The Peerless Trout First Nation is a First Nations
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 ...
in
northern Alberta
Northern Alberta is a geographic region located in the Canadian province of Alberta.
An informally defined cultural region, the boundaries of Northern Alberta are not fixed. Under some schemes, the region encompasses everything north of the cent ...
, Canada, that is based out of
Peerless Lake.
[ It is part of the ]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 ...
Confederacy and was formed as 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 ...
's forty-fifth 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 ...
in 2010.
The Peerless Lake First Nation had a registered population of 966 as of July 2019. It has one reserve, Peerless Trout 238
Peerless Trout 238 is an Indian reserve of the Peerless Trout First Nation in Alberta, located within the Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17
The Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17 is a municipal district (MD) occupying a remote a ...
, in proximity to Peerless Lake and Trout Lake.[ Other reserves will be established in proximity to 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 ...
, and Wabasca.[
The First Nation is governed by a five-member council led by Chief Gladys Okemow. Its first chief, originally elected in 2010, was James Alook.][
]
History
Before 2010, all Peerless Trout First Nation members were enrolled in the Bigstone Cree Nation
The Bigstone Cree Nation ( cr, ᐅᐸᓯᑯᓂᐍᐤ, opasikoniwew) is a First Nations band government in Alberta, Canada. As Woodland Cree, they are a western branch of the larger Cree nation, and are a party to Treaty 8 with Canada. The Bigst ...
, which took 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 ...
in 1899. Entitled under Treaty to a guaranteed minimum land base, the band's first reserves were surveyed in 1913, with the intention that would be allotted per band member. During the enumeration of band membership, though the Canadian government overlooked and excluded significant populations of registered Bigstone Treaty Indians north of Wabasca. This error was soon discovered, and Peerless Lake Chief Colin Trindle first requested the local Indian agent
In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with American Indian tribes on behalf of the government.
Background
The federal regulation of Indian affairs in the United States first included development of t ...
pursue the fulfillment of these treaty promises in 1935, but no new reserve lands were created as compensation.[
Bigstone Cree's shortfall claim was acknowledged in 1998 under Canada's Historic Treaty Land Entitlement Policy and its Specific Claims Policy. In 2006 and 2007, the Nation's Ancillary Treaty Benefits claims were accepted for negotiation by Alberta and Canada. Between February 22 and March 5, 2010, ratification votes were held in the communities of Wabasca, Calling Lake, Chipewyan Lake, Peerless Lake, and Trout Lake, approving the governments' offer to settle the Bigstone claims. Under this agreement, members of the Bigstone communities around Peerless Lake and Trout Lake, who had never lived on Bigstone reserves, would become members of a new First Nation.
The resulting settlement is the largest in Alberta and one of the largest in Canada. In addition to the official constitution of the Peerless Trout First Nation on May 19, 2010, $249,400,000 and will ultimately change hands. 63,000 acres were used to establish the new ]Peerless Trout 238
Peerless Trout 238 is an Indian reserve of the Peerless Trout First Nation in Alberta, located within the Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17
The Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17 is a municipal district (MD) occupying a remote a ...
reserve, while the remaining 77,000 acres will be used to create new Bigstone Cree reserves around Wabasca, Calling Lake, and Chipewyan Lake. A final signing ceremony was held in September 2011.[
The First Nation's first female leader was elected November 2018, when founding chief James Alook was defeated by addictions counselor Gladys Okemow.
The Peerless Trout communities were evacuated south to ]Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
multiple times during the 2019 Alberta wildfire season, with one out-of-control wildfire burning southeast of Trout Lake.
Enterprises
The First Nation wholly owns and manages Peerless Trout Enterprises Inc. (PTEI), its business development subsidiary. PTEI services include concrete, forestry, civil earthworks, oilfield services, traditional knowledge consultation, and firefighting.
Major PTEI ventures include PT Concrete, a band-owned concrete plant, and the PT Camp, an 88-suite remote camp. In addition to housing transient primary sector
The primary sector of the economy includes any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining.
The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy in de ...
workers, PT Camp's remote location on Peerless Trout territory has been promoted as a destination for cultural and wilderness tourism.
References
External links
{{First Nations in Alberta
First Nations governments in Alberta