Lesson 1 of 5 · 5 min read
Long before Europeans arrived, every region of Canada was home to Aboriginal peoples with their own ways of life. Contact with Europeans brought disease, but also 200 years of alliances that laid the foundations of Canada.
Canada's story did not begin with the Europeans. When explorers arrived, they found every region of the country already occupied by native peoples. The ancestors of these peoples are believed to have migrated from Asia many thousands of years ago.
Aboriginal peoples lived off the land, but in very different ways depending on where they lived:
Warfare was common among Aboriginal groups as they competed for land, resources and prestige.
The Europeans called the people they met Indians, because the first explorers thought they had reached the East Indies. Today the term Aboriginal peoples covers three distinct groups: First Nations, Inuit and Métis. You'll learn more about each in the Who We Are chapter.
The arrival of European traders, missionaries, soldiers and colonists changed the native way of life forever. Large numbers of Aboriginal people died of European diseases to which they had no immunity.
Yet that is not the whole story. In the first 200 years of living side by side, Aboriginal peoples and Europeans formed strong economic, religious and military bonds. Those bonds, especially in the fur trade, laid the foundations of Canada.
Aboriginal territorial rights were first guaranteed by King George III's Royal Proclamation of 1763, which became the basis for negotiating treaties with the newcomers, treaties that were not always fully respected. Aboriginal and treaty rights are now part of the Canadian Constitution, and since 2021 the Oath of Citizenship names them too.
Key facts
When Europeans explored Canada, they found every region already occupied by native peoples.
Explorers called them Indians because the first explorers thought they had reached the East Indies.
The Huron-Wendat and Iroquois of the Great Lakes were farmers and hunters; the Cree and Dene of the Northwest were hunter-gatherers; the Sioux were nomadic, following the bison; the Inuit lived off Arctic wildlife.
Large numbers of Aboriginal people died of European diseases to which they had no immunity.
In their first 200 years of coexistence, Aboriginal peoples and Europeans formed strong economic, religious and military bonds that laid the foundations of Canada.
Today the term Aboriginal peoples refers to three distinct groups: First Nations (Indians), Inuit and Métis.
Discover Canada — Who We AreAnswer all 3 to mark this lesson done.
1. Why did European explorers call the native peoples "Indians"?
2. Which people were nomadic, following the bison?
3. Why did many Aboriginal people die after Europeans arrived?
HomelandCanada