Indian reserve

Indian reserve
CategoryAdministrative division
LocationCanada
Created byConstitution Act, 1867
Created
  • July 1, 1867 (1867-07-01)
Number3,394 (as of 2020)
Government

In Canada, an Indian reserve (French: réserve indienne) or First Nations reserve (French: réserve des premières nations) is defined by the Indian Act as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." Reserves are areas set aside for First Nations, one of the major groupings of Indigenous peoples in Canada, after a contract with the Canadian state ("the Crown"), and are not to be confused with Indigenous peoples' claims to ancestral lands under Aboriginal title.