First Nation

== English == === Etymology === From first (adjective) +‎ nation, coined in the late 1970s in place of the word Indian which had become regarded by some as derogatory (though it is still used: see the usage note). === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌfɜːs(t) ˈneɪʃn/ (General American, Canada) IPA(key): /ˌfɜɹs(t) ˈneɪʃən/ (General Australian) IPA(key): /ˌfɜːs(t) ˈnæeʃ(ə)n/ Rhymes: -eɪʃən Hyphenation: First Na‧tion === Noun === First Nation (plural First Nations) (often in the plural) (Canada) A community of indigenous peoples of Canada (typically not including the Inuit or Metis), especially one officially recognized by the federal government. [from late 1970s] (by extension, less common) A community or settlement of indigenous peoples of any country or region. (Australia) A community of indigenous (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) peoples of Australia; a group of Indigenous Australians. ==== Usage notes ==== In Canada, First Nation and First Nations are the usual terms in official use, news media, and polite conversation. Indian has come to have a stigma attached to it because of its origin from the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) thinking he had arrived in India when he reached the Americas in October 1492, but it remains in common use officially (for example, in the name of the Indian Act (enacted in 1876) which provides for the exercise of federal jurisdiction over First Nations peoples; and in the name of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, replaced in 2019 by Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada), as well as informally by First Nations people themselves. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Adjective === First Nation (not comparable) Alternative form of First Nations === References === === Further reading === First Nations in Canada on Wikipedia.Wikipedia First Nations (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia Katherine Barber, editor (1998), “First Nation, n.”, in The Canadian Oxford Dictionary, Don Mills, Ont.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 522, column 1.