Meaning of first people in English

first people
noun [ plural ]
us

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/ˌfɝːst ˈpiː.pəl/ uk

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/ˌfɜːst ˈpiː.pəl/
(also first peoples)
the groups of people whose ancestors lived in North America or Australia before the Europeans arrived. This term is used mainly to refer to the indigenous peoples of Canada, not including Inuit and Métis:
Harper apologized to Canada’s first peoples for their treatment.
Australia's first people knew and respected the spirit of the desert.
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(Definition of first people from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)
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