Over the course of centuries, many notable Aboriginal people of Canada have played a critical role in shaping the history of Canada, while others have made significant contributions in every aspect of Canadian culture. Combined with Canada's late economic development and vast size, the country's history has allowed Canadian Aboriginal peoples to have strong influences on the national culture, while preserving their own identity.
First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples have defied every barrier put-forth to break through with remarkable achievements. From words and language, to art and music, to law and government, to sports and war; Aboriginal customs and culture have had a strong influences on defining the "Canadian way of life".
Countless North American Indigenous words, inventions and games have become an everyday part of Canadian language and use. The canoe, snowshoes, the toboggan, lacrosse, tug of war, maple syrup and tobacco are just a few of the products, inventions and games early indigenous North Americans have added to the Canadian and world cultures. Some of the words include the barbecue, caribou, chipmunk, woodchuck, hammock, skunk, mahogany, hurricane and moose. Many North American and South American areas, towns, cities and rivers have names of Indigenous origin. A prime example of this is the word "Canada" it derived from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word meaning "village" or "settlement". The Saskatchewan province got its name from the Saskatchewan River, which in the Cree language is called "Kisiskatchewani Sipi", meaning "swift-flowing river." Canada's capital city Ottawa comes from the Algonquin language term "adawe" meaning "to trade." Modern youth groups such as the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts include programs based largely on Indigenous lore, arts and crafts, character building and outdoor camp craft and living.
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Pitikwahanapiwiyin (c. 1842 – 4 July 1886), commonly known as Poundmaker, was a Plains Cree chief known as a peacemaker and defender of his people. Poundmaker was born in the Battleford region, the child of Sikakwayan, an Assiniboine medicine man, and a mixed-blood Cree woman, the sister of Chief Mistawasis. Following the death of his parents, Poundmaker, his brother Yellow Mud Blanket, and his younger sister, were all raised by their mother's Cree community, led by Chief Wuttunee, but later known as the Red Pheasant Band. In his adult life, Poundmaker gained prominence during the 1876 negotiations of Treaty 6 and split off to form his own band. In 1881, the band settled on a reserve about 40 km northwest of Fort Battleford. Poundmaker was not opposed of the idea of a treaty, but became critical of the Canadian government's failures to live up to its promises.
In 1873, Crowfoot, chief of the Blackfoot First Nation, had adopted Poundmaker thereby increasing the latter’s influence. This move also cemented the ties between the Blackfoot and the Cree, which successfully stopped the quarreling and arguing over the now very scarce buffalo.
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