Which Aboriginal group lived off Arctic wildlife?

Discover Canada records this in one direct sentence. The guide writes: The Inuit lived off Arctic wildlife. The group the test wants is therefore the Inuit, the Aboriginal people of Canada's far north.

The Inuit are introduced earlier in Discover Canada with two other facts that fit this picture. The guide says "the Inuit, which means 'the people' in the Inuktitut language, live in small, scattered communities across the Arctic. Their knowledge of the land, sea and wildlife enabled them to adapt to one of the harshest environments on earth." So the answer is consistent with everything Discover Canada says about the Inuit elsewhere — Arctic-based, dependent on the land, sea and wildlife of the far north.

The wider Aboriginal economic landscape gives the contrast that makes this question test-worthy. Discover Canada writes: "The Huron-Wendat of the Great Lakes region, like the Iroquois, were farmers and hunters. The Cree and Dene of the Northwest were hunter-gatherers. The Sioux were nomadic, following the bison (buffalo) herd. The Inuit lived off Arctic wildlife. West Coast natives preserved fish by drying and smoking." Each group has its own answer; for Arctic wildlife, only the Inuit match.

The Inuit are also one of Discover Canada's three named Aboriginal sub-groups — alongside First Nations and the Métis. The guide says "about 65% of the Aboriginal people are First Nations, while 30% are Métis and 4% Inuit." So the Inuit are a small share of the Aboriginal population in Canada, but they are the only group Discover Canada connects with Arctic wildlife — and they have their own territory in Nunavut, established in 1999.

The question is testing whether new citizens know which group Discover Canada attaches to Arctic wildlife. The guide is unambiguous: only the Inuit are linked to that environment. The right test answer is therefore the Inuit.

The wrong answer choices each appear in Discover Canada in different roles. The Iroquois were "farmers and hunters" in the Great Lakes region. The Algonquin were French allies during New France in 1608. The Huron — also Huron-Wendat in the guide — were farmer-hunters in the Great Lakes region too. None of those groups is connected to Arctic wildlife.