gēn jù kǎo gǔ yán jiū jí yí chuán xué fēn xī，
zhì shǎo zài 24,500
nián qián yù kōng běi bù jí yòu rén lèi huó dòng，
ér nán '
ān dà lüè de rén lèi huó dòng kě yǐ zhuī sù dào gōng yuán qián 7,500
nián。
jiù kè luó píng dì hé lán yú dòng xué yí jì shì jiā ná dà jìng nèi zuì gǔ lǎo de rén lèi jū zhù dì。
yuán zhù mín shè huì de tè diǎn bāo kuò yòu yǒng jiǔ jū zhù diǎn、
nóng yè gēngzhòng、
fù zá de shè huì děng jí hé mào yì wǎng luò。
yī bù fēn yuán zhù mín wén míng zài '
ōu zhōu zhí mín zhě dǐ dá jiā ná dà qián yǐ wǎ jiě，
rú jīn zhǐ néng tōng guò kǎo gǔ fā jué yán jiū nà xiē wén míng。
zài dì yī pī '
ōu zhōu zhí mín zhě dìng jū jiā ná dà shí，
yuán zhù mín de rén kǒu zǒng shù gū jì wéi 20
wàn zhì 200
wàn。
jiā ná dà huáng jiā yuán zhù mín jiàn kāng wěi yuán huì de shù jù xiǎn shì，
xiàn shí yuē yòu 50
wàn míng yuán jū mín jū zhù zài jiā ná dà。
yóu yú quē fá xiāng yìng miǎn yì xì tǒng，
yuán zhù mín bèi zhí mín zhě dài lái de liú gǎn、
má zhěn、
tiān huā děng chuán rǎn bìng gǎn rǎn，
rén kǒu ruì jiǎn 40%
zhì 80%
bù děng。
xiàn jīn jū zhù zài jiā ná dà de yuán zhù mín wéi dì yī mín zú、
yīn niǔ tè rén hé méi dì rén，
qí zhōng méi dì rén shì yuán zhù mín yǔ fǎ yì jiā ná dà rén de hùn xuè hòu dài。
ér yǔ qí tā yuán zhù mín xiāng bǐ，
yīn niǔ tè rén yǔ '
ōu zhōu zhí mín zhě de jiāo liú jiào shǎo。
Indigenous peoples in present-day Canada include the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis, the last being a mixed-blood people who originated in the mid-17th century when First Nations and Inuit people married European settlers. The term "Aboriginal" as a collective noun is a specific term of art used in some legal documents, including the Constitution Act 1982.
The first inhabitants of North America are generally hypothesized to have migrated from Siberia by way of the Bering land bridge and arrived at least 14,000 years ago. The Paleo-Indian archeological sites at Old Crow Flats and Bluefish Caves are two of the oldest sites of human habitation in Canada. The characteristics of Indigenous societies included permanent settlements, agriculture, complex societal hierarchies, and trading networks. Some of these cultures had collapsed by the time European explorers arrived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries and have only been discovered through archeological investigations.
The Indigenous population at the time of the first European settlements is estimated to have been between 200,000 and two million, with a figure of 500,000 accepted by Canada's Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. As a consequence of European colonization, the Indigenous population declined by forty to eighty percent, and several First Nations, such as the Beothuk, disappeared. The decline is attributed to several causes, including the transfer of European diseases, such as influenza, measles, and smallpox to which they had no natural immunity, conflicts over the fur trade, conflicts with the colonial authorities and settlers, and the loss of Indigenous lands to settlers and the subsequent collapse of several nations' self-sufficiency.
Although not without conflict, European Canadians' early interactions with First Nations and Inuit populations were relatively peaceful. First Nations and Métis peoples played a critical part in the development of European colonies in Canada, particularly for their role in assisting European coureur des bois and voyageurs in the exploration of the continent during the North American fur trade. The Crown and Indigenous peoples began interactions during the European colonization period, though the Inuit, in general, had more limited interaction with European settlers. However, from the late 18th century, European Canadians encouraged Indigenous peoples to assimilate into their own culture. These attempts reached a climax in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with forced integration and relocations. A period of redress is underway, which started with the appointment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada by the Government of Canada in 2008.