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I am often confused at the official language to use when describing Canada's aboriginal peoples. You see all of these terms used across the board, even the federal and provincial governments have no consistancy. Is there a proper term? What do people with aboriginal heritage perfer?

I've never used "Indian" I don't like it. I think its dumb how the Federal ministry is named "Indian Affairs".

In my hometown of Hope BC, the term "Native"was used the most.

I guess the confusion comes from our proximity to the USA, and there history of the term "Indians". It doesn't seem like Australia has this problem, Aboriginal seems to be the common term there.

Indigenous personnel better?

The term I've run into the most is First Nations. "Indians and Natives" are more colloquialism than anything else and I suspect the Department of Indian Affairs is a holdover from a less PC time.

I believe the term "aboriginal" is used in the Constitution Act.

Everyone where I live uses Indian.

Along with the Indian Affairs ministry in ottawa and the baseball team with Indians in their name.

I don't like to use the term Indian anymore, I use that term for the other group of people in Canada that are actually from India.

RUEZ - I usually call them Seeks or East Indians.

Legally, it's Inians, by virtue of the Indian Act. In correspondencce though (unless you are referring to teh legal term "Indian") then First Nations or aboriginal seems to be common. These days I note that the term aboriginal is used more than First Nations.

Indian just isn't accurate, so I avoid using it.

oops...yeah.

anyways it all politically correct banter anyways.

Same thing with people of the color black.

It went from:

Negro
Black
African-American

In Canada its usually "Black" because not many use the term "African-Canadian"

I say Indian, because that was the original name.

I am not going to change my words every decade for the word police

Oh, so because it was the original name your going to keep using it? It makes no difference to you that the "Indians" don't like it? Or that the original name was a mistake because the people who first coined the name "Indian" were too stupid to know that they weren't in India, the place they were actually looking for when they found this land mass. If a people want to be called something in particular, have enough respect to use the name they prefer.

QBC - I am a conservative.

I don't change my word every decade for the pc-police or the group that wants a different name now.

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