First Nations

See also: First Nation

English

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

1980, from first + nation.

Noun

First Nations pl (plural only)

1. (Canada) The indigenous peoples of Canada (typically not including Inuit or Metis); Indians.
   • 2001, Quebec, Francois Remillard, Hunter Publishing, Inc, →ISBN, page 27:

     Generally speaking, the works of First Nations artists were made with materials such as wood, leather or cloth.

   • 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 714:

     The prolonged suffering and ghastly deaths of Jesuit missionaries at the hands of hostile First Nations on the borders of the French colonies in Canada in the early seventeenth century rank high in the history of Christian suffering.

2. (Canada, less common) The indigenous peoples of any country or region.
   • 2006, Scott Simon, "Formosa's First Nations and the Japanese: from colonial rule to postcolonial resistance," Japan Focus, ISSN 1557-4660, [1]:

     As “savages” become soldiers, and soldiers become social activists, the tribe has rapidly developed a First Nations identity as advocates of both stripes mobilize memories of past resistance in different contexts. Whether the state is green or blue, therefore, Taroko memories will continue to shape the relationship between state and tribe.

3. (Australia) The Indigenous (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) peoples of Australia.
   • 2022, Stephen T. Garnett, Golo Maurer, Georgia E. Garrard, “Why Australian common bird names should respond to societal change”, in Emu: Austral Ornithology, volume 122, number 2, page 150:

     Among the 1692 Australian species and subspecies on the BirdLife Australia Working List V3 (excluding vagrant and introduced taxa [...]), 18.7% derive from unrelated entities (e.g. shrike-tit that is neither shrike nor tit). Just 82 reflect First Nations names for birds (1.6%) or places (3.3%)

Adjective

First Nations (not comparable)

1. Alternative form of First Nation

Etymology 2

Noun

First Nations

1. plural of First Nation