List of First Nations peoples

The following is a partial list of First Nations peoples of Canada, organized by linguistic-cultural area. It only includes First Nations people, which by definition excludes Métis and Canadian Inuit groups. The areas used here are in accordance to those developed by the ethnologist and linguist Edward Sapir, and used by the Canadian Museum of Civilization.^[1]

Northwest Coast

These people traditionally eat fish, primarily salmon and eulachon from the ocean, as well as fish from lakes and rivers, and roots and berries. Recently discovered clam gardens suggest that they were not limited only to hunting and gathering. They made use of the forests of the Pacific to build dug-out canoes, and houses made of evenly split planks of wood. They used tools made of stone and wood. The native peoples of the Pacific coast also make totem poles, a trait attributed to other tribes as well. In 2000 a land claim was settled between the Nisga'a people of British Columbia and the provincial government, resulting in the return of over 2,000 square kilometres of land to the Nisga'a. Major ethnicities include the:

Coast Salish peoples
- Shishalh (Sechelt)
- Squamish
- Pentlatch (a.k.a. Puntledge, extinct)
- Qualicum
- Comox-speaking:
  - K'omoks (Kwak'wala speaking today)
  - Sliammon
  - Homalco
  - Klahoose
- Halkomelem-speaking
  - Hulquminum (Island Halkomelem):
    - Hwlitsum (Lamalcha or Lamalchi)
    - Snuneymuxw (Nanaimo)
    - Snaw-naw-as (Nanoose)
    - Cowichan
      - Somena (S’amuna’)
      - Quw'utsun
      - Quamichan
      - Clemclemaluts (L’uml’umuluts)
      - Comiaken (Qwum’yiqun’)
      - Khenipsen (Hinupsum)
      - Kilpahlas (Tl’ulpalus)
      - Koksilah (Hwulqwselu)
    - Penelakut
  - Hunquminum (Downriver Halkomelem)
    - Musqueam
    - Tsleil-Waututh (Burrard)
    - Katzie
    - Kwantlen
    - Kwikwetlem (Coquitlam)
    - Snokomish (extinct)
    - Tsawwassen
  - Halqemeylem (Upriver Halkomelem)
    - Sts'Ailes (Chehalis)
    - Sto:lo (Fraser River Salish)
      - Aitchelitz
      - Leq'á:mel
      - Matsqui
      - Popkum
      - Skway
      - Skawahlook
      - Skowkale
      - Squiala
      - Sumas
      - Tzeachten
      - Yakweakwioose
      - Chawathil
      - Cheam
      - Kwaw-kwaw-Apilt
      - Sq'éwlets (Scowlitz)
      - Seabird Island
      - Shxw'ow'hamel
      - Soowahlie
- North Straits Salish-speaking
  - Songhees (a.k.a. Songish, a.k.a. Lekwungen)
  - T'Souke (Sooke)
  - Semiahmoo
  - Malahat
  - Lummi
  - Klallam
  - Tsartlip
  - Tsawout
  - Tseycum
  - Pauquachin
  - Esquimalt
New Westminster (no language affiliation)
Nuxálk (Bella Coola)
- Kimsquit
- Tallheo
- Stuie
- Kwatna
Tsimshianic peoples (Northern Mainland)
- Tsimshian (Sm'algyax speaking)
- Gitxsan (Gitxsanimaax speaking)
- Nisga'a
Haida (Haad kil speaking)
Southern Wakashan peoples
- Nuu-chah-nulth (incorrectly called Nootka)
  - Tla-o-qui-aht (Clayoquot)
  - Mowachaht-Muchalaht
  - Ahousaht (formed from the merger of the Ahousaht and Kelsemeht bands in 1951)
  - Ehattesaht
  - Hesquiaht
  - Cheklesahht
  - Kyuquot
  - Nuchatlaht
  - Huu-ay-aht (formerly Ohiaht)
  - Hupacasath (formerly Opetchesaht)
  - Toquaht
  - Tseshaht
  - Uchucklesaht
  - Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ (Ucluelet)
- Ditidaht
- Pacheedaht
Northern Wakashan peoples (Central Coast)
- Kwakwaka'wakw
  - Laich-kwil-tach (Euclataws/Yuculta a.k.a. Southern Kwakiutl)
    - Weewaikai (Cape Mudge)
    - Wewaykum (Campbell River)
    - Kwiakah
  - Koskimo
  - 'Namgis (Nimpkish)
- Haisla (Kitamaat)
  - Henaksiala
- Heiltsuk (Bella Bella, at the community of the same name)
- Wuikinuxv (Owekeeno)
Tsetsaut (extinct Athapaskan-speakers)

Plains

These people traditionally used tipis covered with skins as their homes. Their main sustenance was the bison, which they used as food, as well as for all their garments. The leaders of some Plains tribes wore large headdresses made of feathers, something which is wrongfully attributed by some to all First Nations peoples. Major ethnicities include the:

Anishinaabe
- Plains-Ojibwa
Blackfoot
- Kainai (Blood)
- North Peigan
- Siksika
Dene
- Chipewyan
Nakoda
- Assiniboine
- Stoney
Plains-Cree
Tsuut'ina (Sarcee)

Plateau

Ktunaxa (Kootenay)
Okanagan
Sinixt
St'at'imc (Lillooet)
- Lil'wat
- Lower Stl'atl'imx (Skatin, Semahquam, Xa'xtsa)
- Nequatque
Nicola
Nicola Athapaskans (extinct)
Nlaka'pamux (Thompson)
Secwepemc (Shuswap)

Western subarctic

These peoples live in the boreal forest in what are now Canada's western provinces and territories. They were originally hunter-gatherers dependent on caribou, moose and the fur trade. Most spoke Athapaskan languages except the Crees and Inland Tlingit. Major ethnicities in the Yukon, Northwest Territories and the northern parts of the western provinces (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba) include the following:

Cree
Dakelh (Carrier)
- Wet'suwet'en
- Lheidli T'enneh
Dene
- Chipewyan
- Sahtu (includes Bearlake, Hare and Mountain peoples)
- Slavey
- Tlicho
- Yellowknives
Dane-zaa (also Dunne-za, Beaver, Tasttine)
Gwich'in (Kutchin, Loucheaux)
Hän
Kaska
Sekani
Tagish
Tahltan
Inland Tlingit
- Áa Tlein Kwáan (Atlin people)
- Deisleen Kwáan (Teslin people)
Tsilhqot'in (Chilcotin)
Southern and Northern Tutchone

Woodlands and eastern subarctic

Major ethnicities include the:

Abenaki
Anishinaabe
- Algonquin
- Nipissing
- Ojibwa
  - Mississaugas
  - Saulteaux
- Oji-cree
- Ottawa (Odawa)
- Potawatomi
Cree
Innu
Naskapi

Atlantic coastal region

Beothuk (Newfoundland extinct)
Innu (Labrador)
Maliseet
Mi'kmaq (Micmac)
Passamaquoddy
Hydin

St. Lawrence River Valley

The largest First Nations group near the St. Lawrence waterway are the Iroquois. This area also includes the Wyandot (formerly referred to as the Huron) peoples of central Ontario, and the League of Five Nations who had lived in the United States, south of Lake Ontario. Major ethnicities include the:

Anishinaabe
- Algonquin
- Nipissing
Iroquois (Haudenosaunee)
- Cayuga (Guyohkohnyo)
- Mohawk (Kanien'kéhaka)
- Oneida (Onayotekaono)
- Onondaga (Onundagaono)
- Seneca (Onondowahgah)
- Tuscarora (Ska-Ruh-Reh)
Munsee branch of the Lenape (Delawares)
Neutral
Petun (Tobacco)
Wyandot (Huron)