A wigwam , wickiup , wetu ( Wampanoag ), or wiigiwaam ( Ojibwe , in syllabics : ᐧᐄᑭᐧᐋᒻ ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term wickiup is generally used to refer to these kinds of dwellings in the Southwestern United States and Western United States and Northwest Alberta , Canada, while wigwam is usually applied to these structures in the Northeastern United States as well as Ontario and Quebec in central Canada . The names can refer to many distinct types of Indigenous structures regardless of location or cultural group. The wigwam is not to be confused with the Native Plains tipi , which has a different construction, structure, and use.
104-485: The domed, round shelter was used by numerous northeastern Indigenous tribes. The curved surfaces make it an ideal shelter for all kinds of conditions. Indigenous peoples in the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands resided in either wigwams or longhouses . These structures are made with a frame of arched poles, most often wooden, which are covered with some sort of bark roofing material. Details of construction vary with
208-475: A collective noun is a specific term of art used as a legal term encompassing all Indigenous peoples living in Canada. Although "Indian" is a term still commonly used in legal documents for First Nations, the descriptors "Indian" and " Eskimo " have fallen into disuse in Canada, and most consider them to be pejorative . Aboriginal peoples has begun to be considered outdated and is slowly being replaced by
312-586: A lateral fricative . One piece of evidence for the interdental fricative is that this is the reflex it has in Arapaho. However, other researchers have argued for its reconstruction as a lateral fricative, */ɬ/ , in part because of the aforementioned merger in most languages with the phoneme traditionally reconstructed as *l . As with *i and *o , it is unclear whether *č was an independent phoneme in Proto-Algonquian. Almost all instances where *č
416-487: A national historic site , one of the first Indigenous spiritual sites in Canada to be formally recognized in this manner. The Plano cultures was a group of hunter-gatherer communities that occupied the Great Plains area of North America between 10,000 and 8,000 years ago. The Paleo-Indians moved into new territory as it emerged from under the glaciers. Big game flourished in this new environment. The Plano culture
520-425: A Central Chiricahua informant: Both the teepee and the oval-shaped house were used when I was a boy. The oval hut was covered with hide and was the best house. The more well-to-do had this kind. The teepee type was just made of brush. It had a place for a fire in the center. It was just thrown together. Both types were common even before my time ... A house form that departed from the more common dome-shaped variety
624-497: A consonant, for example *ki·šekat- "be day" + *-ki = *ki·šekaxki "when it is day." Note that Bloomfield here actually reconstructed this word as *ki·šekaθki , but evidence from other Algonquian languages has shown that the cluster should be reconstructed as *xk . When two vowels became contiguous, if one was a long vowel and one was short, the short vowel dropped: *naka·- "stop" + *-en "by hand" = *naka·ne·wa "s/he stops him/her by hand." If both were long, an epenthetic *y
728-766: A diet of squash, corn, and bean crops. The Hopewell tradition is an Aboriginal culture that flourished along American rivers from 300 BCE – 500 CE. At its greatest extent, the Hopewell Exchange System networked cultures and societies with the peoples on the Canadian shores of Lake Ontario . Canadian expression of the Hopewellian peoples encompasses the Point Peninsula , Saugeen , and Laurel complexes . First Nations peoples had settled and established trade routes across what
832-533: A distinct people. They prefer the terminology Yupik, Yupiit, or Eskimo. The Yupik languages are linguistically distinct from the Inuit languages , but are related to each other. Linguistic groups of Arctic people have no universal replacement term for Eskimo , inclusive of all Inuit and Yupik across the geographical area inhabited by them. Besides these ethnic descriptors, Aboriginal peoples are often divided into legal categories based on their relationship with
936-417: A few idiosyncratic cases, however, this rule did not operate, and instead the consonants were changed in various ways. For instance, the combination θ+p produced when the root *eθ- "thither, thus" was added to the final *-pahto· "run" simplified to *xp : *expahta·wa "s/he runs thither." One regular exception to the "connective i" rule was when the conjunct suffix *-ki was added to a verb stem ending in
1040-404: A fire is not needed, even the smoke hole is covered. In warm, dry weather much of the outer roofing is stripped off. It takes approximately three days to erect a sturdy dwelling of this type. These houses are "warm and comfortable even though there is a big snow". The interior is lined with brush and grass beds over which robes are spread.... The woman not only makes the furnishings of the home but
1144-493: A handful of irregular exceptions to this pattern, however. For example, the prefixes lost their vowels before several kinship terms, as in *ne- + *-o·hkomehsa = *no·hkomehsa "my grandmother." Several rules for internal sandhi in morpheme combinations can be reconstructed. The most basic was the insertion of a "connective i" between two consonants. For example, *po·n- "cease" + *-m "act by speech on an animate object" = *po·n i me·wa "s/he stops talking to him/her." In
SECTION 10
#17327685268441248-451: A large array of plant species. These species now constitute 50–60% of all crops in cultivation worldwide. The vastness and variety of Canada's climates, ecology, vegetation, fauna , and landform separations have defined ancient peoples implicitly into cultural or linguistic divisions. Canada is surrounded north, east, and west with coastline and since the last ice age, Canada has consisted of distinct forest regions. Language contributes to
1352-749: A mixed language called Michif . Michif, Mechif or Métchif is a phonetic spelling of Métif, a variant of Métis. The Métis today predominantly speak English , with French a strong second language, as well as numerous Aboriginal tongues . A 19th-century community of the Métis people, the Anglo-Métis , were referred to as Countryborn. They were children of Rupert's Land fur trade typically of Orcadian , Scottish, or English paternal descent and Aboriginal maternal descent. Their first languages would have been Aboriginal ( Cree , Saulteaux , Assiniboine , etc.) and English. Their fathers spoke Gaelic , thus leading to
1456-624: A pathway and refuge for ice age plants and animals. The area holds evidence of early human habitation in Canada dating from about 12,000 years ago. Fossils from the area include some never accounted for in North America, such as hyenas and large camels . Bluefish Caves is an archaeological site in Yukon from which a specimen of apparently human-worked mammoth bone was radiocarbon dated to 12,000 years ago. Clovis sites dated at 13,500 years ago were discovered in western North America during
1560-440: A plural suffix *-ari . Another important distinction involved the contrast between nouns marked as proximate and those marked as obviative . Proximate nouns were those deemed most central or important to the discourse, while obviative nouns were those less important to the discourse. When two third person participants appeared in a sentence, one was marked as proximate and the other as obviative, in order to distinguish which one
1664-469: A single consonant (other than *h ) or vowel, or with a consonant plus *w or *y ; there were no sequences of consecutive vowels; and the word always ended in a short vowel. The vowels *i and *o never occurred in initial syllables. A sequence of consonant+semivowel could not be followed by *o or *o· . There was also a restriction which prevented two-syllable nouns from ending in a sequence of short vowel + consonant + short vowel. In most cases, when
1768-436: A thatching of bundles of big bluestem grass or bear grass is tied, shingle style, with yucca strings. A smoke hole opens above a central fireplace allows smoke to escape when the firepit is used. A hide, suspended at the entrance, is fixed on a cross-beam so that it may be swung forward or backward. The doorway may face in any direction. For waterproofing, pieces of hide are thrown over the outer hatching, and in rainy weather, if
1872-502: A total of eight vowels. The same inventory of eight vowels was found in Proto-Algic, but Proto-Algonquian did not inherit its inventory directly from Proto-Algic. Rather, several sound changes left pre-Proto-Algonquian without short * i and * o . It is not clear that they had redeveloped by the time of Proto-Algonquian. All instances in which Bloomfield reconstructed *o can now be reconstructed as *we based on evidence from some of
1976-481: A valid separate cluster in PA (Munsee wìilùshtíikan , Blackfoot moʼtokááni , "head, hair"). Finally, all consonants and consonant clusters could be followed by *w or *y (although the sequences *čw and *hy did not occur; and *t and *θ were regularly replaced before *y , for which see below). Several allophonic processes, morphophonemic processes, and phonological constraints can be reconstructed. Among
2080-443: Is native to America rather than a person who is ethnically Indigenous to the boundaries of the present-day United States. In this sense, native may encompass a broad range of populations and is therefore not recommended, although it is not generally considered offensive. The Indian Act ( Revised Statutes of Canada (R.S.C.) , 1985, c. I-5) sets the legal term Indian , designating that "a person who pursuant to this Act
2184-417: Is a hunting grounds that was in use for about 5,000 years. By 7,000–5000 BCE (9,000–7,000 years ago) the west coast of Canada saw various cultures who organized themselves around salmon fishing. The Nuu-chah-nulth of Vancouver Island began whaling with advanced long spears at about this time. The Maritime Archaic is one group of North America's Archaic culture of sea-mammal hunters in
SECTION 20
#17327685268442288-409: Is being supplanted by members of various nations referring to themselves by their group or ethnic identity. In conversation, this would be "I am Haida ", or "we are Kwantlens ", in recognition of their First Nations ethnicities. Also coming into general use since the 1970s, First Peoples refers to all Indigenous groups, i.e. First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. Notwithstanding Canada's location within
2392-566: Is believed the inhabitants entered the Americas pursuing Pleistocene mammals such as the giant beaver , steppe wisent (bison), muskox , mastodons , woolly mammoths and ancient reindeer (early caribou). One route hypothesized is that people walked south by way of an ice-free corridor on the east side of the Rocky Mountains , and then fanned out across North America before continuing on to South America. The other conjectured route
2496-644: Is characterized by a range of projectile point tools collectively called Plano points , which were used to hunt bison . Their diets also included pronghorn , elk , deer , raccoon and coyote . At the beginning of the Archaic period , they began to adopt a sedentary approach to subsistence. Sites in and around Belmont, Nova Scotia , have evidence of Plano-Indians, indicating small seasonal hunting camps, perhaps re-visited over generations from around 11,000–10,000 years ago. Seasonal large and smaller game fish and fowl were food and raw material sources. Adaptation to
2600-563: Is indigenous to the New England and Atlantic Canada regions of North America. The culture flourished between 3,000 BCE – 1,000 BCE (5,000–3,000 years ago) and was named after their burial ceremonies, which used large quantities of red ochre to cover bodies and grave goods. The Arctic small tool tradition is a broad cultural entity that developed along the Alaska Peninsula , around Bristol Bay , and on
2704-662: Is now Canada by 500 BCE – 1,000 CE. Communities developed each with its own culture, customs, and character. In the northwest were the Athapaskan speaking , Slavey , Tłı̨chǫ , Tutchone , and Tlingit . Along the Pacific coast were the Tsimshian ; Haida; Salish ; Kwakwakaʼwakw ; Heiltsuk ; Nootka ; Nisga'a ; Senakw and Gitxsan . In the plains were the Niisitapi ; Káínawa ; Tsuutʼina ; and Piikáni . In
2808-555: Is probably also of recent origin", derived from earlier (pre-Proto-Algonquian) *ye sequences and morphophonological shortening. Proto-Algonquian had a smaller number of consonants than Proto-Algic. The reconstructed consonants are as follows (given in the Americanist phonetic notation common in the literature): The phoneme given in the table as ⟨r⟩ was reconstructed by Bloomfield as *l , but Goddard has more recently argued that it should be reconstructed as *r , largely because
2912-431: Is reconstructed are before *i , *i· , or *y , where it does not contrast with *t (see below), or are cases of diminutive consonant symbolism. However, Goddard recommends continuing to write it in reconstructions, since it seems to have been present in the clusters *čp and *čk ; since it can be reconstructed before *a in the term *čapo·nk- "splash"; and since *t does appear before *i· in some reconstructions of
3016-503: Is recorded for the Southern Chiricahua as well: When we settled down, we used the wickiup; when we were moving around a great deal, we used this other kind... The English word wigwam derives from Eastern Abenaki wigwôm , from Proto-Algonquian *wi·kiwa·ʔmi . Others have similar names for the structure: wickiup : Nearly identical constructions, called aqal , are used by today's nomadic Somali people as well as
3120-406: Is registered as an Indian or is entitled to be registered as an Indian." Section 5 of the act states that a registry shall be maintained "in which shall be recorded the name of every person who is entitled to be registered as an Indian under this Act." No other term is legally recognized for the purpose of registration and the term Indian specifically excludes reference to Inuit as per section 4 of
3224-489: Is responsible for the construction, maintenance, and repair of the dwelling itself and for the arrangement of everything in it. She provides the grass and brush beds and replaces them when they become too old and dry.... However, formerly "they had no permanent homes, so they didn't bother with cleaning." The dome-shaped dwelling or wickiup, the usual home type for all the Chiricahua bands, has already been described.... Said
Wigwam - Misplaced Pages Continue
3328-535: Is that they migrated, either on foot or using primitive boats , down the Pacific coast to the tip of South America, and then crossed the Rockies and Andes . Evidence of the latter has been covered by a sea level rise of hundreds of metres following the last ice age. The Old Crow Flats and basin was one of the areas in Canada untouched by glaciations during the Pleistocene Ice ages , thus it served as
3432-480: Is the proto-language from which the various Algonquian languages are descended. It is generally estimated to have been spoken around 2,500 to 3,000 years ago, but there is less agreement on where it was spoken. The Algonquian family, which is a branch of the larger Algic language family , is usually divided into three subgroups: Eastern Algonquian , which is a genetic subgroup, and Central Algonquian and Plains Algonquian , both of which are areal groupings. In
3536-677: The Afar people on the Horn of Africa . Pieces of old clothing or plastic sheet, woven mats (traditionally made of grass), or whatever material is available will be used to cover the aqal ' s roof. Similar domed tents are also used by the Bushmen and Nama people and other indigenous peoples in Southern Africa. The traditional semi-permanent dwelling of the Sámi people of Northern Europe
3640-527: The Americas , the term Native American is hardly ever used in Canada, in order to avoid any confusion due to the ambiguous meaning of the word "American". Therefore, the term is typically used only in reference to the Indigenous peoples within the boundaries of the present-day United States . Native Canadians was often used in Canada to differentiate this American term until the 1980s. In contrast to
3744-574: The Canadian Martyrs ). Christianization as government policy became more systematic with the Indian Act in 1876, which would bring new sanctions for those who did not convert to Christianity . For example, the new laws would prevent non-Christian Aboriginal people from testifying or having their cases heard in court, and ban alcohol consumption. When the Indian Act was amended in 1884, traditional religious and social practices, such as
3848-516: The Eramosa River around 8,000–7,000 BCE (10,000–9,000 years ago). They were concentrated between Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay . Wendat hunted caribou to survive on the glacier-covered land. Many different First Nations cultures relied upon the buffalo starting by 6,000–5,000 BCE (8,000–7,000 years ago). They hunted buffalo by herding migrating buffalo off cliffs. Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump , near Lethbridge, Alberta ,
3952-672: The First Nations , Inuit , and Métis , representing roughly 5.0% of the total Canadian population . There are over 600 recognized First Nations governments or bands with distinctive cultures, languages, art, and music. Old Crow Flats and Bluefish Caves are some of the earliest known sites of human habitation in Canada. The characteristics of Indigenous cultures in Canada prior to European colonization included permanent settlements, agriculture, civic and ceremonial architecture, complex societal hierarchies , and trading networks . Métis nations of mixed ancestry originated in
4056-658: The Indian Act was the Canadian residential school system : Of all the initiatives that were undertaken in the first century of Confederation, none was more ambitious or central to the civilizing strategy of the Department, to its goal of assimilation than the residential school system… it was the residential school experience that would lead children most effectively out of their "savage" communities into "higher civilization" and "full citizenship." Proto-Algonquian language Proto-Algonquian (commonly abbreviated PA )
4160-717: The Northwest Territories (NWT). Amongst notable Métis people are singer and actor Tom Jackson , Commissioner of the Northwest Territories Tony Whitford , and Louis Riel who led two resistance movements: the Red River Rebellion of 1869–1870 and the North-West Rebellion of 1885, which ended in his trial and subsequent execution. The languages inherently Métis are either Métis French or
4264-565: The Potlatch , would be banned, and further amendments in 1920 would prevent " status Indians " (as defined in the Act ) from wearing traditional dress or performing traditional dances in an attempt to stop all non-Christian practices. Another focus of the Canadian government was to make the Aboriginal groups of Canada sedentary, as they thought that this would make them easier to assimilate. In
Wigwam - Misplaced Pages Continue
4368-848: The Thule culture , which emerged from western Alaska around 1,000 CE and spread eastward across the Arctic , displacing the Dorset culture (in Inuktitut , the Tuniit ). Inuit historically referred to the Tuniit as "giants", who were taller and stronger than the Inuit. Researchers hypothesize that the Dorset culture lacked dogs, larger weapons and other technologies used by the expanding Inuit society. By 1300,
4472-578: The Wisconsin glaciation , 50,000–17,000 years ago, falling sea levels allowed people to move across the Bering land bridge that joined Siberia to northwest North America (Alaska). Alaska was ice-free because of low snowfall , allowing a small population to exist. The Laurentide ice sheet covered most of Canada, blocking nomadic inhabitants and confining them to Alaska (East Beringia) for thousands of years. Aboriginal genetic studies suggest that
4576-498: The subarctic . They prospered from approximately 7,000 BCE–1,500 BCE (9,000–3,500 years ago) along the Atlantic Coast of North America. Their settlements included longhouses and boat-topped temporary or seasonal houses. They engaged in long-distance trade, using as currency white chert , a rock quarried from northern Labrador to Maine . The Pre-Columbian culture, whose members were called Red Paint People ,
4680-570: The 17th and 18th centuries. European written accounts generally recorded friendliness of the First Nations, who profited in trade with Europeans. Such trade generally strengthened the more organized political entities such as the Iroquois Confederation . Throughout the 16th century, European fleets made almost annual visits to the eastern shores of Canada to cultivate the fishing opportunities. A sideline industry emerged in
4784-457: The 1930s. Clovis peoples were regarded as the first widespread Paleo-Indian inhabitants of the New World and ancestors to all Indigenous peoples in the Americas . Archaeological discoveries in the years 1979–2009 brought forward other distinctive knapping cultures who occupied the Americas from the lower Great Plains to the shores of Chile. Localized regional cultures developed from
4888-698: The 19th century, the government began to support the creation of model farming villages, which were meant to encourage non-sedentary Aboriginal groups to settle in an area and begin to cultivate agriculture. When most of these model farming villages failed, the government turned instead to the creation of Indian reserves with the Indian Act of 1876. With the creation of these reserves came many restricting laws, such as further bans on all intoxicants, restrictions on eligibility to vote in band elections, decreased hunting and fishing areas, and inability for status Indians to visit other groups on their reserves. Farming
4992-516: The Aboriginal peoples. These policies, which were made possible by legislation such as the Gradual Civilization Act and the Indian Act , focused on European ideals of Christianity, sedentary living, agriculture, and education. Missionary work directed at the Aboriginal people of Canada had been ongoing since the first missionaries arrived in the 1600s, generally from France, some of whom were martyred ( Jesuit saints called
5096-856: The Crown (i.e. the state). Section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867 gives the federal government (as opposed to the provinces) the sole responsibility for "Indians, and Lands reserved for the Indians." The government inherited treaty obligations from the British colonial authorities in Eastern Canada and signed treaties itself with First Nations in Western Canada (the Numbered Treaties ). The Indian Act , passed by
5200-539: The Eastern languages (for example, Bloomfield's *nekotwi "one" is now reconstructed as *nekwetwi based on forms like Munsee nkwúti ). There are still a handful of instances where *o can be reconstructed, usually as the result of a morphophonological process of vowel shortening. Goddard concludes that "an independent phoneme *o is of no great antiquity in Proto-Algonquian", but recommends continuing to use it in reconstructions. Likewise, Berman states that "PA *i
5304-577: The Inuit had settled in west Greenland, and finally moved into east Greenland over the following century. The Inuit had trade routes with more southern cultures. Boundary disputes were common and led to aggressive actions. Warfare was common among Inuit groups with sufficient population density. Inuit, such as the Nunamiut ( Uummarmiut ) who inhabited the Mackenzie River delta area, often engaged in common warfare. The Central Arctic Inuit lacked
SECTION 50
#17327685268445408-466: The Métis, their heritage and Aboriginal ancestry have often been absorbed and assimilated into their surrounding populations. From the late 18th century, European Canadians (and the Canadian government) encouraged assimilation of Aboriginal culture into what was referred to as " Canadian culture ." These attempts reached a climax in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with a series of initiatives that aimed at complete assimilation and subjugation of
5512-615: The New World began. Lower sea levels in the Queen Charlotte sound and Hecate Strait produced great grass lands called archipelago of Haida Gwaii . Hunter-gatherers of the area left distinctive lithic technology tools and the remains of large butchered mammals, occupying the area from 13,000– 9,000 years ago . In July 1992, the Government of Canada officially designated X̱á:ytem (near Mission, British Columbia ) as
5616-466: The Northeast has a curved surface which can hold up against the worst weather. Young green tree saplings of just about any type of wood, 10 to 15 feet (3.0 to 4.6 m) long, were cut down and bent. While the saplings were being bent, a circle was drawn on the ground. The diameter of the circle varied from 10 to 16 feet (3.0 to 4.9 m). The bent saplings were then placed over the drawn circle, using
5720-946: The Pre-Dorset, and the Independence traditions . These two groups, ancestors of Thule people , were displaced by the Inuit by 1000 CE. The Old Copper complex societies dating from 3,000 BCE – 500 BCE (5,000–2,500 years ago) are a manifestation of the Woodland culture , and are pre-pottery in nature. Evidence found in the northern Great Lakes regions indicates that they extracted copper from local glacial deposits and used it in its natural form to manufacture tools and implements. The Woodland cultural period dates from about 1,000 BCE – 1,000 CE, and has locales in Ontario , Quebec , and Maritime regions. The introduction of pottery distinguishes
5824-622: The Sámi lavvu , other forms of chum are more permanent in nature. The more permanent forms of chum are very similar in construction to the timber or peat moss covered goahti dwellings of the Sámi, or the wigwams of the Native American cultures of the Eastern Woodlands and northern parts of North America. In Britain, similar structures known as bender tents , are built quickly and cheaply by New Age travellers , using poles from
5928-525: The Woodland culture from the earlier Archaic stage inhabitants. Laurentian people of southern Ontario manufactured the oldest pottery excavated to date in Canada. They created pointed-bottom beakers decorated by a cord marking technique that involved impressing tooth implements into wet clay. Woodland technology included items such as beaver incisor knives, bangles, and chisels. The population practising sedentary agricultural life ways continued to increase on
6032-564: The act. Indian remains in place as the legal term used in the Canadian Constitution ; however, its usage outside such situations can be considered offensive. The term Eskimo has pejorative connotations in Canada and Greenland . Indigenous peoples in those areas have replaced the term Eskimo with Inuit , though the Yupik of Alaska and Siberia do not consider themselves Inuit, and ethnographers agree they are
6136-415: The basis of only a single correspondence set ( *št in *weštikwa·ni , "his/her head"; and *hr in *re·hre·wa , "s/he breathes") and may not have been part of Proto-Algonquian. David Pentland, for example, argued that Ojibwe oshtigwaan , claimed as the only form requiring the reconstruction of *št , is a borrowing from Cree. However, evidence from Munsee and Blackfoot seem to also point toward *št as
6240-407: The culture and local availability of materials. Some of the roofing materials used include grass, brush, bark, rushes, mats, reeds, hides or cloth. Wigwams are most often seasonal structures, although the term is applied to rounded and conical structures that are more permanent. Wigwams usually take longer to put up than tipis . Their frames are usually not portable like a tipi. A typical wigwam in
6344-399: The daughter languages have innovated a great deal. PA had four classes of verbs: transitive verbs with an animate object (abbreviated TA), transitive verbs with an inanimate object (TI), intransitive verbs with an animate subject (AI), and intransitive verbs with an inanimate subject (II). Transitive verbs had two paradigms, termed objective and absolute . Objective verbs were used when
SECTION 60
#17327685268446448-560: The development of an English dialect referred to as " Bungee ". S.35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 mentions the Métis yet there has long been debate over legally defining the term Métis, but on September 23, 2003, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Métis are a distinct people with significant rights ( Powley ruling ). Unlike First Nations people, there has been no distinction between status and non-status Métis;
6552-524: The earliest attestations of the majority of languages show some sort of rhotic as its reflex, which in many languages subsequently changed to a lateral within the historical period. The precise pronunciation of the phoneme written ⟨θ⟩ is unknown. It has merged with the reflex of *r in all Algonquian languages except for Cree and the Arapahoan languages . Leonard Bloomfield originally suggested that it could have been either an interdental fricative or
6656-546: The eastern shores of the Bering Strait around 2,500 BCE (4,500 years ago). These Paleo-Arctic peoples had a highly distinctive toolkit of small blades ( microblades ) that were pointed at both ends and used as side- or end-barbs on arrows or spears made of other materials, such as bone or antler . Scrapers , engraving tools and adze blades were also included in their toolkits. The Arctic small tool tradition branches off into two cultural variants, including
6760-558: The federal Parliament in 1876, has long governed its interactions with all treaty and non-treaty peoples. Members of First Nations bands who are subject to the Indian Act are compiled on a list called the Indian Register , and such people are designated as status Indians. Many non-treaty First Nations and all Inuit and Métis peoples are not subject to the Indian Act . However, two court cases have clarified that Inuit, Métis, and non-status First Nations people are all covered by
6864-489: The first inhabitants of the Americas share a single ancestral population, one that developed in isolation, conjectured to be Beringia. The isolation of these peoples in Beringia might have lasted 10,000–20,000 years. Around 16,500 years ago, the glaciers began melting , allowing people to move south and east into Canada and beyond. The first inhabitants of North America arrived in Canada at least 14,000 years ago. It
6968-480: The first member of the clusters was unknown, and Bloomfield's choice of symbols to represent them was purely arbitrary. Thus, ⟨x⟩ does not represent *[x], ⟨ç⟩ does not represent *[ç], and ⟨ʔ⟩ does not necessarily represent *[ ʔ ]. Goddard argues that Bloomfield's arbitrary symbol ⟨x⟩ be reconstructed as *s , and Bloomfield's ⟨ç⟩ be reconstructed as *r . While a glottal stop phoneme is not otherwise reconstructed, given that Bloomfield's ⟨ʔ⟩ in clusters seems to represent
7072-407: The floor at ground level. It is eight feet [2.4 m] high at the center and approximately seven feet [2.1 m] in diameter. To build it, long fresh poles of oak or willow are driven into the ground or placed in holes made with a digging stick. These poles, which form the framework, are arranged at one-foot [0.30 m] intervals and are bound together at the top with yucca-leaf strands. Over them
7176-606: The government would encourage Indians (i.e., First Nations) to enfranchise – to remove all legal distinctions between [Indians] and Her Majesty's other Canadian Subjects . If an Aboriginal chose to enfranchise, it would strip them and their family of Aboriginal title , with the idea that they would become "less savage" and "more civilized," thus become assimilated into Canadian society. However, they were often still defined as non-citizens by Europeans, and those few who did enfranchise were often met with disappointment. The final government strategy of assimilation, made possible by
7280-440: The harsh environment included tailored clothing and skin-covered tents on wooden frames. The North American climate stabilized by 8000 BCE (10,000 years ago); climatic conditions were very similar to today's. This led to widespread migration, cultivation and later a dramatic rise in population all over the Americas. Over the course of thousands of years, Indigenous peoples of the Americas domesticated, bred and cultivated
7384-453: The historical linguistics of North America, Proto-Algonquian is one of the best studied, most thoroughly reconstructed proto-languages. It is descended from Proto-Algic . Most Algonquian languages are similar enough that their relatedness has been recognized for centuries and was commented on by the early English and French colonists and explorers. For example, in 1787 (over a decade before Sir William Jones' famous speech on Indo-European),
7488-717: The identity of a people by influencing social life ways and spiritual practices. Aboriginal religions developed from anthropomorphism and animism philosophies. The placement of artifacts and materials within an Archaic burial site indicated social differentiation based upon status. There is a continuous record of occupation of S'ólh Téméxw by Aboriginal people dating from the early Holocene period, 10,000–9,000 years ago. Archaeological sites at Stave Lake , Coquitlam Lake , Fort Langley and region uncovered early period artifacts. These early inhabitants were highly mobile hunter-gatherers, consisting of about 20 to 50 members of an extended family. The Na-Dene people occupied much of
7592-525: The land area of northwest and central North America starting around 8,000 BCE. They were the earliest ancestors of the Athabaskan -speaking peoples, including the Navajo and Apache . They had villages with large multi-family dwellings, used seasonally during the summer, from which they hunted, fished and gathered food supplies for the winter. The Wendat peoples settled into Southern Ontario along
7696-692: The mid-17th century when First Nations and Inuit people married Europeans, primarily the French colonizers . First Nations and Métis peoples played a critical part in the development of European colonies in Canada, particularly for their role in assisting Europeans during the North American fur trade . Various Aboriginal laws , treaties , and legislation have been enacted between European immigrants and Indigenous groups across Canada. The impact of settler colonialism in Canada can be seen in its culture, history, politics, laws, and legislatures. This led to
7800-406: The mid-17th century. When Europeans first arrived to Canada they relied on Aboriginal peoples for fur trading skills and survival. To ensure alliances, relationships between European fur traders and Aboriginal women were often consolidated through marriage. The Métis homeland consists of the Canadian provinces of British Columbia , Alberta , Saskatchewan , Manitoba , and Ontario , as well as
7904-532: The more-specific Aboriginal , one of the issues with the term native is its general applicability: in certain contexts, it could be used in reference to non-Indigenous peoples in regards to an individual place of origin / birth. For instance, people who were born or grew up in Calgary may call themselves "Calgary natives", as in they are native to that city. With this in mind, even the term native American , as another example, may very well indicate someone who
8008-449: The most significant of these processes was that *t and *θ became *č and *š respectively before *i , *i· , and *y . For example, the initial *went- "from there" (as in *wentenamwa "s/he takes it from there") is realized as *wenč- in the word *wenči·wa "s/he comes from there", since it precedes *i· . There were several restrictions on phonotactics and the shape of the PA word that can be reconstructed. All words began with
8112-596: The neutralization of *p and *k and its realization in Menominee and Cheyenne is a glottal stop, it probably was indeed phonetically [ʔ] . The cluster written ⟨Hm⟩ shows up as p or m in most of the daughter languages, but as hm in Munsee (for example, PA *wi·kiwa·Hmi "house" becomes Ojibwe wiigiwaam , Fox wîkiyâpi , and Munsee wíikwahm ). The first member of the cluster may have been either *h or *ʔ . The clusters *št and *hr are each reconstructed on
8216-778: The northern woodlands were the Cree and Chipewyan . Around the Great Lakes were the Anishinaabe ; Algonquin ; Haudenosaunee and Wendat. Along the Atlantic coast were the Beothuk , Wolastoqiyik , Innu , Abenaki and Mi'kmaq . Many First Nations civilizations established characteristics and hallmarks that included permanent urban settlements or cities, agriculture, civic and monumental architecture , and complex societal hierarchies . These cultures had evolved and changed by
8320-429: The onomatopoeic noun ti·nti·wa "blue jay" (however, see Wiktionary for more). Reconstruction of the consonant clusters has been relatively difficult, and the paths the clusters take in their evolutions to the daughter languages have been complex. The current view is that the permissible consonant clusters were (first member on the left, second member across the top): In several cases the actual phonetic identity of
8424-572: The population density to engage in warfare. In the 13th century, the Thule culture began arriving in Greenland from what is now Canada. Norse accounts are scant. Norse-made items from Inuit campsites in Greenland were obtained by either trade or plunder. One account, Ívar Bárðarson , speaks of "small people" with whom the Norsemen fought. 14th-century accounts relate that a western settlement, one of
8528-440: The pronominal prefixes *ne- (first person), *ke- (second person), and *we- (third person) were added to a vowel-initial stem, an epenthetic *-t- was inserted between the prefix and the stem. Thus, the prefixes became *net- , *ket- , and *wet- respectively. For example, *ne- + *-ehkwa- = *netehkwa- "my louse". This feature goes back to Proto-Algic (compare Wiyot du- + híkw = dutíkw "my louse"). There were
8632-712: The stations in winter for tools, and particularly worked iron, which they adapted to native needs. Notable among the Inuit are Abraham Ulrikab and family who became a zoo exhibit in Hamburg , Germany, and Tanya Tagaq , a traditional throat singer . Abe Okpik was instrumental in helping Inuit obtain surnames rather than disc numbers and Kiviaq (David Ward) won the legal right to use his single-word Inuktitut name. The Métis are people descended from marriages between Europeans (mainly French) and Cree , Ojibwe , Algonquin , Saulteaux , Menominee , Mi'kmaq , Maliseet , and other First Nations. Their history dates to
8736-524: The systematic abolishment of Indigenous languages, traditions, religion and the degradation of Indigenous communities that has been described as a genocide of Indigenous peoples . The modern Indigenous right to self government provides for Indigenous self-government in Canada and the management of their historical, cultural, political, health care and economic control aspects within Indigenous communities. National Indigenous Peoples Day recognizes
8840-406: The tallest saplings in the middle and the shorter ones on the outside. The saplings formed arches all in one direction on the circle. The next set of saplings were used to wrap around the wigwam to give the shelter support. When the two sets of saplings were finally tied together, the sides and roof were placed on it. The sides of the wigwam were usually bark stripped from trees. The male of the family
8944-441: The temporary shelters were utilized for sleeping or as refuge in cases of inclement weather. When a dwelling reached the end of its practical life it was simply burned, and a replacement erected in its place in about a day's time. Below is a description of Chiricahua wickiups recorded by anthropologist Morris Opler: The home in which the family lives is made by the men and is ordinarily a circular, dome-shaped brush dwelling, with
9048-399: The term Indians in the Constitution Act, 1867 . The first was Reference Re Eskimos (1939), covering the Inuit; the second was Daniels v. Canada (2013), which concerns Métis and non-status First Nations. According to North American archaeological and genetic evidence, migration to North and South America made them the last continents in the world with human habitation . During
9152-409: The term Indigenous peoples . There is also an effort to recognize each Indigenous group as a distinct nation, much as there are distinct European, African, and Asian cultures in their respective places. First Nations (most often used in the plural) has come into general use since the 1970s replacing Indians and Indian bands in everyday vocabulary. However, on Indian reserves , First Nations
9256-602: The theologian and linguist Jonathan Edwards Jr. deduced that the Algonquian languages of the eastern and central United States were "radically the same" ('radically' meaning having a common 'root', since radix is Latin for 'root'), and contrasted them with the neighboring Iroquoian languages . The earliest work on reconstructing the Algonquian proto-language was undertaken by the linguists Truman Michelson and Leonard Bloomfield . In 1925 Bloomfield reconstructed what he called "Primitive Central Algonquian", using what were at
9360-466: The time of the Younger Dryas cold climate period from 12,900 to 11,500 years ago. The Folsom tradition is characterized by the use of Folsom points as projectile tips at archaeological sites. These tools assisted activities at kill sites that marked the slaughter and butchering of bison. The land bridge existed until 13,000–11,000 years ago, long after the oldest proven human settlements in
9464-453: The time of the first permanent European arrivals ( c. late 15th –early 16th centuries), and have been brought forward through archaeological investigations. There are indications of contact made before Christopher Columbus between the first peoples and those from other continents. Aboriginal people in Canada first interacted with Europeans around 1000 CE, but prolonged contact came after Europeans established permanent settlements in
9568-457: The time the four best-attested Algonquian languages: Fox , Ojibwe , Menominee , and Plains Cree . Following his initial reconstructions, investigations of other languages revealed that his "Primitive Central Algonquian" was essentially equivalent to Proto-Algonquian. Bloomfield wrote a refinement and expansion of his reconstruction in 1946, and his two papers remain the starting point for all research and reconstructions of Proto-Algonquian. In
9672-598: The two Norse settlements, was taken over by the Skræling . After the disappearance of the Norse colonies in Greenland, the Inuit had no contact with Europeans for at least a century. By the mid-16th century, Basque fishers were already working the Labrador coast and had established whaling stations on land, such as those excavated at Red Bay . The Inuit appear not to have interfered with their operations, but they did raid
9776-622: The un-organized traffic of furs overseen by the British Indian Department . Prominent First Nations people include Joe Capilano, who met with King of the United Kingdom, Edward VII , to speak of the need to settle land claims and Ovide Mercredi , a leader at both the Meech Lake Accord constitutional reform discussions and Oka Crisis . Inuit are the descendants of what anthropologists call
9880-441: The vast cultures and contributions of Indigenous peoples to the history of Canada . First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples of all backgrounds have become prominent figures and have served as role models in the Indigenous community and help to shape the Canadian cultural identity . In Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 , "Aboriginal peoples of Canada" includes Indian , Inuit , and Métis peoples. "Aboriginal" as
9984-668: The wigwam and other shelters. During the American revolution the term wigwam was used by British soldiers to describe a wide variety of makeshift structures. Wickiups were used by different indigenous peoples of the Great Basin , Southwest, and Pacific Coast. They were single room, dome-shaped dwellings, with a great deal of variation in size, shape, and materials. The Acjachemen , an indigenous people of California , built cone-shaped huts made of willow branches covered with brush or mats made of tule leaves. Known as kiichas ,
10088-591: The woods (often hazel) and plastic tarpaulins, and are based on the designs of "Benders" by the Romanies who arrived in Britain in the 15th Century. Yarangas have a similar shape, but can have internal rooms inside the dome. Indigenous peoples in Canada Indigenous peoples in Canada (also known as Aboriginals ) are the Indigenous peoples within the boundaries of Canada. They comprise
10192-502: The years since there has been an enormous amount of comparative work undertaken on the Algonquian family. There remains some disagreement over the Algonquian Urheimat (homeland of the protolanguage). The initial theory, first put forth by Frank T. Siebert, Jr. in 1967 based on examining of the ranges of numerous species of plants and animals for which reliable Algonquian cognates existed, holds that Proto-Algonquian
10296-418: Was inserted between the two. Proto-Algonquian nouns had an animate/inanimate contrast: nouns representing animate beings (and some traditional items viewed as having spiritual powers) were classed as animate , while all other nouns were inanimate . The plural marker differed in form depending on whether the noun was animate or inanimate: animate nouns took a plural suffix *-aki , while inanimate nouns took
10400-400: Was responsible for the framing of the wigwam. Mary Rowlandson uses the term wigwam in reference to the dwelling places of Indigenous people that she stayed with while in their captivity during King Philip's War in 1675. The term wigwam has remained in common English usage as a synonym for any "Indian house"; however, this usage is dispreferred, as there are important differences between
10504-532: Was spoken between Lake Huron's Georgian Bay and Lake Ontario , in Ontario , Canada, and at least as far south as Niagara Falls . Research a generation later suggests that in fact it was spoken farther west than this, perhaps "somewhere immediately west of Lake Superior " or on the Columbia Plateau . Proto-Algonquian had four basic vowels, *i , *e , *a , *o , each of which had a long counterpart (commonly written *i· , *e· , *a· , *o· ), for
10608-474: Was still seen as an important practice for assimilation on reserves; however, by the late 19th century the government had instituted restrictive policies here too, such as the Peasant Farm Policy , which restricted reserve farmers largely to the use of hand tools. This was implemented largely to limit the competitiveness of First Nations farming. Through the Gradual Civilization Act in 1857,
10712-863: Was the goahti (also known as a gamme or kota ). In terms of construction, purpose and longevity, it represents a close equivalent to a North American native wigwam . Most goahti dwellings consisted of portable wooden poles, covered on the outside with either timber or peat moss, in lieu of walls. This differentiated them from the other type of Sámi dwelling, the more temporary and tent-like lavvu , covered with skins or fabrics and somewhat similar to tipis. Some goahti houses were occasionally covered with skins or fabric as well, but were generally larger than lavvu , and goahti were always used as more permanent housing. Many native peoples of Northern Asia also built or build traditional semi-permanent dwellings known as chum . Though some of these Siberian native dwellings are more tent-like, reminiscent of Plains Indians' tipis or of
10816-519: Was the subject and which was the object (since verbs inflected for whether they had a proximate or obviative subject and a proximate or obviative object). In a given stretch of discourse, there will not be two proximate or two obviative participants. There were personal pronouns which distinguished three persons, two numbers (singular and plural), inclusive and exclusive first person plural , and proximate and obviative third persons. Demonstrative pronouns have been more difficult to reconstruct, as many of
#843156