Reserves are lands set aside by the federal government for the use and benefit of a First Nations community.

Clans provided structure into a community’s roles and responsibilities, and for many communities, its governance structure.

Egalitarian means that all people were equal and deserved equal rights and opportunities.

Matrilineal is a type of lineage that is passed down through the women of the family.

Haudenosaunee means "people of the Longhouse." Today, the Haudenosaunee live on well-populated reserves and off-reserve communities in Canada and the United States. This article references their way of life between 1713 and 1800.

The Haudenosaunee shared their culture and learned their values, laws, and acceptable behaviours through storytelling. They are known for their agricultural skills and traditional Clan System.

The Haudenosaunee Clan is matrilineal and is represented by different birds and animals that are divided into three elements: land (bear, wolf, deer), water (turtle, eel, beaver) and air (snipe, hawk, heron). The Clan Mother was responsible for making all the decisions that would impact the clan, ensuring all members had their needs met and were taken care of. Many Haudenosaunee communities still follow traditional Clan Systems that have been passed down through their mothers.

Haudenosaunee families lived together in a single longhouse within a village of longhouses year-round. Fields were grouped near longhouses and ranged from ten to hundreds of kilometers depending on the size of the community. Longhouses were built from saplings, thick bark from elm trees, and animal hide for door coverings. They were separated into compartments with a bed for each family, a sitting area, and a shared fire.

This is an image of a modern-day longhouse in an Indigenous community in Ontario. The longhouse walls and roof are made out of large pieces of bark that are overlapping. There is a rectangular shaped door at the front of the longhouse. The longhouse is surrounded by trees and fence that is also made out of trees.

Each member of the Haudenosaunee family held different roles and responsibilities.

Men were often in charge of hunting and trapping expeditions. They typically hunted for deer, bear, beaver, and fish. They also cleared and prepared fields for farming. Women generally planted and tended to crops. They also searched for and collected berries and foods that could be picked in the forest, such as mushrooms, roots, and nuts. Children helped tend to the crops and guarded fields and early sprouts from pests. Elders were well-respected wisdom keepers who taught children traditions and helped to raise them.

The Haudenosaunee made their clothing from natural surroundings (e.g., woodland animals) and added beads, feathers, and porcupine quills that represented symbols of Clans, or as an expression of their creation story.

Throughout the year, the Haudenosaunee held 13 ceremonies that followed the seasonal changes in the year. These ceremonies often included music and dance, and expressed thanks to the natural world, spirit world, and creators. During their leisure time, families intertwined arts, sports (such as lacrosse), games, music, and dance into their daily activities.

Source: “Historical Life as a Haudenosaunee.” Haudenosaunee Confederacy, 23 Apr. 2021, www.haudenosauneeconfederacy.com/

The Métis are people of both First Nations and European heritage. The Métis were first established in the Red River region (present day Manitoba) and typically lived along major trading routes and waterways across Canada. Today, the Métis live all across Canada, with the majority located within the prairie provinces: Manitoba, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. This article references their way of life between 1713 and 1800.

The Métis were spiritually influenced by both their Indigenous heritage and their European heritage. Their household often consisted of extended family and was part of a larger village. The most typical style of home for the Métis was a log house or cabin that was made from round logs with notched ends and flat roofs. They used mud and hay as insulation. When on buffalo hunts or trading expeditions, the Métis camped in tipis or canvas tents that were brought over by Europeans.

Each member of the Métis household had different rights and responsibilities. Prior to the fur trade, each person’s role, regardless of gender, was meant to change to meet the community’s needs. Both men and women taught the children the skills they needed to survive. The men and their older sons were hunters, traders, and farmers. The buffalo hunt was a big part of their lifestyle, so they were often gone for long periods of time hunting buffalo. They also hunted moose, elk, deer, wild birds, and trapped fish. While the men were hunting, the women often took care of the children, prepared food, made and mended clothing and snowshoes, and gathered plant foods and medicines. The women provided land knowledge and survival skills to the men. They were skilled in surviving Canadian winters and provided medicine, food, and interpretation to fur traders. The children were seen as gifts from the creator that were to be cherished. At a young age, children had a lot of chores and responsibilities around the house. For example, they gathered berries and caught fish. Grandparents were respected for their wisdom and experience and handed down Métis culture to the children.

When they were not working, Métis communities took part in music and dance at community events, art, beadwork, and embroidery. Their clothing was inspired by French-Canadian fur traders and was often made from animal skins and hides.

Source: “Culture and Heritage: Traditions.” Métis Nation of Ontario, 26 Apr. 2021, www.Métisnation.org/culture-heritage/symbols-and-traditions/

The Inuit are Indigenous Peoples who live in the Northern Regions of Canada. The Inuit homeland is known as Inuit Nunangat, which refers to land, water, and ice contained in the Arctic Region. This article references their way of life between 1713 and 1800.

In the Arctic there are only two seasons – winter and summer. The winters are very long, cold, and dark. The average temperature in the winter is -34 degrees Celsius. The summers are very short, temperatures hover around zero degrees, and the sun never sets. Due to the extreme weather conditions in the Arctic , there are not many trees or suitable farmland. Most Inuit were nomadic hunter and gathers, which meant that they had to keep moving to follow the herds of animals for food.

The Inuit chose to live in small, family-based groups rather than large, permanent settlements. Families who got along well together would live in camps near one another, and at times, build larger dwellings so that the families could live together. The Inuit people built different homes to accommodate the winter and summer climate of the Arctic. In the winter, the Inuit built and lived in igloos that are made from frozen snow. In the summer, they built homes out of animal bones and hide. These homes were easy to rebuild in different locations as they moved for hunting and gathering. As hunters and gathers, they lived mainly on meat, such as caribou, and whale. In the summer, they would dry out meats and preserve them for the winter months. They were also able to gather some berries, seaweed, and eggs for food.

Inuit society was egalitarian. Instead of there being one person to make decisions, Inuit adults would discuss problems and solutions and then come to decisions through consensus. Inuit communities generally lived with one family in each shelter, which included parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and children. Men spent the majority of their days hunting, gathering, and fishing. Women did domestic work, such as cooking, cleaning, sewing, and raising children. Children stayed home and helped with common chores, played outside, and learned from those around them. Typically, children would travel to diverse families and learn through the oral tradition of stories about their culture and traditions.

The Inuit people believed all things had a spirit. A spirit could be found in both living and non-living things, such as people, animals, inanimate objects, and forces of nature. They believed when a spirit died, it would continue living in another spirit. For example, children were often named after a deceased relative or community member to ensure the spirit and name could keep living. The Inuit used a Shaman or ‘Angakos’ to communicate with the spirit world.

Source: Findlay, Heather, and Anna Sajecki. “The Inuit: Religion / Ceremonies / Art / Clothing.” Canada’s First Peoples, 2007, firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_inuit5.html.

Colonizer: a person from a different country who migrates to a new country to take control of it, often displacing Indigenous communities.