The Bigstone Cree Nation ( cr, ᐅᐸᓯᑯᓂᐍᐤ, opasikoniwew) is a

First Nation Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

s band government in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada. As

Woodland Cree The ''Saāwithiniwak'' or Woodland Cree, are a Cree people, calling themselves Nîhithaw in their own dialect of the language. They are the largest indigenous group in northern Alberta and are an Algonquian people. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

, they are a western branch of the larger Cree nation, and are a 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 ...

with Canada. The Bigstone Cree Nation was divided into two bands in 2010, with one group continuing under the former name, and the other becoming the

Peerless Trout First Nation The Peerless Trout First Nation is a First Nations band government in northern Alberta, Canada, that is based out of Peerless Lake. It is part of the Treaty 8 Confederacy and was formed as Alberta's forty-fifth First Nation in 2010. The Pee ...

History

The forerunners of the Bigstone Cree signed onto Treaty 8 in 1899 and were provided with reserved lands based on a population survey. The Bigstone claimed that the lands they were assigned were not large enough based on the 1913 and 1937 population surveys. Band members settled into five communities all named after nearby lakes: Calling Lake,

Chipewyan Lake Chipewyan Lake is an unincorporated community in northern Alberta within the Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17. It is located on the southern shore of Chipewyan Lake approximately north of Wabasca and west of Fort McMurray. The commun ...

, Peerless Lake, Trout Lake and Wabasca. The band has six reserves totalling . These included 166 A, 166 B, 166 C, 166 D, all in the vicinity of the Hamlet of Wabasca (also known as Wabasca-Desmarais), 166 south of the Hamlet of Sandy Lake, and Jean Baptiste Gambler Reserve 183 surrounded by the Hamlet of Calling Lake. All of these reserves are surrounded by the Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17. In 2007, there were 6,781 registered Bigstone Cree, of which 2,397 were living on

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

. The people living at

, Peerless Lake, and Trout Lake and lived off-reserve on Crown land and did not have access to the same services available to those at Wabasca. The Canadian government accepted the claim in 1998 and negotiations began which resulted in a settlement in 2010, the largest land settlement in Alberta's history. The agreement ended with the separation of the Peerless Trout First Nation from the Bigstone Cree, and new reserve lands for both bands. The Calling Lake reserve was slightly enlarged and a new reserve was created at Chipewyan Lake.

Annual events

The Bigstone Cree First Nation host the annual Treaty Days Festivities in August of each year, celebrating their culture, language and achievements.

Reserves

Indian Reserves 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 ...

under the administration of Bigstone Cree Nation are: *

Wabasca 166 Wabasca 166 is an Indian reserve of the Bigstone Cree Nation in Alberta, located within the Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17. It is 80 kilometres north of Slave Lake Slave Lake is a town in northern Alberta, Canada that is surrounded ...

( cr, ᓴᑭᑕᐘᓯᕽ, sakitawasihk) 8452.40 ha *

Wabasca 166A Wabasca 166A is an Indian reserve of the Bigstone Cree Nation in Alberta, located within the Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17. In the 2016 Canadian Census The 2016 Canadian census was an enumeration of Canadian residents, which counted ...

( cr, ᑲᐊᓯᓂᐢᑲᓯᐠ, ka-asiniskasik) 682.10 ha * Wabasca 166B ( cr, ᒋᐸᐢᑲᐣᓯᕽ, cipaskansihk) 2413.40 ha * Wabasca 166C ( cr, ᑭᓯᐱᑲᒪᕽ, kisipikamahk) 3502.60 ha * Wabasca 166D ( cr, ᒧᐢᑯᑌᐠ, muskotêk) 5817.40 ha * Jean Baptiste Gambler 183 198.70 ha *Desmarais Settlement

References

External links

Bigstone Cree Nation
{{Authority control First Nations governments in Alberta Cree governments

History

Annual events

Reserves

See also

References

External links