territories of Canada. The criteria under which this legal status is granted are universal
and governed by federal law. Indians who for some reason lost their status in the
process of historical development, and were unable to formally confirm the Indian
origin, but identify themselves as descendants of Indigenous people in Canada, are
called Non-status Indians. They cannot qualify for state benefits and / or programs
provided by the Canadian federal government for Indigenous people. However, they
are carriers of their own cultural heritage, have membership in Indigenous
communities, and continue to make a significant contribution to preserving the culture
of the whole civilization.
It should be noted that the term "First Nations" is used to refer to all Indigenous
people of Indian origin, regardless of whether or not they have status.
Treaty Indians are the descendants of Indians who entered into agreements with
the British Crown representatives. All contracts concluded from the beginning of the
XVIII century and to this day are of historical significance. The contracts are
recognized by the Canadian federal government and are the basis for successful
bilateral relations between the Indigenous population and the titular nation, as well as
the guarantee of civil rights and freedoms of all the inhabitants of the country
(Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, 2017).
As a result of the conclusion of treaties and setting aside lands for the Indians, the
territories inhabited by the Indians, began to be called reserves , derived from the
English term "reserved", that is, "the land reserved for the Indians' residenceā.
Interestingly, the term "reservation" is widespread in American English, but in Canada
only the term "reserve" is used. In connection with the permanent migration processes,
Canada has widely used on / off-reserve terms for not only indicating the place of
residence of Indians, but also for identifying housing, buildings, training and health
facilities located on or off reserve (Nation Aboriginal Health Organization
Terminology Guidelines, 2017). It should be noted that Indigenous people of Indian
ancestry prefer the term First Nation community instead of "on-reserve Indians".
About 40% of the representatives of First Nations to date live on reserves. Ontario
is ranked first in the number of the First Nations representatives of the school age living
off reserve (Raham, 2009).
Innuit are people, living in the north of Canada along the Arctic coast, and account
for about 4% of the Indigenous population (The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2013). In
Alaska, the same people are called Alaska Natives, which corresponds to the older,
more well-known term Eskimo. As the word "Eskimo" in the translation from the
Algonquin language means "those who eat raw meat", in Canada this term is negative
and therefore not used in official and regulatory documents. Instead, the word "Inuit"
is used, which means "people" in the translation from the Inuktitut language. The
Canadian territory in which the majority of Inuit people live is called Nunavut, which
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