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CANADIAN STUDIES
Canada First Nation Study
Nationhood
The indigenous people to constitute Canada were the Mitis and Inuit. They were the first
people in America to replace the Indian bands. People with common language and government
were called Indian group. First Nation has come to a broad use to refer to the indigenous tribes of
the United States. The modern nations refer to nationality or tribes. The paper will discuss the
history of the first nation of Canada, the political social and economic aspects of the people.
The First Nations people had discovered trade routes in Canada that empowered them
economically. Each nation had its culture, customs, and character different from the others. In
the north, there was the Slavey. In the coast were the Haida, Kwakiutl, and the Gitxsan.
Blackfoot lived in the plains. Cree and Chipewyan were in the northern woodlands and around
the lakes were the Anishinabee and Boathook.
The Blackfoot were characterized by leather footwear painted black, walked through
ashes and prairie fires. The Blackfoot migrated into Great Plains from the plateau areas. They
cultivated berries and edible roots. They allowed only legitimate traders to their territories. The
Squamish passed through oral tradition. They recorded their history through oral tradition and as
a way of telling stories and knowledge to generations.
Knowledgeable elders used to transmit knowledge to the next generations through oral
traditions. They adopted the three sister mode of cultivations which included maize beans and
squash. Because of their confederacy, became so powerful. They had gradually adopted
agricultural activities to sustain their large population. The Assiniboine traded with Cree, which
with time they engaged in wars with the Blackfeet. The Cree intermediaries engaged in trade
with the Europeans in the Hudson’s Bay Company. The lifestyle was semi-nomadic following
