Indigenous Canadian personalities

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Over the course of centuries, many Indigenous Canadians have played a critical role in shaping the history of Canada. From art and music, to law and government, to sports and war; Indigenous customs and culture have had a strong influences on defining Canadian culture.^[1][2][3] The Indspire Awards are the annual awards presented by Indspire, formerly the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation.^[4] The awards were first established in 1993 in conjunction with the United Nations declaring the 1990s "International Decade of the World's Indigenous peoples".^[5] June 21 is Canada's National Aboriginal Day, in recognition of the cultural contributions made by Canada's indigenous population. The day was first celebrated in 1996 following Governor General of Canada Roméo LeBlanc's proclamation.^[6]

1,172,790 million people reported having at least some Indigenous ancestry in 2006, representing 3.8% of the total Canadian population.^[7] From 1981 to 2001, the percentage of Indigenous people who obtained college diplomas increased from 15.0 per cent to 22.0 per cent, while the percentage that obtained university degrees increased from 4.0 per cent to 6.0 per cent.^[7] This compares with increases of 20.0 per cent to 25.0 per cent for non-Indigenous people obtaining college diplomas that is a narrow gap between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous population.^[7] This is partly due to organizations that focus attention on the achievements and welfare of Indigenous Canadians like, Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, Native Women's Association of Canada, Aboriginal Curatorial Collective, National Aboriginal Health Organization, Metis Child and Family Services Society and Aboriginal Peoples Television Network.