National Indigenous Peoples Day is a day recognizing and celebrating the cultures and contributions of the First Nations,Inuit,and Métis Indigenous peoples of Canada.
David Ahenakew was a Canadian First Nations (Cree) politician,and former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations.
The Assembly of First Nations is an assembly of Canadian First Nations represented by their chiefs. Established in 1982 and modelled on the United Nations General Assembly,it emerged from the National Indian Brotherhood,which dissolved in the late 1970s.
Larry Phillip Fontaine,is an Indigenous Canadian leader and former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. He best known for his central role in raising public awareness of the Canadian Indian residential school system and pushing to secure Federal and Papal apologies in 2008 and 2022 respectively. He also helped secure a repudiation of Discovery doctrine from Pope Francis on March 30,2023.
Assembly of First Nations leadership elections are held every three years to elect the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. Each chief of a First Nation in Canada is eligible to cast a vote. Currently there are 634 eligible voters.
In Canada,an Indian band,First Nation band or simply band,is the basic unit of government for those peoples subject to the Indian Act. Bands are typically small groups of people:the largest in the country,the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation had 22,294 members in September 2005,and many have a membership below 100 people. Each First Nation is typically represented by a band council chaired by an elected chief,and sometimes also a hereditary chief. As of 2013,there were 614 bands in Canada. Membership in a band is controlled in one of two ways:for most bands,membership is obtained by becoming listed on the Indian Register maintained by the government. As of 2013,there were 253 First Nations which had their own membership criteria,so that not all status Indians are members of a band.
Noel Victor Starblanket was a Canadian politician. For two terms from 1976 to 1980 he was chief of the National Indian Brotherhood.
The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN),formerly known as the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations,is a Saskatchewan-based First Nations organization. It represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan and is committed to honouring the spirit and intent of the Numbered Treaties,as well as the promotion,protection and implementation of these promises made over a century ago.
Shawn A-in-chut Atleo,is a Canadian activist and politician,a former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations in Canada. He also has served since 1999 as a Hereditary Chief of the Ahousaht First Nation,part of the Nuu-chah-nulth Nation based in British Columbia.
Paul Merriman is a Canadian politician. He is the member of Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan (MLA) for the electoral district of Saskatoon Silverspring-Sutherland,and a member of the Saskatchewan Party.
Idle No More is an ongoing protest movement,founded in December 2012 by four women:three First Nations women and one non-Native ally. It is a grassroots movement among the Indigenous peoples in Canada comprising the First Nations,Métis and Inuit peoples and their non-Indigenous supporters in Canada,and to a lesser extent,internationally. It has consisted of a number of political actions worldwide,inspired in part by the liquid diet hunger strike of Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence and further coordinated via social media. A reaction to alleged legislative abuses of Indigenous treaty rights by then Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative federal government,the movement takes particular issue with the omnibus bill Bill C-45. The popular movement has included round dances in public places and blockades of rail lines.
Recognition and Implementation of Indigenous Rights Framework (RIIRF) is a legislation and policy initiative intended to be undertaken in "full partnership with First Nations,Inuit,and Métis Peoples" that was announced during a speech in the House of Commons of Canada by Prime Minister,Justin Trudeau on February 14,2018. It was "meant to enshrine the Constitution's section 35,which affirms Aboriginal rights,in federal law,allowing First Nations to reconstitute their governance structures outside the Indian Act."
The following is a timeline of the 2020 Canadian pipeline and railway protests which originated with the opposition by the hereditary chiefs of the Wetʼsuwetʼen people in British Columbia (BC),Canada to the Coastal GasLink Pipeline project.
From January to March 2020,a series of civil disobedience protests were held in Canada over the construction of the Coastal GasLink Pipeline (CGL) through 190 kilometres (120 mi) of Wetʼsuwetʼen First Nation territory in British Columbia (BC),land that is unceded. Other concerns of the protesters were Indigenous land rights,the actions of police,land conservation,and the environmental impact of energy projects.
Several policies regarding interior and domestic issues in Canada were planned and adopted by the Canadian Cabinet,chaired by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,following the October 19,2015 election of the Liberal Party to a majority of seats in the House of Commons,such as social and environmental policies.
Indigenous Disability Awareness Month is an annual Canadian observance created in 2015 by Indigenous Disability Canada / British Columbia Aboriginal Network on Disability Society (IDC/BCANDS) and is observed/recognized by various government,communities and organizations across Canada and internationally. Indigenous Disability Awareness Month is believed to be the only Indigenous disability-specific,recognized observance in the world.
Sheila North is a Cree leader and journalist,who formerly served as Grand Chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak.
The Marieval Indian Residential School was part of the Canadian Indian residential school system. Located on the Cowessess 73 reserve in Marieval,Saskatchewan,it operated from 1898 to 1997. It was located in Qu'Appelle Valley,east of Crooked Lake and 24 km (15 mi) north of Broadview.
Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse is a Canadian politician. She was elected in the 2023 Alberta general election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the electoral district of Edmonton-Rutherford,succeeding Richard Feehan. Stonehouse is a member of the Alberta New Democratic Party. She is the first First Nations woman to be elected to the Alberta Legislature,and second Indigenous woman,following Pearl Calahasen (Métis) elected in 1989.
Cindy Woodhouse is a Canadian First Nations politician and the current National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations.
