinity of the community of Nanoose Bay. They are Coast Salish pe ...

(Nanoose) **** Cowichan *****

Somena The Somena (or S’amuna’) are one of several Hul̓q̓umín̓um̓-speaking indigenous peoples living in the Cowichan Valley- Duncan region of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The Somena were one of seven tribes or nations that were ...

(S’amuna’) *****

Quw'utsun Quamichan (or Kw’amutsun) is a traditional nation of the Coast Salish people, commonly referred to by the English adaptation of ''Qu'wutsun'' ("warm place") as the Cowichan Indians, or First Nations, of the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, ...

*****

Quamichan Quamichan (or Kw’amutsun) is a traditional nation of the Coast Salish people, commonly referred to by the English adaptation of ''Qu'wutsun'' ("warm place") as the Cowichan Indians, or First Nations, of the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, i ...

***** Clemclemaluts (L’uml’umuluts) ***** Comiaken (Qwum’yiqun’) ***** Khenipsen (Hinupsum) ***** Kilpahlas (Tl’ulpalus) ***** Koksilah (Hwulqwselu) ****

Penelakut The Penelakut are a large (about 1000 individuals) Hul'qumi'num-speaking First Nation. They live primarily on Penelakut Island (formerly Kuper Island) near the south end of Vancouver Island, and Galiano Island. Their land stretches to Tent Island ...

***Hunquminum (Downriver Halkomelem) ****

Musqueam The Musqueam Indian Band ( ; hur, xʷməθkʷəy̓əm ) is a First Nations in Canada, First Nations band government in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the only First Nations band whose reserve community lies within the boundari ...

****

Tsleil-Waututh The Tsleil-Waututh Nation ( hur, səlilwətaɬ ), formerly known as the Burrard Indian Band or Burrard Inlet Indian Band, is a First Nations band government in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The Tsleil-Waututh Nation ("TWN") are Co ...

(Burrard) ****

Katzie Katzie First Nation ( hur, q̓ic̓əy̓) is an Indigenous band located in the Lower Fraser Valley in British Columbia, Canada. They are part of the Sto:lo Coast Salish group of peoples, historically referred to by European settlers as Fraser Riv ...

**** Kwantlen ****

Kwikwetlem The Kwikwetlem ( hur, kʷikʷəƛ̓əm), whose name is on the modern map as that of the City of Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada, are a Coast Salish Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast, indigenous people whose traditional territories and ...

(Coquitlam) ****

Snokomish The Snokomish were a Halkomelem-speaking Coast Salish people whose territory was primarily located across the Boundary Bay area. The Snokomish were also known as the Derby people, as their territory included a portion of the Fraser River, near De ...

(extinct) ****

Tsawwassen Tsawwassen ( ) is a suburban, mostly residential community on a peninsula in the southwestern corner of the City of Delta in British Columbia, Canada. It provides the only road access to the American territory on the southern tip of the peninsul ...

***Halqemeylem (Upriver Halkomelem) ****

Sts'Ailes The Sts'ailes (also known as Chehalis) are an indigenous people from the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Their band government is the Chehalis First Nation, formerly known as the Chehalis Indian Band. The band's name community i ...

(Chehalis) **** Sto:lo (Fraser River Salish) ***** Aitchelitz ***** Leq'á:mel *****

Matsqui Matsqui is a former district municipality in British Columbia, Canada. It was incorporated in 1892 and merged with the district municipality of Abbotsford in 1995 to create the new City of Abbotsford. Matsqui used to be the western part of what is ...

***** Popkum ***** Skway ***** Skawahlook ***** Skowkale ***** Squiala *****

Sumas Sumas () is a city in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 1,307 as of the 2010 census. Sumas is located adjacent to the Canada–U.S. border and borders the city of Abbotsford, British Columbia. The Sumas-Huntingd ...

***** Tzeachten ***** Yakweakwioose ***** Chawathil *****

Cheam Cheam () is a suburb of London, England, south-west of Charing Cross. It is divided into North Cheam, Cheam Village and South Cheam. Cheam Village contains the listed buildings Lumley Chapel and the 16th-century Whitehall. It is adjacent to tw ...

***** Kwaw-kwaw-Apilt ***** Sq'éwlets (Scowlitz) ***** Seabird Island ***** Shxw'ow'hamel ***** Soowahlie ** North Straits Salish-speaking ***

Songhees The Lekwungen or Lekungen nation (lək̓ʷəŋən often called the Songhees or Songish by non-Lekwungens) are an Indigenous North American Coast Salish people who reside on southeastern Vancouver Island, British Columbia in the Greater Victoria a ...

(a.k.a. ''Songish'', a.k.a. ''Lekwungen'') ***

T'Souke The T'sou-ke Nation of the Coast Salish peoples, is a band government whose reserve community is located on Vancouver Island, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. In February 2013, the T'sou-ke Nation had 251 registered members, with two ...

(

Sooke Sooke is a district municipality on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Canada, by road from Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. Sooke, the westernmost of Greater Victoria's Western Communities, is to the north and west of the Sooke Ba ...

) *** Semiahmoo *** Malahat ***

Lummi The Lummi ( ; Lummi: ''Xwlemi'' ; also known as Lhaq'temish (), or ''People of the Sea''), governed by the Lummi Nation, are a Native American tribe of the Coast Salish ethnolinguistic group. They are based in the coastal area of the Pacific No ...

***

Klallam Klallam (also Clallam, although the spelling with "K" is preferred in all four modern Klallam communities) refers to four related indigenous Native American/First Nations communities from the Pacific Northwest of North America. The Klallam cult ...

***

Tsartlip The Tsartlip First Nation is a First Nations in Canada, First Nation located on the Saanich Peninsula, in Saanich people, Saanich territory on Vancouver Island. They are a member of the Sencot'en Alliance fighting for Native rights. In the 1850s t ...

***

Tsawout The Tsawout First Nation is a First Nations government located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. They are a member of the Sencot'en Alliance. In the 1850s they were signatories to the Douglas Treaties. They speak the SENĆOŦEN la ...

*** Tseycum ***

Pauquachin The Pauaquachin (formerly Pak-quw-chin) are a Coast Salish indigenous people whose territory is in the Greater Victoria area of southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Their houses stand between Gordon Head and Cowichan Head. They are ...

***

Esquimalt The Township of Esquimalt is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Juan de ...

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capita ...

(no language affiliation) * Nuxálk (''Bella Coola'') **

Kimsquit Kimsquit is a former village of the Nuxalk at the mouth of the Dean River on the northeast side of Dean Channel in the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. Kemsquit Indian Reserve No. 1 is nearby at , which is on Kimsquit Bay; Kimsqui ...

Tallheo Tallheo is the location of a former village of the Nuxalk known as Talyu, and is a former cannery town near Bella Coola, British Columbia, Canada, on North Bentinck Arm. Tallheo is also the name of the dialect of the Nuxalk language spoken by the ...

Stuie Stuie is a community in the Bella Coola Valley of the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada, located at the confluence of the Atnarko and Talchako Rivers, which is the "start" of the Bella Coola River The Bella Coola River is a major r ...

Kwatna This is a list of Nuxalk villages. By 1953 there were only two bodies of Nuxalk left: The Kimsquit, on Dean Inlet; and the Bella Coola, at the mouth of Bella Coola River. Older writers speak of the Nuhalk (Nuxalk), which was the name of the Bella ...

* Tsimshianic peoples (Northern Mainland) **

Tsimshian The Tsimshian (; tsi, Ts’msyan or Tsm'syen) are an Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Their communities are mostly in coastal British Columbia in Terrace, British Columbia, Terr ...

(Sm'algyax speaking) **

Gitxsan Gitxsan (also spelled Gitksan) are an Indigenous people in Canada whose home territory comprises most of the area known as the Skeena Country in English (: means "people of" and : means "the River of Mist"). Gitksan territory encompasses approxim ...

(Gitxsanimaax speaking) **

Haida Haida may refer to: Places * Haida, an old name for Nový Bor * Haida Gwaii, meaning "Islands of the People", formerly called the Queen Charlotte Islands * Haida Islands, a different archipelago near Bella Bella, British Columbia Ships * , a 1 ...

(Haad kil speaking) *Southern Wakashan peoples **

Nuu-chah-nulth The Nuu-chah-nulth (; Nuučaan̓uł: ), also formerly referred to as the Nootka, Nutka, Aht, Nuuchahnulth or Tahkaht, are one of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast in Canada. The term Nuu-chah-nulth is used to describe fifte ...

(incorrectly called ''Nootka'') *** Tla-o-qui-aht (''Clayoquot'') ***

Mowachaht The Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nations are a First Nations government on the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nations are a member nation of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council ...

- Muchalaht ***

Ahousaht Ahousaht, also spelled Ahousat ( or )), is the principal settlement on Flores Island, in British Columbia, Canada. Accessible only by water or air, Ahousaht is a small community predominantly composed of First Nations people from the Nuu-chah-nul ...

(formed from the merger of the Ahousaht and Kelsemeht bands in 1951) *** Ehattesaht ***

Hesquiaht The Hesquiaht are one of the Nuu-chah-nulth peoples of the West Coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Today the Hesquiaht are governed mostly by the Hesquiaht First Nation band government, though some are in the Tla-O-Qui-Aht First ...

*** Cheklesahht ***

Kyuquot Kyuquot (pronounced "ky YOO kit") is an unincorporated settlement and First Nations community located on Kyuquot Sound on northwestern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Meaning people of Kayukw in the Nuu-chah-nulth language, it is p ...

*** Nuchatlaht *** Huu-ay-aht (formerly Ohiaht) *** Hupacasath (formerly Opetchesaht) *** Toquaht *** Tseshaht *** Uchucklesaht *** Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ (Ucluelet) **

Ditidaht The Ditidaht First Nation is a First Nations band government on southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. The government has 17 reserve lands: Ahuk, Tsuquanah, Wyah, Clo-oose, Cheewat, Sarque, Carmanah, Iktuksasuk, Hobitan, Oyees, Doo ...

** Pacheedaht *Northern Wakashan peoples (Central Coast) ** Kwakwaka'wakw ***

Laich-kwil-tach Laich-kwil-tach (also spelled Ligwilda'xw), is the Anglicization of the Kwak'wala autonomy by the "Southern Kwakiutl" people of Quadra Island and Campbell River in British Columbia, Canada. There are today two main groups (of perhaps five origi ...

(Euclataws/Yuculta a.k.a. Southern Kwakiutl) **** Weewaikai ( Cape Mudge) **** Wewaykum ( Campbell River) **** Kwiakah *** Koskimo *** 'Namgis (Nimpkish) **

Haisla Haisla may refer to: * Haisla people, an indigenous people living in Kitamaat, British Columbia, Canada. * Haisla language, their northern Wakashan language. * Haisla Nation The Haisla Nation is the Indian Act-mandated band government which nominall ...

(

Kitamaat Kitimat is a district municipality in the North Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. It is a member municipality of the Regional District of Kitimat–Stikine regional government. The Kitimat Valley is part of the most populous urban distric ...

) *** Henaksiala **

Heiltsuk The Heiltsuk or Haíɫzaqv , sometimes historically referred to as ''Bella Bella'', are an Indigenous people of the Central Coast region in British Columbia, centred on the island community of Bella Bella. The government of the Heiltsuk people ...

( Bella Bella, at the community of the same name) **

Wuikinuxv The Wuikinuxv , ("Backbone people"), also rendered Oweekano (Pre-1976); ''Oowekeeno'' (1976-2003) (variation: ''Oweekeno, Owekano, Oweekayno, Wuikenukv, Wikeno, Owikeno, Awikenox'', and also known as the Rivers Inlet people, are an Indigenous Fir ...

(Owekeeno) * Tsetsaut (extinct Athapaskan-speakers)

Plains

These people traditionally used

tipi A tipi , often called a lodge in English, is a conical tent, historically made of animal hides or pelts, and in more recent generations of canvas, stretched on a framework of wooden poles. The word is Siouan languages, Siouan, and in use in Dakot ...

s covered with skins as their homes. Their main sustenance was the

bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...

, which they used as food, as well as for all their garments. The leaders of some Plains tribes wore large headdresses made of feathers, something which is wrongfully attributed by some to all First Nations peoples. Major ethnicities include the: *

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawatomi, ...

** Plains-Ojibwa *

Blackfoot The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'' or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bla ...

** Kainai (''Blood'') ** North Peigan ** Siksika * Dene ** Chipewyan * Nakota, Nakoda ** Assiniboine people, Assiniboine ** Nakoda people, Stoney * Plains Cree people, Plains-Cree * Tsuutʼina Nation, Tsuut'ina (''Sarcee'')

Plateau

* Ktunaxa (''Kootenay'') * Okanagan * Sinixt * St'at'imc (Lillooet) ** Lil'wat **Lower Stl'atl'imx (Skatin, Semahquam, Xa'xtsa) **Nequatque * Nicola people, Nicola * Nicola Athapaskans (extinct) * Nlaka'pamux (Thompson) * Secwepemc (Shuswap)

Western subarctic

These peoples live in the boreal forest in what are now Canada's western provinces and territories. They were originally hunter-gatherers dependent on caribou, moose and the fur trade. Most spoke Athapaskan languages except the Crees and Inland Tlingit. Major ethnicities in the Yukon, Northwest Territories and the northern parts of the western provinces (

, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba) include the following: *Cree *Dakelh (Carrier) **Wet'suwet'en **Lheidli T'enneh *Dene **Chipewyan **Sahtu (includes Bearlake, Hare and Mountain peoples) **Slavey people, Slavey **Tlicho **Yellowknives *Dunneza, Dane-zaa (also Dunne-za, Beaver, Tasttine) *Gwich'in people, Gwich'in (Kutchin, Loucheaux) *Hän people, Hän *Kaska *Sekani *Tagish *Tahltan *Inland Tlingit people, Tlingit **Taku River Tlingit First Nation, Áa Tlein Kwáan (Atlin people) **Teslin Tlingit Council, Deisleen Kwáan (Teslin people) *Tsilhqot'in (Tsilhqot'in, Chilcotin) *Southern Tutchone, Southern and Northern Tutchone

Woodlands and eastern subarctic

Major ethnicities include the: *Abenaki *

**Algonquin people, Algonquin **Nipissing First Nation, Nipissing **Ojibwa ***Mississaugas ***Saulteaux **Oji-cree **Ottawa (tribe), Ottawa (''Odawa'') **Potawatomi *Cree *Innu *Naskapi

Atlantic coastal region

*Beothuk (Newfoundland ''extinct'') *Innu (Labrador) *Maliseet *Mi'kmaq people, Mi'kmaq (Micmac) *Passamaquoddy *Hydin

St. Lawrence River Valley

The largest First Nations group near the St. Lawrence waterway are the Iroquois. This area also includes the Wyandot people, Wyandot (formerly referred to as the Huron) peoples of central Ontario, and the Iroquois, League of Five Nations who had lived in the United States, south of Lake Ontario. Major ethnicities include the: *

**Algonquin people, Algonquin **Nipissing First Nation, Nipissing *Haudenosaunee (''Iroquois'') **Cayuga tribe, Cayuga (''Guyohkohnyo'') **Mohawk nation, Mohawk (''Kanien'kéhaka'') **Oneida tribe, Oneida (''Onayotekaono'') **Onondaga (tribe), Onondaga (''Onundagaono'') **Seneca tribe, Seneca (''Onondowahgah'') **Tuscarora (tribe), Tuscarora (''Ska-Ruh-Reh'') *Munsee branch of the Lenape (Delawares) *Neutral Nation, Neutral *Petun, Petun (''Tobacco'') *Wyandot people, Wyandot (''Huron'')

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of First Nations Peoples First Nations Indigenous peoples in Canada-related lists, First Nations peoples Lists of indigenous peoples of the Americas, First Nations