The First Nations geographic location dataset contains the geographic location of First Nations (groups and subgroups) in Canada as points as well as basic attributes data. The location identifies where the First Nations live. Each First Nation point represents its administrative office address as it is registered in Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) Band Governance Management System (BGMS). When the First Nation administrative office is located outside its associated most populated reserve boundary, adjustments are made to relocate the point within its boundaries, otherwise within the boundaries of another associated reserve or the city where the administrative office is located. When the administrative office or the First Nation is impossible to locate, the location is based on the best available information on the First Nation (e.g. official First Nation Web site). A connection with the BGMS is in place to ensure that any update to the system is reflected in the attributes data associated with the location of each First Nation. This dataset is Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) and Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) official source for First Nation geographic location on maps.

Indian reserve map (managed forest code 32) used in the Story Map of Forest Management in Canada, 2017.Indian Reserve lands were identified using the Geobase Aboriginal Lands of Canada geodatabase. The Indian Act defines these as federal Crown lands that have been “set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band”.Source: This web map shows the Indian Reserve lands used in the map of forest management in Canada, 2017 and includes the following tiled layer:Indian Reserve (Managed Forest Code 32)Data provided by Alberta Agriculture and Forestry; British Columbia Ministry of Forests; Manitoba Sustainable Development; Natural Resources Canada; New Brunswick Department of Energy and Resource Development; Newfoundland & Labrador Department of Fisheries and Land Resources; Northwest Territories Department of Environment and Natural Resources; Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry; Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry; Prince Edward Island Department of Communities, Land & Environment; Québec Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs; Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment; and Yukon Energy, Mines and Resources.

The Aboriginal Lands of Canada Legislative Boundaries web service includes legislative boundaries of Indian Reserves, Land Claim Settlement Lands (lands created under Comprehensive Land Claims Process that do not or will not have Indian Reserve status under the Indian Act) and Indian Lands. More specifically it includes the following lands: 1) Indian Reserves that include: 1.1) surrendered lands or a reserve, as defined in the Indian Act (this definition excludes Indian Settlements and Indian Communities); and 1.2) Sechelt lands, as defined in the Sechelt Indian Band Self-Government Act, chapter 27 of the Statutes of Canada, 1986; 2) Land Claim Settlement Lands that include: 2.1) Category IA land or Category IA-N land, as defined in the Cree-Naskapi (of Quebec) Act, chapter 18 of the Statutes of Canada, 1984 (category 1B and category II Lands are excluded from this definition); 2.2) Settlement land, as defined in the Yukon First Nations Self-Government Act, and lands in which an interest is transferred or recognized under section 21 of that Act (only Yukon First Nations Settlement Lands, which were surveyed and the survey plan recorded, are included in the map service); 2.3) Inuit Owned Lands as defined in the Agreement between the Inuit of the Nunavut Settlement Area and Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada given effect and declared valid by the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act (it includes all parcels that have been surveyed and those that do not require a survey (this includes the islands)); 2.4) Gwich’in Lands as defined in the Gwich’in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement, given effect and declared valid by the Gwich’in Land Claim Settlement Act; 2.5) Inuvialuit Lands as defined in the Western Arctic (Inuvialuit) Claims Settlement Act; 2.6) Sahtu Lands as defined in The Sahtu Dene and Métis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement given effect and declared valid by the Sahtu Dene and Métis Land Claim Settlement Act; and 2.7) Tlicho lands, as defined in the Tlicho Agreement, given effect and declared valid by the Tlicho Land Claims and Self-Government Act; 3) Indian Lands that include: 3.1) Lands in the Kanesatake Mohawk interim land base, as defined in the Kanesatake Mohawk Interim Land Base Governance Act, other than the lands known as Doncaster Reserve No. 17. The data available for download is the former Geobase-Aboriginal Lands product. There are some attribute differences between the data available for download and the web service; however both contain the same underlying data. Please refer to the Supporting Documents for additional information on the Geobase - Aboriginal Lands dataset. Work is under way to align these two data products.

Indian reserve map (managed forest code 32) used in the Story Map of Forest Management in Canada, 2017. Indian reserve map (managed forest code 32) used in the Story Map of Forest Management in Canada, 2017. Indian Reserve lands were identified using the Geobase Aboriginal Lands of Canada geodatabase. The Indian Act defines these as federal Crown lands that have been “set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band”. Source: This web map shows the Indian Reserve lands used in the map of forest management in Canada, 2017 and includes the following tiled layer:Indian Reserve (Managed Forest Code 32)Data provided by Alberta Agriculture and Forestry; British Columbia Ministry of Forests; Manitoba Sustainable Development; Natural Resources Canada; New Brunswick Department of Energy and Resource Development; Newfoundland & Labrador Department of Fisheries and Land Resources; Northwest Territories Department of Environment and Natural Resources; Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry; Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry; Prince Edward Island Department of Communities, Land & Environment; Québec Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs; Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment; and Yukon Energy, Mines and Resources.

Identifies First Nation Reserve boundaries defined by the Legal Surveys Division of Natural Resources Canada.Additional DocumentationFirst Nation Reserve - Data Description (PDF)First Nation Reserve - Documentation (Word)Aboriginal Lands of Canada Legislative Boundaries - Canada Open Government PortalStatusOn going: Data is continually being updatedMaintenance and Update FrequencyIrregular: Data is updated in intervals that are uneven in durationContactOffice of the Surveyor General,landtenuremapping@ontario.ca

Indian reserve map (managed forest code 32) with lands identified using Aboriginal Lands of Canada Legislative boundaries. The Indian reserve map is used in the Story Map of Forest Management in Canada, 2020 (Aménagement des forêts au Canada, 2020) and includes the following tiled layer:Tile Layer of Indian Reserve Managed Forest Code 32: 2020

Contained within the 4th Edition (1974) of the Atlas of Canada is a map that shows the locations of occupied Indian Reserves, settlements and other communities. For each of the locations plotted, the major linguistic groups for the communities are denoted as a percentage of the total number of registered Indians in Canada as of 1969 along with the names of the Bands participating in these linguistic groups. A small supplementary map image shows the extent of major linguistic groups throughout Canada.

Contained within the 1st Edition (1906) of the Atlas of Canada is a map that shows the distribution of 11 aboriginal groups of Canada, Alaska and Greenland. The areas shown in different colours represent occupied land by the native linguistic families, including uninhabited large areas in the Arctic islands and Greenland. The southern portion of Canada, the Indians are living on reserves. The other points indicated are small reminants of the once powerful Huron-Iroquois at Jeune Lorette, two small bands of Iroquois near Edmonton and on the head waters of the Athabaska river. There are a greater number of linguistic families on the Pacific coast of British Columbia than in all the rest of Canada.

This map is a part of a larger Indigenous Issues Story Map resource called Turtle Island.It uses the Aboriginal Land Types layer (named Indigenous Land, below).Please note that this layer uses the term "Aboriginal" as its source is a Canadian Government web page that uses older terminology. This document Indigenous Terminology provides additional information on appropriate terminology as of 2018.

Contained within the Atlas of Canada's Reference Map Series, 1961 to 2010, is a map showing the extent of Indian and Inuit Communities in the Atlantic provinces. Indian Reserves are shown as being either inhabited or uninhabited (based on 1980 data), and are further classed by size: those under 809 hectares (2000 acres) are shown by a symbol, whereas larger ones have their boundaries shown (with data as of 1983). Occasionally, one symbol represents many nearby reserve; however, all reserves are named. The base map reflects 1973 data.

Contained within the Atlas of Canada's Reference Map Series, 1961 to 2010, is a map showing the extent of Indian and Inuit Communities in British Columbia. Indian Reserves are shown as being either inhabited or uninhabited (based on 1980 data), and are further classed by size: those under 809 hectares (2000 acres) are shown by a symbol, whereas larger ones have their boundaries shown (with data as of 1983). Occasionally, one symbol represents many nearby reserve; however, all reserves are named. The base map reflects 1973 data.

Contained within the Atlas of Canada's Reference Map Series, 1961 to 2010, is a map showing the extent of Indian and Inuit Communities in the Northwest Territories and Yukon Territory. Indian Reserves are shown as being either inhabited or uninhabited (based on 1980 data), and are further classed by size: those under 809 hectares (2000 acres) are shown by a symbol, whereas larger ones have their boundaries shown (with data as of 1983). Occasionally, one symbol represents many nearby reserve; however, all reserves are named. The base map reflects 1973 data.

Contained within the 5th Edition (1978 to 1995) of the National Atlas of Canada is a map that shows the boundaries and names of all urban centres and Indian Reserves in the 1981 Census. A number of inset maps are used for areas with a dense coverage of statistical units.

Contained within the 5th Edition (1978 to 1995) of the National Atlas of Canada is plate with a series of maps. The first map that shows distribution of Indian and Inuit communities; most give status (for example, Indian Reserve), area, name, and linguistic family (eleven major families representing 51 languages). Inset for southwestern British Columbia. Summary charts of Indians by status, and of Indians and Inuit by linguistic family; 1976 data. Two smaller maps: one of native culture areas of Canada, the other showing native language families from the 16th to 18th centuries.

Tile layer of Indian reserve, managed forest code 32 used in the Story Map of Forest Management in Canada, 2017. Tile layer of Indian reserve, managed forest code 32 used in the Story Map of Forest Management in Canada, 2017. Indian Reserve lands were identified using the Geobase Aboriginal Lands of Canada geodatabase. The Indian Act defines these as federal Crown lands that have been “set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band”. Data provided by Alberta Agriculture and Forestry; British Columbia Ministry of Forests; Manitoba Sustainable Development; Natural Resources Canada; New Brunswick Department of Energy and Resource Development; Newfoundland & Labrador Department of Fisheries and Land Resources; Northwest Territories Department of Environment and Natural Resources; Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry; Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry; Prince Edward Island Department of Communities, Land & Environment; Québec Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs; Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment; and Yukon Energy, Mines and Resources.

Contained within the Atlas of Canada's Reference Map Series, 1961 to 2010, is a map showing the extent of Indian and Inuit Communities in British Columbia. Indian Reserves are shown as being either inhabited or uninhabited (based on 1980 data), and are further classed by size: those under 809 hectares (2000 acres) are shown by a symbol, whereas larger ones have their boundaries shown (with data as of 1983). Occasionally, one symbol represents many nearby reserve; however, all reserves are named. The base map reflects 1973 data.

IMPORTANT NOTICE This item has moved to a new organization and entered Mature Support on February 3rd, 2025. This item is scheduled to be Retired and removed from ArcGIS Online on July 30th, 2025. We encourage you to switch to using the item on the new organization as soon as possible to avoid any disruptions within your workflows. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below or email our Living Atlas Curator (livingatlascurator@esri.ca)The new version of this item can be found here The Aboriginal Lands of Canada Legislative Boundaries web service includes legislative boundaries of Indian Reserves, Land Claim Settlement Lands (lands created under Comprehensive Land Claims Process that do not or will not have Indian Reserve status under the Indian Act) and Indian Lands. More specifically it includes the following lands: 1) Indian Reserves that include: 1.1) surrendered lands or a reserve, as defined in the Indian Act (this definition excludes Indian Settlements and Indian Communities); and 1.2) Sechelt lands, as defined in the Sechelt Indian Band Self-Government Act, chapter 27 of the Statutes of Canada, 1986; 2) Land Claim Settlement Lands that include: 2.1) Category IA land or Category IA-N land, as defined in the Cree-Naskapi (of Quebec) Act, chapter 18 of the Statutes of Canada, 1984 (category 1B and category II Lands are excluded from this definition); 2.2) Settlement land, as defined in the Yukon First Nations Self-Government Act, and lands in which an interest is transferred or recognized under section 21 of that Act (only Yukon First Nations Settlement Lands, which were surveyed and the survey plan recorded, are included in the map service); 2.3) Inuit Owned Lands as defined in the Agreement between the Inuit of the Nunavut Settlement Area and Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada given effect and declared valid by the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act (it includes all parcels that have been surveyed and those that do not require a survey (this includes the islands)); 2.4) Gwich’in Lands as defined in the Gwich’in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement, given effect and declared valid by the Gwich’in Land Claim Settlement Act; 2.5) Inuvialuit Lands as defined in the Western Arctic (Inuvialuit) Claims Settlement Act; 2.6) Sahtu Lands as defined in The Sahtu Dene and Métis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement given effect and declared valid by the Sahtu Dene and Métis Land Claim Settlement Act; and 2.7) Tlicho lands, as defined in the Tlicho Agreement, given effect and declared valid by the Tlicho Land Claims and Self-Government Act; 3) Indian Lands that include: 3.1) Lands in the Kanesatake Mohawk interim land base, as defined in the Kanesatake Mohawk Interim Land Base Governance Act, other than the lands known as Doncaster Reserve No. 17. The data available for download is the former Geobase-Aboriginal Lands product. There are some attribute differences between the data available for download and the web service; however both contain the same underlying data. Please refer to the Supporting Documents for additional information on the Geobase - Aboriginal Lands dataset. Work is under way to align these two data products. For more information and other data access formats, visit the Government of Canada website.

The map browser is a web based mapping tool that permits users to investigate cadastral data from the Surveyor General Branch. All cadastral data are updated nightly while the background map is static. Cadastral data are available for indian reserves, national parks, northern communities and subdivisions, quad sheets for the north and Cree-Naskapi areas for Quebec.

In 2001, 976305 people in Canada identified themselves as Aboriginal (North American Indian, Métis, Inuit or people who otherwise indicated they are Registered or Treaty Indians and/or are members of a Band or First Nation). They accounted for 3.3% of the nation’s total population, compared with 2.8% in 1996. Nearly half of the Aboriginal population (49%) lived in urban areas in 2001, while 31% lived on Indian Reserves or in Indian Settlements, and 20% lived in rural, non-reserve areas. Most of the Indian Reserves are located in the areas of Canada covered by the numbered and other treaties from pre-Confederation to 1923. A separate inset map shows the areas covered by Historical Indian Treaties.

Tile layer of Indian reserve, managed forest code 32 used in the Story Map of Forest Management in Canada, 2017.Indian Reserve lands were identified using the Geobase Aboriginal Lands of Canada geodatabase. The Indian Act defines these as federal Crown lands that have been “set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band”.Data provided by Alberta Agriculture and Forestry; British Columbia Ministry of Forests; Manitoba Sustainable Development; Natural Resources Canada; New Brunswick Department of Energy and Resource Development; Newfoundland & Labrador Department of Fisheries and Land Resources; Northwest Territories Department of Environment and Natural Resources; Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry; Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry; Prince Edward Island Department of Communities, Land & Environment; Québec Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs; Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment; and Yukon Energy, Mines and Resources.