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Chief is a word used to denote status or leadership upon an individual in a group, clan or family. The origin of the word is European; colonists used it to refer to the leaders of Indigenous nations during the era of contact. While different Indigenous nations have their own terms for chief, the English version of the word is still used widely to describe leaders tasked with promoting cultural and political autonomy. The term is also used by institutions and organizations that are not exclusively Indigenous to refer to heads of staff (e.g., chief of police, commander-in-chief, chief executive officer). This article explores the historical and contemporary uses of the term in the Indigenous context.

The Algonquin are Indigenous peoples that have traditionally occupied parts of western Quebec and Ontario, centring on the Ottawa River and its tributaries. Algonquin should not be confused with Algonquian, which refers to a larger linguistic and cultural group, including First Nations such as Innu and Cree. In the 2016 census, 40,880 people identified as having Algonquin ancestry.

Dane-zaa (also known as Dunne-za) are Dene-speaking people from the Peace River area of British Columbia and Alberta. Early explorers called them the Beaver people (named after a local group, the tsa-dunne), however the people call themselves Dane-zaa (meaning “real people” in their language). In the 2016 census, 1,705 people identified as having Dane-zaa ancestry, while 220 reported the Dane-zaa language as their mother tongue.

Dakelh, also known as Carrier, are Dene people traditionally occupying areas in north-central British Columbia. The Carrier name derives from the former custom of a widow carrying the ashes of her deceased husband in a bag during a period of mourning, at which time a ceremonial distribution of goods released her of the obligation. The name is also an English translation of Aghele, the Sekani name for Dakelh people. They call themselves Dakelh (people who “travel upon water”), and add the suffixes -xwoten, “people of” or -t’en, “people” to village names or locations to refer to specific groups (e.g., Tl’azt’en, Wet’suwet’en). In the 2016 census, 7,810 people claimed to have Dakelh ancestry.

From the late 1660's onwards, several hundred Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) mainly from the Mohawk nation settled in the region of Montréal. Most converted to Catholicism or underwent the process of doing so.

The Nuxalk live in an isolated fishing village on the central West Coast of British Columbia. In 1996 their registered population was 1185, with 706 people living on the reserve.

Sahtu Got'ine are Dene-speaking people who live around Great Bear Lake in the NWT. Their trading post and settlement is Déline (formerly Fort Franklin), at the western end of the lake. The Sahtu Got'ine were not considered a distinct people by self-designation or by outsiders until the 20th century.

Innu, which means “people” in the Innu language, is the predominant term used to describe all Innu. Some groups maintain the use of one of two older terms: Montagnais (French for “mountain people”), usually applied to groups in forested, more southern communities, and Naskapi, which refers to far northern groups who inhabit the barren lands of the subarctic. In the 2016 census, 27,755 people identified as having Innu/Montagnais ancestry, while an additional 1,085 identified as Naskapi.

The term “Subarctic peoples” describes a number of different and unique groups, including the Dene, Cree, Ojibwa, Atikamekw, Innu and Beothuk.

The Assiniboine (also known as Nakoda Oyadebi) are Aboriginal people in Canada whose traditional lands are in the Plains.

Tsimshian (Tsim-she-yan, meaning “Inside the Skeena River”) is a name that is often broadly applied to Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, speaking languages of the Tsimshian language family. In the 2016 census, 2,695 people reported speaking a Tsimshian language, with the largest concentration (98.1 per cent) living in British Columbia. Another 5,910 people claimed Tsimshian ancestry.

The "Pacheedaht" or "Pacheenaht" ("sea-foam-on-rocks people") take their name from the former village site of "p'aachiida" (pronounced "pah-chee-da") at the head of Port San Juan Bay on southwest Vancouver Island.

The Nisga’a are the original occupants of the Nass River Valley of Northwestern British Columbia. As of 2011, 1,909 Nisga’a continue to live on traditional lands in this area. Granted self-government in a landmark case in 2000, the Nisga’a Lisims Government now governs the Nisga’a nation.

Petun ("Tobacco") were an Iroquoian-speaking people, closely related to the Huron-Wendat, who lived in the region of present-day Collingwood, Ontario, in the early to mid-16th century.

The Nicola-Similkameen were an enclave of Athapaskans living in the Nicola and Similkameen river valleys of south-central BC (and, marginally, north-central Washington state), surrounded by Interior Salish.

The Wetaɬ (Tsetsaut) were an Athabaskan people who lived inland from the Tlingit along the western coast of British Columbia and southern Alaskan panhandle. Apart from Nisga’a oral tradition and the linguistic research of archaeologist Franz Boas, little is known about the Wetaɬ, whose population was decimated by war and disease in the 1800s. The last Wetaɬ-speaker died in 1927.

The fluctuating fauna and subarctic climate, with warm summers and very cold winters, required a seminomadic way of life. Families gathered in spring and summer fish camps, at autumn meat camps, and clustered for part of the winter near dried food supplies and at good fish lakes.

The Huron-Wendat are an Iroquoian-speaking nation that have occupied the St. Lawrence Valley and estuary to the Great Lakes region. “Huron” was a nickname given to the Wendat by the French, meaning “boar’s head” from the hairstyle of Huron men, or “lout” and “ruffian” in old French. Their confederacy name was Wendat (Ouendat) perhaps meaning “people of the island.” During the fur trade, the Huron-Wendat were allies of the French and enemies of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois). Following a series of 17th century armed conflicts, the Huron-Wendat were dispersed by the Haudenosaunee in 1650. However, the Huron-Wendat First Nation still remains (located in Wendake, Quebec) and as of July 2018, the nation had 4,056 registered members.

The Kwakwaka'wakw peoples are traditional inhabitants of the coastal areas of northeastern Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia. In the 2016 census, 3,670 people self-identified as having Kwakwaka’wakw ancestry.

The Stoney-Nakoda bands, commonly composed of extended families, lived along Alberta's Rocky Mountain foothills from the headwaters of the Athabasca River south to Chief Mountain in Montana. These forest and foothill people hunted bison and other big game animals.