Ten years after 'Aboriginal' shifted to 'Indigenous,' debate over terminology persists
Canada officially adopted 'Indigenous' in 2016, but First Nations leaders argue the state continues to impose language rather than respecting self-determination.
Sources · local media reports
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Ten years after the Government of Canada officially adopted the term "Indigenous" instead of "Aboriginal," disagreement persists over what terms best describe First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples—and who gets to decide.
Canada made the formal shift in 2016, the year it officially adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The federal government later passed the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act in 2021. But the terminology change has sparked debate among Indigenous leaders and legal scholars about whose interests the shift serves.
Gladys Radek, a longtime activist for missing and murdered Indigenous people from Witset, a Wetʼsuwetʼen Nation village in B.C., said the pattern of name changes reflects deeper power imbalances. "Either 'First Nations' or 'Aboriginal' or 'Indigenous' or 'Indian'… it wouldn't surprise me if they changed it again a couple of years from now to something else," she said.
Grand Chief Stewart Phillips of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs said respecting how different Indigenous peoples refer to themselves is a matter of basic human rights. "We have the inherent right to determine how we identify ourselves," Phillips said in a statement. "Many of our people have chosen to retain the term 'Indian' for political reasons, or use terms like 'First Nations,' 'Indigenous,' or the names of our own nations in our own languages."
Paul Chartrand, a retired law professor and Michif from Manitoba, questioned why federal institutions embraced "Indigenous" without explanation. "I never see an explanation of why using 'Indigenous.' That's not the term used in the Constitution," he said. Chartrand argued the term "continues the dominance of state power in influencing how people identify themselves" and that shifting terminology "doesn't serve the Aboriginal people, but it does serve [Canada's] government purposes."
In 1982, Canada's Constitution Act recognized Aboriginal and treaty rights of the "Indian, Inuit and Métis peoples." That same year, the Assembly of First Nations changed its name from the National Indian Brotherhood. Outside of legislation, Chartrand said "Indian" is better used exclusively within Indigenous communities.
What do different Indigenous communities in Canada prefer to be called—is there data on how First Nations, Inuit, and Métis groups actually want to identify themselves?
Why did the federal government choose 'Indigenous' over other terms, and what explanation has it provided?
We'll update this story as answers emerge.
By the numbers
When did Canada officially adopt 'Indigenous' instead of 'Aboriginal'?
Canada made the formal shift in 2016, the year it officially adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
When did the federal government pass the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act?
The federal government passed the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act in 2021.
