Question:
What are the three legal categories of Aboriginal people and how does this impact thevarious groups of Aboriginal people?
Answer:
The three legal categories of Aboriginal people in Canada are First Nations, Inuit, and Metis. However, only First Nations people are considered registered Indians. Those who are registered Indians are assigned a registration number and is considered to be a Status Indian under the Indian Act. Status Indians may or may not belong to a band, but if they do their registration number will appear on a band list. The Indian Act only applies to these people and not Inuit or Metis people. Inuit are also registered in Ottawa, but the Act does not apply to them and they do not live on reserves. Inuit people have land in the North that the government recognizes as belonging to them. Marriages between First Nations people and Europeans produce Metis people. The legal recognition for Metis people is so recent that the government has yet to decide what legal rights apply to this particular Aboriginal group.