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 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.

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.

Please review the "Open Government Licence - Canada" (https://open.canada.ca/en/open-government-licence-canada) as well as our Terms of Use (https://data.edmonton.ca/stories/s/City-of-Edmonton-Open-Data-Terms-of-Use/msh8-if28/) as both apply to this dataset.

Also to note, the terminology used in this dataset is used federally to describe reserves, and are used throughout the "Indian Act" which is the federal legislation governing First Nations and reserves (https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/I-5/).

The below is from Government of Canada's Aboriginal Lands of Canada Legislative Boundaries:

"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 identifies First Nation treaties and other agreements, such as land purchases by the Crown. This file was used to create a reference map illustrating the 46 treaties and other agreements signed between 1781 and 1930.

The Inuit Regions, also known as the Inuit Nunangat, dataset contains the geographical boundaries of the 4 Inuit Regions in Canada: Inuvialuit, Nunavut, Nunavik and Nunatsiavut. The boundaries, land only, have been drawn as per information defined in each land claim agreement. The marine boundaries of the 4 Inuit Regions will soon be available. The Inuit Regions (Inuit Nunangat) geographical boundaries are approximate and should be used for illustration purposes only. This dataset is Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) and Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) official source for Inuit regions on maps.

The Treaty Boundary dataset is comprised of all the polygons that represent the historical treaty lands of Canada negotiated by First Nations over the years through treaty-making between 1867 - 1999. The approximate boundaries illustrate the traditional territories described in First Nations Statements of Intent to negotiate treaties which have been submitted to, and accepted.

The Indigenous agreements dataset contains geographic boundaries as well as basic attribute data representing arrangements between the Government of Canada, provinces and territories, and Indigenous organizations and communities. These arrangements address Indigenous and northern affairs, such as education, economic development, child and family services, health, and housing, that have not been addressed by treaties or through other means. However, this dataset only contains the Indigenous agreements that have a geographic boundary. The Indigenous agreements dataset includes: 1) Self-government agreements which represents the Indigenous groups that govern their internal affairs and assume greater responsibility and control over the decision making that affects their communities. Self-government agreements address the structure and accountability of Indigenous governments, their law-making powers, financial arrangements and their responsibilities for providing programs and services to their members. Self-government enables Indigenous governments to work in partnership with other governments and the private sector to promote economic development and improve social conditions. These boundaries usually represent the surveyed boundaries of the Indigenous group’s Indian reserve. 2) Consultation agreements (Consultation protocol) which represents an agreement signed between the Indigenous group and one or more parties that establish a consultation process. It sets out an orderly process through which the federal and/or provincial governments can consult with an Indigenous group regarding a contemplated project or activity that may have adverse impacts on established or asserted Aboriginal or Treaty rights. These agreements include Federal Bilateral agreement, Federal Tripartite agreement and other agreements. These boundaries are usually not surveyed but help to delineate the geographic extent of the agreement. 3) Other Agreements is the catch-all category for any remaining geographies of signed agreements between the Indigenous group and other parties, that do not fit within the aforementioned categories. These boundaries are usually not surveyed but help to delineate the geographic extent of the agreement. The Indigenous agreements dataset is one of multiple datasets representing treaties and agreements between the Crown and Indigenous peoples. The Crown-Indigenous treaties and agreements geospatial datasets represent the geographic boundaries of the solemn agreements between the Crown and Indigenous peoples that set out promises, obligations and benefits for parties. The following datasets are also available: 1) The Historic treaties (formerly known as Pre-1975 treaties) dataset, which represents most signed treaties that were negotiated between Indigenous peoples and the Crown between 1725 and 1929. 2) The Modern treaties (formerly known as the Post-1975 treaties) dataset, which represents the areas of Canada where Indigenous land rights and title have not been addressed by preceding treaties or through other legal means. The Indigenous agreements dataset is Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) and Indigenous Services Canada (ISC)’s primary source for Indigenous agreements geographic boundaries on maps. This dataset can also be viewed in the Aboriginal and Treaty Rights Information System (ATRIS). This web-based system provides access to information to inform governments, industry and other interested parties in determining their consultation obligations and in carrying out their consultation research. For more information, visit https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100014686/1609421785838.

Traditional territories of Yukon first nations and settlement areas of Inuvialuit and Tetlit Gwich'in within the Yukon Territory. A Traditional Territory is an area of the Yukon that the people of a First Nation have traditionally used. A First Nation's Settlement Lands fall inside the boundaries of its Traditional Territory. A First Nation does not own its Traditional Territory, but the First Nation and its beneficiaries have a number of rights within their Traditional Territory, both on and off of Settlement Land. This data was built using the 1:250,000 National Topographic Data Base (NTDB) data as the base and the 1:500,000 hardcopy traditional territory maps as signed by individual First Nation chiefs on November 8, 1988 for the line work. Distributed from GeoYukon by the Government of Yukon . Discover more digital map data and interactive maps from Yukon's digital map data collection. For more information: geomatics.help@yukon.ca

The Historic treaties (formerly known as the Pre-1975 treaties) dataset contains geographic boundaries as well as basic attribute data representing signed treaties that were negotiated between Indigenous peoples and the Crown between 1725 and 1929. However, the Treaties of Peace and Neutrality, signed between 1701 and 1760, are not represented in this dataset because they do not have geographic boundaries that can be represented on a map. Apart from the Peace and Friendship Treaties, these boundaries represent the historic treaties signed after 1763, which provided large areas of First Nations land, to the Crown (transferring their Aboriginal title to the Crown) in exchange for reserve lands and other benefits. The Government of Canada recognizes 70 historic treaties in Canada signed between 1701 and 1923. These treaties include: • Treaties of Peace and Neutrality (1701-1760) • Peace and Friendship Treaties (1725-1779) • Upper Canada Land Surrenders and the Williams Treaties (1764-1862/1923) • Robinson Treaties and Douglas Treaties (1850-1854) • The Numbered Treaties (1871-1921) These boundaries are usually not surveyed but help to delineate the broad area described within the treaty. The boundaries are composed of the sum of specific geographies such as lakes, rivers, townships, mountains, administrative boundaries or height of land as mentioned in the treaties transcript. These boundaries are estimated based on written descriptions and should be used for informational and representational purposes only. If there is no geographic description included in the treaty, illustrative polygons may be used to represent locations where the signatory nations, as modern-day collectives, assert and/or exercise Section 35 rights. For more information about Historic treaties, visit https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100028574/1529354437231#chp3. The Historic treaties dataset is one of multiple datasets representing treaties and agreements between the Crown and Indigenous peoples. The Crown-Indigenous treaties and agreements geospatial datasets represent the geographic boundaries of the solemn agreements between the Crown and Indigenous peoples that set out promises, obligations and benefits for parties. The following datasets are also available: 1) The Modern treaties (formerly known as the Post-1975 treaties) dataset, which represents the areas of Canada where Indigenous land rights and title have not been addressed by preceding treaties or through other legal means. 2) The Indigenous agreements dataset, which represents established protocols in place for consultation processes, self-government agreements, and other signed agreements between Indigenous groups and the Crown which do not fall into the aforementioned categories. The Historic treaties dataset is Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) and Indigenous Services Canada (ISC)’s primary source for Historic treaties geographic boundaries on maps. This dataset can also be viewed in the Aboriginal and Treaty Rights Information System (ATRIS). This web-based system provides access to information to inform governments, industry and other interested parties in determining their consultation obligations and in carrying out their consultation research. For more information, visit https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100014686/1609421785838.

The National Parks and National Park Reserves of Canada Legislative Boundaries web service includes the following lands: 1) National Parks of Canada as defined in Schedule 1 of the Canada National Parks Act, 2) National Park Reserves of Canada as defined in Schedule 2 of the Canada National Parks Act, 3) Rouge National Urban Park as defined in the Rouge National Urban Park Act and 4) Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park as defined in the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park Act. The Data available for download is the former National Framework Canada Lands Administrative Boundaries Level 1 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 National Framework Canada Lands Administrative Boundaries Level 1 dataset. Work is under way to align these two data products. As well, the Comprehensive Claims Settlement Areas have been removed from this dataset, but can be obtained from the Post-1975 Treaties (Modern Treaties) dataset produced by Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada.

The Modern treaties (formerly known as the Post-1975 treaties) dataset contains geographic boundaries as well as basic attribute data representing signed agreements that were negotiated between Indigenous groups, the Government of Canada, and provincial and territorial governments after 1975. These boundaries represent the areas of Canada where Indigenous land rights and title have not been addressed by treaty or through other legal means. These boundaries represent the final result of a negotiated First Nation’s claimed area. These boundaries are usually not surveyed but help to delineate the geographic extent of the rights of Indigenous beneficiaries defined within the agreement. The Modern treaties dataset includes: 1) Overall Treaty Area (OTA) which is the broad area to which the agreement applies, often composed of the sum of the specific geographies defined within the treaty. 2) Treaty Settlement Lands that is wholly Indigenous-owned and forms part of the “land and cash” settlements that are integral to the treaty. This category belongs to the Department of Natural Resources Canada and can be found on the Open data website as ‘‘Aboriginal Lands’’ classified as ‘‘Land Claim’’. 3) Treaty-Specified Rights Areas which category pertains to areas (lands or waters) where specific rights, activities or responsibilities apply pursuant to the treaty. 4) Other Treaty-related Geography is the catch-all category for any remaining geographies that do not fit within the aforementioned categories but do form part of the OTA, such as lands or marine areas designated for conservation or for specific projects. For more information about Modern treaties, visit https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100028574/1529354437231#chp4. The Modern treaties dataset is one of multiple datasets representing treaties and agreements between the Crown and Indigenous peoples. The Crown-Indigenous treaties and agreements geospatial datasets represent the geographic boundaries of the solemn agreements between the Crown and Indigenous peoples that set out promises, obligations and benefits for parties. The following datasets are also available: 1) The Historic treaties (formerly known as the Pre-1975 treaties) dataset, which represents most signed treaties that were negotiated between Indigenous peoples and the Crown between 1725 and 1929. 2) The Indigenous agreements dataset, which represents established protocols in place for consultation processes, self-government agreements, and other signed agreements between Indigenous groups and the Crown which do not fall into the aforementioned categories. The Modern treaties dataset is Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) and Indigenous Services Canada (ISC)’s primary source for Modern treaties geographic boundaries on maps. This dataset can also be viewed in the Aboriginal and Treaty Rights Information System (ATRIS). This web-based system provides access to information to inform governments, industry and other interested parties in determining their consultation obligations and in carrying out their consultation research. For more information, visit https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100014686/1609421785838.

The layers of administrative divisions offered at the scales of 1/20,000 and 1/100,000 allow the location of boundaries for the following components: * Boroughs and agglomerations; * Municipalities, unorganized territories and indigenous territories; * Administrative regions, metropolitan communities, and MRCs; * The international border, interprovincial borders as well as the Québec—Newfoundland and Labrador border; * Administrative regions, metropolitan communities, and MRCs; * The international border, interprovincial borders as well as the Québec—Newfoundland and Labrador border. For the 1/100,000 scale version, the cut-off data originally compiled at the scale of 1/20,000 is adjusted to the corresponding planimetric components at the scale of 1/100,000.**This third party metadata element was translated using an automated translation tool (Amazon Translate).**

• This dataset is updated on a daily basis. The ‘Record Modified’ date refers to the last metadata update. This dataset contains the extent of mineral claims held in Nunavut. A mineral claim is an area of Crown Land that is selected using the Nunavut Map Selection system by an individual or mineral exploration company that holds a valid licence to prospect. This grants the individual or mineral exploration company the mineral rights to the recorded area as provided for under the Nunavut Mining Regulations, SOR/2014-69. If the holder of a mineral claim wishes to produce minerals from the claim, or to hold it for more than thirty years, the holder must apply for a lease of the claim. This digital coverage provides a record and tracking mechanism for mining exploration in Nunavut. For more information, visit https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100036000/1547749889500. Note: This is one of the four (4) datasets that describe mineral tenure in Nunavut. It includes mineral claims, mining leases, prospecting permits as well as coal exploration licences.