The history of the First Nations is the prehistory and history of present-day Canada's peoples from the earliest times to the present day with a focus on the First Nations. The pre-history
settlement of the Americas
The settlement of the Americas began when Paleolithic hunter-gatherers entered North America from the North Asian Mammoth steppe via the Beringia land bridge, which had formed between northeastern Siberia and western Alaska due to the lower ...
is a subject of ongoing debate because First Nations oral history, combined with new methodologies and technologies which are used by
archaeologists
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...
, linguists, and other researchers, produce—new and sometimes conflicting—evidence. The 1996 Report by the
Royal Commission on Aboriginal People described four stages in
Canadian history
The history of Canada covers the period from the arrival of the Paleo-Indians to North America thousands of years ago to the present day. Prior to European colonization, the lands encompassing present-day Canada were inhabited for millennia by ...
that overlap and occur at different times in different regions: 1) Pre-contact – Different Worlds – Contact; 2) Early Colonies (1500–1763); 3) Displacement and Assimilation (1764–1969); and 4) Renewal to Constitutional Entrenchment (2018).
Pre-contact
50,000 BP
40,000 BP
30,000–20,000 BP
Paleo-Indians period
14,000 BP
12,000 BP
11,000 BP
10,500 BP
10,000 BP
9,700 BP
9,000 BP
8,500 BP
8,250 BP
8,000 BP
6,800 BP
6,000 BP
5,000 BP
4,500 BP
4,300 BP
4,000 BP
3,000 BP
2,400 BP
1000 BP
951 BP
950 BP - 450 BP
450 BP
1400s
Early Colonies (1500–1763)
Displacement and Assimilation (1764–1969)
Renewal to Constitutional Entrenchment (1969+)
, -
, 2022, , 27 July , , During his July 24 to July 29, 2022 penitential pilgrimage,
Pope Francis
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
apologized for the role
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
played in the
Canadian Indian residential school system
In Canada, the Indian residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. The network was funded by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs and administered by Christian churches. The schoo ...
in
Maskwacis
Maskwacis (; cr, ᒪᐢᑿᒌᐢ, ), renamed in 2014 from Hobbema (), is an unincorporated community in central Alberta, Canada at intersection of Highway 2A and Highway 611, approximately south of the City of Edmonton. The community consists ...
the site of one of the largest residential schools in Canada
Ermineskin Residential School
See also
*
Aboriginal peoples in Canada
In Canada, Indigenous groups comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. Although ''Indian'' is a term still commonly used in legal documents, the descriptors ''Indian'' and ''Eskimo'' have fallen into disuse in Canada, and most consider them ...
*
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 Nat ...
*
Index of Aboriginal Canadian-related articles
*
Settlement of the Americas
The settlement of the Americas began when Paleolithic hunter-gatherers entered North America from the North Asian Mammoth steppe via the Beringia land bridge, which had formed between northeastern Siberia and western Alaska due to the lower ...
[This well-documented article discusses conflicting theories on the pre-history of settlement.]
Notes
References
Further reading
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*Weisman, Kay. Indian Residential Schools: A Shameful Story: The Following Titles, Accommodating a Wide Range of Readers, Shed Light on the Long-Term Consequences and the Shameful Legacy of Indian Residential Schools. Vol. 118, 2021.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Timeline Of First Nations History
History of indigenous peoples of North America
Hunter-gatherers of Canada
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 Nat ...
Anishinaabe culture