Projects/Aboriginal communities outreach/List of Canadian Aboriginal languages


Knowing the exact number of Aboriginal languages across Canada is almost impossible especially since many Natives speak English or French as a mother tongue and most of them have only a limited passive knowledge of their ancestral languages. The task is even more difficult since the majority of languages has many dialects. Ethnologue lists 63 languages for Canada. Below is the most exhaustive list of indigenous languages of Canada.

Language Speakers[1] Location ISO 639[2]
(Wikipedia link
if existing)
Organizations
Bands
Communities
Abenaki 20 Quebec abe Abénakis d'Odanak
Koasek Traditional Abenaki Band
Grand Conseil de la Nation Waban-Aki
Algonquin 2,275 Quebec and Ontario alq Algonquin Tribal Council
Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn
Assiniboine 200 Saskatchewan asb
Atikamekw 3,995 Quebec atj Conseil de la nation Atikamekw
Communauté Atikamekw de Manawan
Nation Atikamekw de Manawan
Opitciwan
Babine 1,600 British Columbia bcr
Beaver 300 Alberta and British Columbia bea
Bella Coola 200 British Columbia blc
Blackfoot 4,745 Alberta bla
Carrier 2,000 British Columbia crx, caf
Cayuga 360 Ontario cay
Chilcotin 705 British Columbia clc
Chinook Wawa 83 British Columbia chn
Chipewyan (Dene) 4,000 Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Northwest Territories chp Chipewyan Prairie First Nation
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation
Comox 400 British Columbia coo
Moose Cree 4,500 Ontario crm Moose Cree First Nation
Northeastern Cree 5,308 Quebec crl (cr) Cree Cultural Institute
Plains Cree 34,000 Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba crk (cr) Western Cree Tribal Council
Southeastern Cree 7,306 Quebec crj (cr)
Swampy Cree 4,500 Ontario csw (cr)
Woods Cree 4,500 Ontario cwd (cr)
Dakota (Sioux) 2,085 Manitoba and Saskatchewan dak
Dogrib 2,085 Northwest Territories dgr
Northern Haida 30 British Columbia hdn (hai) Council of the Haida Nation
Southern Haida 10 British Columbia hax (hai) Council of the Haida Nation
Haisla 25 British Columbia has Haisla First Nation
Halkomelem 200 British Columbia hur
Han 7 Yukon haa
Heiltsuk 300 British Columbia hei Heiltsuk Tribal Council
Heiltsuk Cultural Education Centre
Eastern Inuktitut 14,000 Quebec and Labrador ike (iu) Avataq Cultural Institute
Western Inuktitut 4,000 Nunavut ikt (iu)
Kaska 400 British Columbia kkz Kaska Dena Council
Kaska Language Website (UBC)
Kutenai 120 British Columbia kut Ktunaxa Nation
Kwakiutl 250 British Columbia kwk Kwakiutl Indian Band
Lillooet 400 British Columbia lil
Gitxsan 1,330 British Columbia git
Gwich'in (Loucheux) 430 Northwest Territories gwi Gwich'in Social & Cultural Institute
Malecite-Passamaquoddy 655 Quebec and New Brunswick pqm
Michif 840 Manitoba crg
Micmac 7,310 Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland mic Migmawei Mawiomi Secretariat
Listuguj Mi'gmaq Government
Qalipu Mi'kmaq First Nation Band
Mi'kmaq Confederacy of Prince Edward Island
Jilaptoq Mi'kmaw Language Center
The Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq
Mi'kmaq Resource Centre (Cape Breton U)
Mohawk 350 Ontario and Quebec moh Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke
Mohawk Council of Akwesasne
Mohawks of the Bay of Quint - Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory
Ohwejagehká: Ha`degaenage:
Kanien'kehá:ka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa
Onkwawenna Kentyohkwa
Montagnais (Innu) 8,483 Quebec and Labrador moe Innu Nation
Innu Language Website (Memorial U)
Innu School Board
Institut Tshakapesh
Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation
Namatau Innu
Munsee 7 Ontario umu
Naskapi 1,177 Quebec and Labrador nsk (cr) Naskapi Community
Niska (Nisga'a) 2,000 British Columbia ncg Nisga'a Lisims Government
School District 92 (Nisga'a)
Wilp Wilxo'oskwhl Nisga'a Institute
Nisga'a Nation Knowledge Network
Nootka (nuu-chah-nulth) 590 British Columbia noo Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council
Nuu-chah-nulth Economic Development Corporation
Northern Ojibway (Oji-Cree) 8,000 Manitoba and Ontario ojb (oji)
Ojibway (Saulteux) 35,000 British Columbia and Saskatchewan ojc, ojg, ojs, ojw (oji)
Okanagan (N'syilxcen) 500 British Columbia oka En'owkin Centre
Oneida 200 Ontario one Oneida Nation of the Thames
Oneida Indian Nation
Onondaga 100 Ontario ono Onondaga Nation
Ottawa (Odawa, Nishnaabemwin) 7,100 Ontario otw
Potawatomi 1,250 Ontario pot Citizen Potawatomi Nation
Forest Country Potawatomi
Prairie Band of the Potawatomi
Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi
Salish Straits 30 British Columbia str Lummi Nation
Lummi Indian Business Council
Lummi Nation Schools
Samish Indian Nation
Sarsi (Tsuu T'ina) 50 Alberta srs Tsuu T'ina Nation
Sechelt (Shíshálh) 40 British Columbia sec Shíshálh First Nation
Sekani 500 British Columbia sek Carrier Sekani Tribal Council
Takla Lake First Nation
Seneca 25 Ontario see Seneca Nation of Indians
Shuswap (Secwepemc) 745 British Columbia shs Secwepemc Cultural Education Society
North Slavey 290 Northwest Territories scs (den)
South Slavey 2,620 Northwest Territories xsl (den)
Squamish 20 British Columbia squ Coast Salish First Nation
Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre
Stoney (Nakota) 1,500 Alberta sto Stoney Nakota First Nation
Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation
Tagish 2 British Columbia tgx Carcross/Tagist First Nation
Tahltan 40 Yukon tht Tahltan Central Council
Tahltan Band Council
Tanana 10 Yukon tau
Thompson 595 British Columbia thp
Tlingit 145 British Columbia and Yukon tli Teslin Tlingit Council
Taku River Tlingit First Nation
Tuscarora 8 Ontario tus
Tsimshian 432 British Columbia tsi Kitsumkalum First Nation
Ketchikan Indian Community
Gitga'at
Northern Tutchone 800 Yukon ttm First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun
Southern Tutchone 1,000 Yukon tce Ta'an Kwäch'än Council

Non-community-specific possible partners

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Cree

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Inuit

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Notes and references

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  1. Numbers vary a lot between sources, real numbers are probably lower than the ones indicated.
  2. Languages Codes by Ethnologue