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22 People
People
Canada takes pride in its broad range of ethnicities from all over the world. Unlike other countries where immigrants are encouraged to adopt the country’s predominant identity — a method referred to as a “Melting Pot” — Canada prefers to promote the “Mosaic” method, acting to foster the preservation of dissimilar cultures. When walking the streets of any downtown Canadian city, the exciting scents of widely different international foods plus the visual tapestry of districts festooned with vivacious colour, speak of this celebration of diversity.
ffffTTTfTffTfffTPredecessors of Modern Canadians
First Nations, Métis and Inuit are the three recognized aboriginal people in Canada. Over 700,000 First Nations reside in Canada. They form the majority (63%) of those who identify themselves as aboriginals — such as Woodland Cree, Ojibwe, Menominee and Saulteaux. Another 33 percent identify themselves as Métis and 4 percent as Inuit.
Métis have also been referred to as “Bois- Brûlé” or “mixed-bloods” (terms which they find offensive) — born of mixed marriages between the aboriginals and French, Scottish or English migrants. Inuit, on the other hand, are
indigenous people with the same culture, predominantly living
in the Canadian Arctic. About
on reserve land, and they currently occupy 930 out of the 3,100 reserves where the residents are allowed by the government to exercise self-rule.
First Nations advocate self-government, which they uphold as their foremost right under the Charter of Rights and Freedom. The federal government supports First Nations autonomy. It does this by ensuring their freedom to practice their original culture and the ceremonies long embraced by their forefathers. This remains a vast improvement over their treatment during the dark period of colonialism.
Canada’s showcase of aboriginal support is found in the Nunavut Territory, an icy region in the northernmost part
covering over 2,093,190 square kilometres (808,185 sq mi). In 1999, the aboriginal federal
22 percent of people reside