[2] It was created to address calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, among them the development of "culturally appropriate curricula" for Aboriginal Canadian students.

[8] The logo is a compass-shaped circular graphic representing guidance and incorporating themes from aboriginal groups throughout Canada, such as a medicine wheel.

[8] It was unveiled in Ottawa on June 21, 2018 by John G. Geiger, the chief executive officer of Royal Canadian Geographical Society, Mélanie Joly, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Nellie Kusugak, Commissioner of Nunavut, and leaders representing First Nations, Inuit and the Métis Nation, as well as Indigenous artists.

[9] A subsequent launch was held in Toronto in August 2018 by Royal Canadian Geographical Society chief operating officer Gilles Gagnier, Kids Can Press president Lisa Lyons Johnston, leaders of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation, and some of the editors who contributed to the atlas.

[2] The project began in 2016 with a meeting between Geiger and Carolyn Bennett, the Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations of the Cabinet of Canada.