Glossary

Aboriginal people belong to First Nations, Métis, or Inuit groups inhabiting North America since an unrecorded time.

To be bilingual one can speak and understand two languages.

Clergy are people authorized to do religious services Franco-Albertan An Albertan having a French speaking family background; usually Alberta born.

Coureur de bois is another name for the voyageurs; it means travelers of the forest.

The Dominion Lands Act was passed by the federal government in 1872 in order to encourage settlement.  Under the terms of this act, the government provided 160 acres (65 hectares) of free land to each head of a family or 21 year-old male if he paid a $10 registration fee, resided on the land for three years, cultivated 30 acres (12 hectares), and built a permanent dwelling.

A Francophone is a person whose first language is French. A Francophone speaks and understands French

Métis people are those who identify themselves as members of the Métis Nation, now recognized as an heritage culture of Canada. Métis trace their ancestry to parents of mixed European and First Nation cultures.

A Mission is formed of a group of people sent to other lands to spread their faith. Most missions would also give educational, medical, and social assistance to their parish. Missions and missionaries are usually Christian.

The Northwest Rebellion of 1885 had military action between a militia of Northwest Métis settlers with Cree support against the Dominion of Canada. It arose because of very poor living conditions among the Aboriginal groups, and was quickly and violently put down by the Royal North West Mounted Police.

The Northwest Territories had been known as Rupert's Land. Rupert's Land had been acquired by the Canadian Government in 1869.The Northwest Territories Act of 1875 determined that the area would be governed by an appointed council until such time as the population warranted the necessity of elected officials. The capital of the region was initially Battleford, until 1882. Then it was moved to Regina. The province of Manitoba was incorporated in 1870 while British Columbia joined confederation in 1871. In 1905 the Laurier government created two more western provinces out of the Northwest Territories, Alberta and Saskatchewan

An ordinance is a rule something like a law. Unlike a law an ordinance has to be approved by a higher government level. For example, the North West Council could approve an ordinance which had to approved by the Dominion government.

Something Provisional is something temporary, used to "make do" until a better and more permanent answer is found. A provisional government was created by Riel during the Red River uprising.

The Red River uprising was a political and military uprising in the Red River Settlement in 1869. It was caused by uncertainty about land and language rights as the settlement authority passed from the Hudson's Bay Company to the Dominion of Canada.

Residential schools were established in some mission communities to house and educate Aboriginal children in order to assimilate them into the settling culture. The schools were usually supported by the Dominion government. Because residential schools were so destructive of aboriginal culture, healing and compensation for the damage is a law case to be settled (2006).

Scrip were certificates which could be exchanged for land. The government scrip commissions gave them to Métis people. Scrip could be exchanged for land in the homesteading areas.


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