--- title: National Aboriginal Day or National Indigenous Day description: Is it time to change National Aboriginal Day to National Indigenous Day - that is the question. image: https://www.ictinc.ca/hubfs/Blog/Flickr-Dennis_Jarvis-archer10-48152201431_regalia-NIPD-2019_2000w-2.jpg --- 2 min read # National Aboriginal Day or National Indigenous Day [ Bob Joseph ](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/author/bob-joseph) June 13, 2016 [History](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/topic/history) [Indigenous Awareness](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/topic/indigenous-awareness) [National Indigenous Peoples Day](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/topic/national-indigenous-peoples-day) ![National Aboriginal Day or National Indigenous Day](https://www.ictinc.ca/hubfs/Blog/Flickr-Dennis_Jarvis-archer10-48152201431_regalia-NIPD-2019_2000w-2.jpg) The implications of choosing Indigenous are significant. In October 2015, Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau used the term Indigenous in his [victory speech](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/back-to-the-future-designate-pm-trudea-evokes-the-royal-proclamation) when he made reference to his government’s intention for a "renewed nation-to-nation relationship with Indigenous Peoples that respects rights and honours treaties". In November 2015, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada became Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada and in May 2016, Canada officially removed its long-standing objector status and officially adopted the [United Nations Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples](https://www.ictinc.ca/united-nations-declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples-snapshot). Aboriginal has been the commonly accepted collective term and legal distinction since [Section 35](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/section-35-of-the-constitution-act-1982) (2) of the Constitution Act 1982 made it so: > In this Act, "aboriginal peoples of Canada" includes the Indian, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada. While many, but not all, people support the concept of a collective or umbrella term to cover such a culturally diverse segment of the population, it is a necessity for the constitutional distinctions of rights and for general discourse. Non-government organizations are beginning to make the change from Aboriginal to Indigenous. For example, CBCNews | Aboriginal is now [CBCNews | Indigenous,](http://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous) Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada is now the [Canadian Indigenous Nurses Association](http://indigenousnurses.ca/). So, is it time to change to National Indigenous Day? And by extension, rename [National Aboriginal History Month](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/national-aboriginal-history-month-why-its-important) to National Indigenous History Month? Legally, we will always have Aboriginal in the Constitution but politically and socially it looks as though the country is trending towards Indigenous. **UPDATE:** On June 21, 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the government's intention to make the change to National Indigenous Peoples Day. - [National Day for Truth and Reconciliation - The Date Debate](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/national-day-for-truth-and-reconciliation-the-date-debate) In case you are wondering about our stance we use Indigenous - it’s in our company name - Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. and it’s in the title of our training [Working Effectively with Indigenous Peoples®](https://www.ictinc.ca/training/working-effectively-with-indigenous-peoples) and [Indigenous Consultation and Engagement](https://www.ictinc.ca/training/indigenous-consultation-and-engagement). #### Background on National Indigenous Day The same year Aboriginal Peoples of Canada was defined in Section 35(2), the National Indian Brotherhood (now known as the Assembly of First Nations) called for the creation of a National Aboriginal Solidarity Day on June 21, to coincide with the summer solstice, a day of traditional significance to Indigenous Peoples. In 1995, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples recommended a day be designated as National First Peoples Day. The Sacred Assembly, a national conference of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people chaired by the late [Elijah Harper](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/elijah-harper-the-man-with-a-feather-who-changed-the-course-of-history), called for a national holiday to celebrate the contributions of Aboriginal Peoples in Canada. In 1996, Governor General Romeo LeBlanc proclaimed that National Aboriginal Day would be celebrated on June 21 each year. "On June 21st, this year and every year, Canada will honour the native peoples who first brought humanity to this great land," said Leblanc. "And may the first peoples of our past always be full and proud partners in our future." *Featured photo: National Aboriginal Day in the Old Port Montreal, 2019. Photo: [Dennis Jarvis](https://www.flickr.com/photos/archer10/48152201431), Flickr.* [![Learn more about Indigenous Awareness](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/374848/a863b2fa-4bf8-4a6e-a5e6-a637b0ba47d9.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/374848/a863b2fa-4bf8-4a6e-a5e6-a637b0ba47d9) ###### Share: [** ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ictinc.ca%2Fblog%2Fnational-aboriginal-day-or-national-indigenous-day) [** ](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ictinc.ca%2Fblog%2Fnational-aboriginal-day-or-national-indigenous-day&title=National+Aboriginal+Day+or+National+Indigenous+Day&summary==Is+it+time+to+change+National+Aboriginal+Day+to+National+Indigenous+Day+-+that+is+the+question.+) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. [![Dispelling Common Myths About Indigenous Peoples: 9 Myths & Realities](https://www.ictinc.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/eBooks/Dispelling-Common-Myths-About-Indigenous-Peoples_600w.jpg?width=600&height=900&name=Dispelling-Common-Myths-About-Indigenous-Peoples_600w.jpg)](https://www.ictinc.ca/dispelling-common-myths-about-indigenous-peoples) [![Download the free eBook](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/374848/28861da8-2e39-4685-9166-af3a5cdd6f0f.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/374848/28861da8-2e39-4685-9166-af3a5cdd6f0f) [![National Day for Truth and Reconciliation: The Date Debate](https://www.ictinc.ca/hubfs/Blog/calendar-simple-January-unsplash_2000w.jpg) ](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/national-day-for-truth-and-reconciliation-the-date-debate) #### [National Day for Truth and Reconciliation: The Date Debate](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/national-day-for-truth-and-reconciliation-the-date-debate) January 18, 2019 In August 2018, the federal government announced it would declare a federal statutory holiday to mark the legacy of the residential school system.... [Read More](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/national-day-for-truth-and-reconciliation-the-date-debate) [![National Indigenous Peoples Day 21+ Important Indigenous People to Celebrate](https://www.ictinc.ca/hubfs/Blog/LAC_3657282_Tom-Longboat-runner-race.jpg) ](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/national-aboriginal-day-21-important-indigenous-people-to-celebrate) #### [National Indigenous Peoples Day  21+ Important Indigenous People to Celebrate](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/national-aboriginal-day-21-important-indigenous-people-to-celebrate) June 05, 2017 To celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21 we have compiled a list of 21+ important Indigenous people from all walks of life. It is a... [Read More](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/national-aboriginal-day-21-important-indigenous-people-to-celebrate) [![National Indigenous History Month - Why It’s Important](https://www.ictinc.ca/hubfs/Blog/powwow_dancing_shutterstock_446314-feet.jpg) ](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/national-indigenous-history-month) #### [National Indigenous History Month - Why It’s Important](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/national-indigenous-history-month) June 11, 2019 June is National Indigenous History Month - a time for all Canadians - Indigenous, non-Indigenous and newcomers - to reflect upon and learn the... [Read More](https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/national-indigenous-history-month) ![](https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/viewthroughconversion/1003610425/?value=0&guid=ON&script=0) ![](https://px.ads.linkedin.com/collect/?pid=7874204&fmt=gif) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Bob Joseph", "url" : "https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/author/bob-joseph" }, "dateModified" : "2025-02-07T21:21:33.217Z", "datePublished" : "2016-06-13T18:40:50.000Z", "headline" : "National Aboriginal Day or National Indigenous Day", "image" : [ "https://www.ictinc.ca/hubfs/Blog/Flickr-Dennis_Jarvis-archer10-48152201431_regalia-NIPD-2019_2000w-2.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/national-aboriginal-day-or-national-indigenous-day", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.ictinc.ca/hubfs/--Official%20Website%20Images/Logos/ICT_Logo_2022.png" }, "name" : "Indigenous Corporate Training Inc." } } ```