Anishinabe Of The Water
The official website of the
Sharbot Mishigama Anishinabe Algonquin First Nation Membership.
(Soon to be Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation, which is
Algonquin for “Sharbot Narrows in the Rapids”)
First Nation(s)
A term that
came into common usage in the 1970s to replace the word "Indian,"
which some people found offensive. Although the term First Nation is widely
used, no legal definition of it exists. Among its uses, the term "First
Nations peoples" refers to the Indian peoples in Canada, both Status and
Non-Status. Some Indian peoples have also adopted the term "First Nation"
to replace the word "band" in the name of their community.<>
"First
Nation" has been adopted by some Indian communities to replace the term
"Indian band." A band is defined as a body of Indians for whose
collective use and benefit lands have been set apart or money is held by the
Crown, or declared to be a band for the purposes of the Indian Act. Many
Indian bands started to replace the word "band" in their name with
"First Nation" in the 1980s. It is a matter of preference, and
writers should follow the choice expressed by individual First Nations/bands.
Suggested
usage:
Capitalize. The Department
capitalizes "First Nation" as it would other designations like
"Francophone," "Arabic" or "Nordic."
Use as a
noun and a modifier. The term "First Nation" is acceptable as both. When
using the term as a modifier, the question becomes whether to use "First
Nation" or "First Nations." Note the different uses in the
following examples.
(Plural modifier,
plural noun)
The number of First Nations students enrolled at Canadian universities
and colleges has soared over the past twenty years.
(Singular
modifier, plural noun)
The association assists female First Nation entrepreneurs interested in
starting home businesses.
(Plural
modifier, singular noun)
Containing recipes from across the country, the First Nations cookbook
became an instant hit at church bazaars.
(Singular
modifier, singular noun)
Many people have said that North of 60 and The Rez were the
only shows on television that depicted life in a First Nation community with
any realism.
There is no
clear right or wrong in this area, provided that writers are consistent about
the way they choose to use modifiers.