Tobacco, Vaping and Cannabis Information Series

Photo of Trefferey Deerfoot seated on floor of Tipi conducting Tobacco Ceremony 

Indigenous People in Canada and Tobacco

Understanding the Definitions

The term "Aboriginal" refers to the first
inhabitants of Canada and  includes First
Nations, Inuit, and Metis Peoples. First Nations
refers to status (registered wit the Canadian
Government under the Indian Act) and non-
status Indian peoples of Canada. Today in 
Canada, the term First Nations is preferred to
the term Indian. Inuit, refers to specifix groups
of people primarily inhabiting the northern
regions of Canada. Metis refers to a collective
of cultures and ethnic identities that resulted
from unions between Aboriginal and European
people in what is now Canada. The term
Aboriginal does not acknowledge the great 
amount of diversity among the First Nations,
Metis, and Inuit. Many people prefer to identify
with their local Nation (i.e., Mohawk, Seneca,
Oneida, Mississauga, etc.). In November
2015, the Canadian government introduced
the term Indigenous which "is used as an 
umbrella term for First Nations (status and
non-status), Metis and Inuit". Indigenous refers
to all of these groups, either collectively or
separately and is the term used in an
international context, the United Nations 
Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous 
Peoples.

Indigenous Journey and Health Inequities

The long historical intergenerational traumas,
which include colonization, dispossession and
residential school systems have been linked to
disconneciton from family and community
network, extensive loss of language, cultural
genocide, and institutionalized racism. The 
legacy of colonialism in conjunction with the 
disparities in the socioeconomic determinants
of health which include employment, 
education, housing, income, food, stable ecosystem, 
access to healthcare, sustainable 
resources, social justice and health equity has
negatively impacted their physical and 
psychological health outcomes and increased 
their vulnerablity to indulgence in harmful 
health behaviours such as smoking tobacco and 
alcohol abuse.

Tobacco, Vaping and Cannibis Program - November 2022

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