Canadian Genealogy Centre

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Researching Your Aboriginal Ancestry at Library and Archives Canada

Part I: Researching Your Aboriginal Genealogy at Library and Archives Canada

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Registers and Records of Births, Deaths and Marriages

Registration of vital statistics (birth, marriage and death) in Canada is a provincial responsibility. Although many federal Indian agents also acted as agents of provincial governments for the registration of vital statistics for the Indian population in their jurisdictions, very few of these records have found their way into the records of the Department of Indian Affairs. In many cases, the records have not survived or have not been transferred to Library and Archives Canada.

Inventory descriptions relating to vital statistics can be obtained from the General Inventory database using the keywords "vital statistics" at the series and government records levels. File information can be obtained from the Government of Canada Files database using keywords such as birth, death or marriage. Researchers are advised to consult church authorities and provincial government sources for this type of information.

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