Manitoba First Nations

Casinos
Play the First Nations casinos, bingo halls, and gaming facilities.

Events
Visit Manitoba powwows, festivals, concerts, rodeos, and other celebrations.

Places to Visit
Enjoy Manitoba's cultural and heritage centers, museums, historical sites, archaeology sites, libraries, national parks and monuments.

First Nations
Contact information for the First Nations and Bands of Manitoba.

"Manitoba" may be derived from the Cree maniot-wapow, "the strait of the spirit or manitobau." This name refers to the roaring sound produced by pebbles on a beach on Manitoba Island in Lake Manitoba. The Cree believed the noise sounded like a manito, a spirit, beating a drum. It has also been suggested that the name comes from the Assiniboine words mini and tobow, meaning "Lake of the Prairie."

The name Manitoba likely comes from the Cree words "Manitou bou," which mean "the narrows of the Great Spirit." These words applied to Lake Manitoba, which narrows to less than a kilometre at its centre. The waves hitting the loose surface rocks of its north shore produce curious bell-like and wailing sounds, which the first Aboriginal peoples believed came from a huge drum beaten by the spirit Manitou.

The Assiniboine Indians were the first inhabitants of Manitoba. Other First Nations included the nomadic Cree, who followed the herds of bison and caribou on their seasonal migrations.

1.15 total population - More than 128 000 people are of Aboriginal or Metis origin.

Manitoba became a province of the Dominion of Canada on July 15, 1870.