Capitalization and formatting of Indigenous terms
Last updated on January 26, 2024On this page
Capitalizing Indigenous terms
Capitalizing Indigenous terms is a sign of respect for the identities, governments, institutions and collective rights that have been historically considered illegitimate. We recognize that part of reconciliation is the recognition and respect of these terms.
Capitalize:
- Indigenous identities
- Indigenous governmental, social, spiritual, and religious institutions
- Indigenous collective rights
Some examples of these terms may include, but are not limited to:
- Aboriginal
- Chief
- Clan
- Elder
- First Nations
- Grand Chief
- Healers
- Hereditary Chief
- Indigenous
- Inuk/Inuit
- Knowledge Keepers
- Matriarch
- Métis
- Nation
- Oral Tradition
- Sweatlodge
- Status Indian (under the Indian Act)
- Treaty 8 Rights
When mentioning a specific treaty the "T" is capitalized. Also, many people prefer to capitalize the "R" when referring to specific rights. Sometimes "Rights" might be observed with a lower case "r" because capitalizing it is not consistent with the Canadian Press (CP) style guide at this time.
Italics and quotation marks
Indigenous place names or terms from an Indigenous language should not be italicized or put in quotation marks.
Typography and BC Sans font
The standard font for B.C. government digital services and the Province’s content management system, CMS Lite, is BC Sans font. This font supports Indigenous languages in British Columbia. It was developed in 2019 in collaboration with a Kanienʼkehá꞉ka linguist and font expert and First Voices.