Indigenous
Original regional inhabitants
Indigenous, when capitalized, refers specifically to the original inhabitants of a region and their descendants, particularly in contexts of colonization: Indigenous peoples of North America, Indigenous rights, Indigenous land.
The capitalization signals respect and recognition of distinct cultural and political identities, distinguishing these communities from later settlers. (Lowercase indigenous means native to a place generally.)
Canada's non-Inuit indigenous peoples
- MaoriNew Zealand's indigenous people
- InuitArctic indigenous people
- AinuEthnic group from Hokkaido
- SamiIndigenous Arctic Scandinavians
Maya · Aztec · Inca · Zulu · Navajo · Guarani · aboriginal · tribal
Supreme independent authority
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
- land rightsLegal claims to territory
- decolonizationEnding imperial control
- recognitionPerceiving something as known
activism · resistance · land back · reparations · cultural preservation · stewardship · custodianship
Inherited cultural legacy
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- ancestorsThose from whom one descends
- genealogyStudy of family descent
- rootsUnderground nutrient absorbers
bloodline · kinship · clan · descent · forebears · elders · oral tradition · land rights
Land under jurisdiction
- ancestral landsFamily territory through generations
- reservationsDoubts or advance bookings
- reservesResources held back
- homelandsCountries of origin
traditional lands · sacred sites · treaty · dispossession · repatriation · country · reservation · reserve
Formal event marking occasions
- ritualCeremonial set of actions
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- mythologyBody of traditional tales
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
spirituality · sacred · totem · shaman · storytelling · dance · song · craft
Language acquired from birth
- vernacularEveryday regional speech
- endangered languageSpeech risking complete extinction
- oral traditionCulture passed by speech
- place namesGeographic designations
revitalization · immersion · documentation · sign language · songlines · naming ceremony
First Nations
Canada's non-Inuit indigenous peoples
Sami · Maya · Aztec · Inca · Zulu · Navajo · Guarani · aboriginal · tribal · precolonial
sovereignty
Supreme independent authority
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
- land rightsLegal claims to territory
- decolonizationEnding imperial control
recognition · activism · resistance · land back · reparations · cultural preservation · stewardship · custodianship
heritage
Inherited cultural legacy
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- ancestorsThose from whom one descends
- genealogyStudy of family descent
roots · bloodline · kinship · clan · descent · forebears · elders · oral tradition · land rights · sacred sites
territory
Land under jurisdiction
- ancestral landsFamily territory through generations
- reservationsDoubts or advance bookings
- reservesResources held back
homelands · traditional lands · sacred sites · treaty · dispossession · repatriation · country · reservation · reserve
ceremony
Formal event marking occasions
- ritualCeremonial set of actions
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- mythologyBody of traditional tales
folklore · spirituality · sacred · totem · shaman · storytelling · dance · song · craft · weaving
mother tongue
Language acquired from birth
- vernacularEveryday regional speech
- endangered languageSpeech risking complete extinction
- oral traditionCulture passed by speech
place names · revitalization · immersion · documentation · sign language · songlines · naming ceremony
- racerace, racial identity, racial classification, ethnicity, biracial
- EthnicitiesAsian, African, European, Arab, Chinese
- Non-WesternAsian, African, Middle Eastern, Far Eastern, Afro-Asian
- DemonymsAmerican, Australian, Canadian, British, Chinese
- Latino identitiesLatino, Latinx, Hispanic, Latin American, Mexican
- Braziliansgaucho, Afro-Brazilian, Mulatto, serrano, Amazonians
Indigenousforeign
From another nation
settler · non-native · colonizer · introduced · invasive
IndigenousWestern
Of Euro-American civilization
colonial · modern · imported · assimilated · mainstream
- indigenous landLand of original peoples
- indigenous healingNative cultures' health practices
- indigenous culturesOriginal inhabitants' ways of life
- indigenous artCreations by original peoples
- indigenous peopleOriginal regional inhabitants
- indigenous groupOriginal inhabitants of a place