TASC First Nations Studies cheat sheet

First Nations describes Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis; the term came into wide use in the 1970s and 1980s and is used alongside specific nation names.

More than 630 First Nations bands are recognized under the Indian Act, representing over 50 distinct nations and more than 50 languages grouped into about 12 language families.

Status Indian (registered Indian) is a legal category under the Indian Act; it does not define cultural identity, and many First Nations people are non-status.

Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 recognizes and affirms existing Aboriginal and treaty rights, including rights of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.

The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (1996) set out a 20-year agenda covering self-government, treaties, lands, and social policy, and remains a foundational reference.

UNDRIP, endorsed by Canada in 2010 and enacted in federal law in 2021, requires free, prior, and informed consent on decisions affecting Indigenous rights and lands.

Distinguish terms precisely: Aboriginal/Indigenous is the umbrella; First Nation is a people or community; band is an Indian Act administrative unit; reserve is land set apart for a band.

Oral history and Elders' knowledge are treated as legitimate evidence in land claims and court cases, including Delgamuukw (1997) on Aboriginal title.

Culture areas of First Nations in what is now Canada include the Arctic and Subarctic, Northwest Coast, Plateau, Plains, and Northeast Woodlands, each with distinct economies and social forms.

The potlatch is a Northwest Coast ceremony of witnessing, naming, marriage, and redistribution; it was banned by an 1885 amendment to the Indian Act and effectively legalized in 1951.

The numbered treaties (1871-1921) cover much of the Prairies, Ontario, and the North; First Nations generally understand them as nation-to-nation agreements, not land sales.

The Indian Act (1876) consolidated colonial laws, created band councils and reserves, and imposed a permit system and enfranchisement rules that were later repealed.

Residential schools operated from the 1870s to 1996; the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2015) documented the system and issued 94 Calls to Action.

The Sixties Scoop refers to the mass apprehension of Indigenous children by child welfare agencies from the 1960s to the 1980s; a 2017 settlement addressed survivors.

Trading relationships shaped early contact history, including the fur trade and the Métis emergence in the Red River region; the 1869-70 Red River Resistance led to Manitoba's creation in 1870.

Creation stories, kinship systems, and clan structures (for example, Haudenosaunee clans and the Great Law) carry governance and land responsibilities, not only narrative meaning.

Drinking water advisories on reserves have been a persistent issue; the federal government committed to ending long-term advisories, and dozens remained unresolved in recent years.

The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls issued its final report in 2019 with 231 Calls for Justice.

First Nations education is governed by varied arrangements, including the 2014 First Nation Control of First Nation Education Act and regional education agreements.

Housing overcrowding and infrastructure deficits on reserve are documented by Statistics Canada; crowding rates on reserve are far above the non-Indigenous average.

Resource projects trigger Crown consultation duties; the Crown must consult and accommodate, and may delegate procedural aspects but not the duty itself (Haida Nation, 2004).

Bill C-92 (2019) affirms First Nations jurisdiction over child and family services, and the 2020 CHRT ruling found Canada's compensation approach discriminatory.

Economic development tools include Impact Benefit Agreements, First Nations-owned businesses, and modern treaty arrangements such as the Nisga'a Final Agreement (2000).

Data gaps matter: many First Nations communities are not fully covered by federal surveys, so on-reserve statistics often undercount or exclude populations.

Self-government is implemented through comprehensive land claim agreements, sectoral agreements, and the 1995 Inherent Right Policy; it is not a single uniform model.

The Indian Act's band council system is a delegated authority; assertions of inherent jurisdiction rest on pre-contact governance rather than on delegated powers.

The Calder case (1973) recognized Aboriginal title as a legal concept and prompted the federal comprehensive claims process.

Section 35(1) rights are not absolute; the Sparrow (1990) test allows infringement only if justified, with priority given to conservation and to Aboriginal rights.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (2021) requires an action plan to align federal laws with UNDRIP.

The Assembly of First Nations is a national advocacy organization; it does not hold governing authority over member nations, which retain their own governments.

Idle No More (2012) began as opposition to omnibus legislation affecting lands and waters and grew into a broader movement for treaty and sovereignty rights.

Modern treaties typically include self-government chapters, resource revenue sharing, and wildlife co-management boards such as those in Nunavut and Yukon agreements.