ABSTRACT
Indigenous peoples, also known as First Nations, are the original inhabitants of the lands. All have oral traditions that describe how their ancestors came to be in their traditional territories, such as the Haudenosaunee narrative of Sky Woman falling through the air, being rescued on the wings of geese, and being placed on the back of a turtle or Turtle Island (North America). Most indigenous groups also have names for themselves, which translate to “human beings” or the “real people.” Among all indigenous peoples there is a sense that we have occupied our traditional territories since time immemorial and that these territories, along with traditional teachings about how to live a good life, were given to us in perpetuity by the Creator.
