Grade by Grade
A. Heritage and Identity · Communities in Canada, Past and Present

First Nations, Métis and Inuit Contributions to Canada

A1.2About 45 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can describe contributions that First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities and individuals have made to Canada, in the past and today.
  • I can tell which contributions came from First Nations, which from Métis and which from Inuit.
  • I can analyse how a contribution affects Canada today.

Words to know

First Nations
Many different Indigenous nations south of the Arctic, such as Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, Cree and Mi'kmaq.
Métis
A distinct Indigenous people with their own culture, language (Michif), flag and history, who emerged from the families of First Nations women and European fur traders.
Inuit
Indigenous people whose homelands are mainly in the Arctic. The singular is Inuk.
Inuit Nunangat
The Inuit homeland in Canada: Nunavut, Nunavik (northern Quebec), Nunatsiavut (Labrador) and the Inuvialuit region (Northwest Territories).
traditional knowledge
Knowledge built up over many generations by living closely with the land, often passed on by Elders.
veteran
A person who has served in the armed forces.

Remember from earlier grades

You already know that First Nations, Métis and Inuit are three different Indigenous peoples, each made up of many communities, and that First Nations and Inuit were here first. In Grade 5 you saw how the French relied on First Nations knowledge, canoes and snowshoes in the fur trade. This lesson looks at contributions across Canada's history, right up to today.

Let's start with a question

What do a canoe, the name Canada, the sport of lacrosse and a Governor General have in common?

They are all connected to contributions made by Indigenous peoples. Let's find out how.

A birchbark canoe resting on the rocky shore of a misty lake.
The birchbark canoe, made by First Nations, was light and strong enough to carry across land between lakes. It is one of many Indigenous contributions to Canada. AI-generated image

Knowledge of the land

  • Travel: First Nations designed the birchbark canoe, snowshoes and the toboggan. Inuit designed the qajaq (kayak) and the dog sled (qamutiik). Europeans could not have travelled and traded across this land without them.
  • Food: First Nations farmers developed corn, beans and squash, and First Nations peoples were making maple sugar from sap long before Europeans arrived.
  • Medicine: in the winter of 1535 to 1536, Jacques Cartier's crew was dying of scurvy. People from the village of Stadacona showed them how to make a tea from a tree (probably eastern white cedar) that saved many lives.
  • Today: Inuit oral history helped researchers find the lost ships of the Franklin expedition: HMS Erebus in 2014 and HMS Terror in 2016. Indigenous traditional knowledge helps guide decisions about wildlife, water and climate change.
Designs for travelling on this landbirchbark canoeFirst NationssnowshoesFirst NationstobogganFirst Nationsqajaq (kayak)Inuitqamutiik (sled)Inuit
First Nations and Inuit designs for travel on land, water, snow and ice. Europeans could not have travelled and traded across this land without them.

Names, games and symbols

  • The name Canada comes from kanata, an Iroquoian word meaning village or settlement.
  • Many places have Indigenous names: Ottawa (from the Odawa people), Winnipeg (Cree for "muddy water"), Saskatchewan (from a Cree name for a swift-flowing river) and Nunavut ("our land" in Inuktitut).
  • Lacrosse comes from games played by First Nations, including the Haudenosaunee. In 1994, a law made lacrosse Canada's national summer sport.
  • The inuksuk (a stone figure built by Inuit, used for things like marking routes) inspired the logo of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
Where some Canadian names come fromkanataIroquoian: “village”CanadaCree words“muddy water”WinnipegInuktitut words“our land”NunavutOdawaa First NationOttawa
Some names on the map of Canada come from Indigenous languages and nations. Even the name Canada comes from kanata, meaning "village".

Métis contributions

  • During the fur trade, Métis people were skilled guides, interpreters, traders and freighters. The Red River cart, made of wood and leather, carried goods across the Prairies.
  • The Métis speak Michif, a language that mixes Cree and French, and have their own fiddle music and jigging. The woven Métis sash is a well-known symbol.
  • Louis Riel, a Métis leader, led the Red River Resistance and negotiated Manitoba's entry into Canada in 1870. Manitoba now recognises him as its founder, and celebrates Louis Riel Day each February.

Defending Canada

Thousands of First Nations, Métis and Inuit people volunteered in both world wars and in other conflicts, even though, for many years, Canadian laws treated them unfairly at home.

  • Francis Pegahmagabow, an Anishinaabe soldier from what is now Wasauksing First Nation in Ontario, is one of the most decorated Indigenous soldiers in Canada's history (First World War).
  • Tommy Prince, from Brokenhead Ojibway Nation in Manitoba, was highly decorated in the Second World War and served again in Korea.
  • The National Aboriginal Veterans Monument in Ottawa was unveiled in 2001.

Individuals making a difference today

  • Mary Simon, an Inuk leader from Nunavik, became the first Indigenous Governor General of Canada in 2021.
  • Autumn Peltier, an Anishinaabe water protector from Wiikwemkoong on Manitoulin Island, spoke to the United Nations in 2018 about clean water, when she was 13.
  • Norval Morrisseau, an Anishinaabe artist from northern Ontario, created the bold, colourful Woodland style of painting.
  • Kenojuak Ashevak, an Inuk artist from Kinngait (Cape Dorset), made famous prints such as The Enchanted Owl (1960).
  • Jeremy Dutcher, a Wolastoqiyik singer, won the Polaris Music Prize in 2018 for an album sung in the Wolastoqey language.
ContributionPeopleKind of contribution
birchbark canoe, snowshoes, tobogganFirst Nationseconomic (travel and trade)
qajaq (kayak), dog sled, inuksukInuiteconomic, cultural
Red River cart, Michif language, fiddle and jiggingMétiseconomic, cultural
the name Canada (from kanata)First Nations (Iroquoian)cultural, identity
lacrosseFirst Nationscultural, identity
Manitoba joining Canada (1870)Métis (Louis Riel)political
first Indigenous Governor General (2021)Inuit (Mary Simon)political
A sample of contributions, sorted by people and kind.
Worked example

Let's analyse a contribution

Analyse how Inuit knowledge contributed to Canada using the search for the Franklin ships.

  1. What happened? Two British ships disappeared in the Arctic in the 1840s. For more than 160 years, searchers could not find them.
  2. What was the contribution? Inuit had passed down accounts of the ships through oral history. Inuit knowledge pointed searchers to the right areas.
  3. Result: HMS Erebus was found in 2014 and HMS Terror in 2016.
  4. Why it matters today: it shows that Inuit oral history is reliable evidence, and that Inuit knowledge is valuable for Canada's understanding of the Arctic.

Inuit oral history led to one of the most famous discoveries in Canadian history, and showed the value of Inuit knowledge.

Worked example

Let's sort by people

Sort these: the qajaq, the Red River cart, lacrosse.

  1. The qajaq (kayak) was designed for Arctic waters: Inuit.
  2. The Red River cart carried goods across the Prairies in the fur trade: Métis.
  3. Lacrosse came from games played by First Nations, including the Haudenosaunee.

qajaq: Inuit; Red River cart: Métis; lacrosse: First Nations.

Just for fun

Next time you zoom down a snowy hill, thank the designers! The toboggan is a First Nations design, and even the word comes into English (through Canadian French) from Mi'kmaq. 🛷

Present and specific

Indigenous contributions are not only in the past. Use the present tense for living peoples: "Inuit build inuksuit", "Métis fiddlers play". And name the specific people or nation when you can.

Hands-on activity

Make a contributions web

You need: a large sheet of paper and markers.

  1. Write Canada in the middle.
  2. Draw three branches labelled First Nations, Métis and Inuit.
  3. Add at least three contributions to each branch from this lesson, plus one you find yourself in a library book or with a grown-up online (for example, a First Nation, Métis or Inuit artist, athlete or leader from Ontario).
  4. Circle the contribution you think matters most to Canada today, and write one sentence explaining why.

Bonus: find out whether a place name near you comes from an Indigenous language.

Your turn

1

Name two travel technologies developed by First Nations.

2

What does the name Canada come from?

3

What is Canada's national summer sport, and where did it come from?

4

Name one Métis contribution.

5

Who became the first Indigenous Governor General, and when?

6

How did Inuit knowledge help find the Franklin ships?

7

Who is Autumn Peltier?

More practice: warm-up

1

What does Nunavut mean in Inuktitut?

2

What is a qajaq?

3

What language do many Métis people speak?

4

Where is the National Aboriginal Veterans Monument?

5

What style of painting did Norval Morrisseau create?

More practice: on your own

1

Why could Europeans not have run the fur trade without Indigenous contributions?

2

Is lacrosse becoming the national summer sport a cultural or an economic contribution? Explain.

3

Why is it important that Francis Pegahmagabow and Tommy Prince are remembered?

4

Sort: inuksuk, Louis Riel, snowshoes.

5

Rewrite in the present tense: "The Métis had their own fiddle music."

Challenge

1

Choose the Indigenous contribution you think matters most to Canada today and defend your choice with two reasons.

2

Why do you think Manitoba recognises Louis Riel as its founder, even though he was executed by the Canadian government in 1885?

3

Some people only talk about Indigenous contributions from long ago (canoes, snowshoes). Why is that an incomplete picture?

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

The name Canada comes from an Iroquoian word meaning...

2.

Which is an Inuit contribution?

3.

Which is a Métis contribution?

4.

Who became Canada's first Indigenous Governor General in 2021?

5.

Lacrosse became Canada's national summer sport in...

6.

How was HMS Erebus found in 2014?

7.

Which sentence is written respectfully and accurately?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities and individuals have made, and continue to make, major contributions to Canada (A1.2).

How to help at home:

  • Look up Indigenous place names near you and their meanings.
  • Listen together to music by Indigenous artists, look at art by Norval Morrisseau or Kenojuak Ashevak (many galleries have images online), or watch a lacrosse game.
  • On National Indigenous Peoples Day (June 21) and National Indigenous Veterans Day (November 8), look for local events.

Common difficulties:

  • Mixing up the three peoples: First Nations, Métis and Inuit are distinct. Practise sorting.
  • Past tense only: encourage present-tense sentences and current examples.
  • Treating contributions as "gifts to Europeans": these were Indigenous peoples' own technologies and knowledge, shared through trade and relationships.