Indigenous People in Canada

The word "Indigenous Peoples" (or Aboriginal Peoples) in Canada applies to "First Nations, Métis and Inuit". First Nations people are original inhabitants of the land that is now Canada, and were the first to encounter sustained European contact, settlement and trade. About 1.6 million people in Canada were listed as indigenous in the 2016 census by Statistics Canada, making up 4.9 percent of the national population. Indigenous culture, language and social structures, although severely threatened and in some cases extinguished by colonial powers, have influenced Canada's growth and continue…