The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN, chp, K'ai Taile Dené) is a
band government
In Canada, an Indian band or band (french: bande indienne, link=no), sometimes referred to as a First Nation band (french: bande de la Première Nation, link=no) or simply a First Nation, is the basic unit of government for those peoples subjec ...
. It represents local people of the
Denesuline (Chipewyan) ethnic group. It controls eight
Indian reserve
In Canada, an Indian reserve (french: réserve indienne) is specified by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty,
that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band."
Ind ...
s:
Chipewyan 201 and
Chipewyan 201A through
Chipewyan 201G
Chipewyan 201G is an Indian reserve of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in Alberta, located within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. It is on the east bank of the Athabasca River
The Athabasca River (French: ''Rivière Athabasca'') ...
, near
Fort Chipewyan, Alberta
Fort Chipewyan , commonly referred to as Fort Chip, is a hamlet in northern Alberta, Canada, within the Regional Municipality (RM) of Wood Buffalo. It is located on the western tip of Lake Athabasca, adjacent to Wood Buffalo National Park, app ...
. The band is party to
Treaty 8
Treaty 8, which concluded with the June 21, 1899 signing by representatives of the Crown and various First Nations of the Lesser Slave Lake area, is the most comprehensive of the one of eleven Numbered Treaties. The agreement encompassed a la ...
, and is a member of the
Athabasca Tribal Council The Athabasca Tribal Council is a tribal council representing five First Nation band governments in the province of Alberta. The organization is based in Fort McMurray, Alberta.
Demographics
As of August 2016, there were 6,807 registered members ...
.
The ancestors of today's ACFN were evicted from
Wood Buffalo National Park
Wood Buffalo National Park is the largest national park of Canada at . It is located in northeastern Alberta and the southern Northwest Territories. Larger in area than Switzerland, it is the second-largest national park in the world. The park w ...
by the Government of Canada beginning in 1944, according to research published by the band.
The band launched a court challenge in 2007 to an oilsands lease given to
Shell Canada
Shell Canada Limited (french: Shell Canada Limitée) is the principal Canadian subsidiary of British energy major Shell plc and one of Canada's largest integrated oil companies. Exploration and production of oil, natural gas and sulphur is a maj ...
by the provincial government which, the band alleged, they were not given a chance to oppose. In 2011, the band lost its suit, but planned to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.
The band was the focus of
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...
's 2014 concert campaign against the
Athabasca oil sands development. In the wake of that the band withdrew from the Oil Sands Monitoring program, which they say lacks input from aboriginal peoples and does not address treaty rights.
Chief Allan Adam was arrested by the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
in March 2020, tackling him and punching him severally in the head whilst he lay on the ground.
References
Further reading
Publications by the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation
External links
First Nation homepage
{{Authority control
First Nations governments in Alberta
Dene governments