Fox Home School← Back home
Painted river winding through a Canadian forest and mountain valley

Ages 4–17 · Canada

First Nations: living lands, living stories

Many Nations. Different languages, histories and futures. Listen first, learn where you are, and meet the people whose stories are theirs to tell.

Look at the land

Two ways of mapping Canada

The base map labels cities and provinces. The coloured outlines show federal surveyed Indigenous land categories, including reserves and some settlement lands. They do not show the full traditional territories, treaties, unceded lands, or the extent of Indigenous sovereignty. Colours are survey categories, not a colour for each Nation.

Loading the map…

Map key: Coloured outlines = different surveyed categories (such as Indian Reserve, Inuit Owned Land and Yukon First Nations Settlement Land); thin grey lines = provincial borders; place names = cities. Full federal category legend ↗

Traditional territories and languages

Explore overlapping homelands, languages and treaties on the Indigenous-led Native Land Digital map ↗. Use its search for a city and compare its outlines with the map above. Its map is educational, evolving and not a legal boundary record. Check the named Nation's own account too.

Current surveyed lands

Overlay: Natural Resources Canada, Canada Lands Survey System ↗. A surveyed land boundary is not a map of every self-governing Nation or of all lands where Indigenous rights exist. The base map is OpenStreetMap, whose city and province labels may change with zoom.

Listening to names

A few of many self-names

These are starting points, not a complete list or a pronunciation guide. Names and spellings vary between communities. Let local Nations teach you how they name themselves.

Anishinaabe / Anishinabek

Great Lakes and beyond

Communities and dialects differ; see the Anishinabek Nation's own words.

Hear from a community ↗

Kanien’kehá:ka

St. Lawrence River valley and beyond

Often called Mohawk in English. Follow community resources for pronunciation.

Hear from a community ↗

nêhiyawak

Prairies and boreal regions

One self-name among Cree peoples; communities use distinct names and dialects.

Hear from a community ↗

Mi’kmaq

Atlantic regions

Community names and writing conventions vary across Mi’kma’ki.

Hear from a community ↗

Secwépemc

Interior British Columbia

Phyllis Webstad is from Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation, a Secwépemc community.

Hear from a community ↗
Explore the Indigenous Languages Commission's Words of Greeting ↗

Explore at your own pace

The learning rooms

Many Nations, many lands

Home before and after the lines on a map.

Read together: Look at the two land maps together. Ask whose voices made each map, and what each one cannot show.

  1. 1 · Ages 4–7

    A place has more than one name

    Do it: Ask a grown-up what they know about the First Nations of your area. Write the place name you use, then look for a Nation's own name on its website.

    Big idea: First Nations are many distinct peoples living here today, not one group from long ago. Inuit and Métis are distinct Indigenous peoples too.

    How we know: Compare a Nation's own website with a government map. Which names and stories appear on each?

    Nation · home

  2. 2 · Ages 8–12

    Two maps, one place

    Do it: Compare the traditional-territory map and the surveyed-lands map below. Find a city and its province; list three things that only one map shows.

    Big idea: Traditional lands may overlap. A reserve is a legal category; it is not the whole of a Nation's homeland or sovereignty.

    How we know: Open both sources and their notes. Can you find a place where one outline misses a people's connections?

    territory · reserve · treaty

  3. 3 · Ages 13–17

    Who decides the lines?

    Do it: Find a treaty or self-government agreement near you through official and Nation-led sources. Make a timeline of who signed, what was promised and what people say now.

    Big idea: Treaties are continuing relationships. Unceded lands, reserves, settlement lands and self-governing Nations are not interchangeable labels.

    How we know: Read the Nation's account alongside the government text. Mark agreements and differences without erasing either voice.

    sovereignty · unceded · jurisdiction

Calm first

Stand outside and notice the land beneath your feet.

One kind thing

Learn a local Nation's name and share its own website with your family.

How do we know?

Compare traditional territories with surveyed boundaries. Ask what each leaves out.

This connects to…

Hear from the people telling these stories

For grown-ups: This is an introductory learning space, not a voice for any Nation. Please check names, teachings and story permissions with local communities. Stay beside younger children for the difficult history, follow their questions, and pause when they need it. The artwork in our story is an interpretation, not a portrait or historical photograph; Phyllis's own account comes first. Do not ask children to reenact residential school experiences or reproduce ceremonial songs or regalia.