Kelly Lake is a community in the

Peace River Country The Peace River Country (or Peace Country; ) is an aspen parkland region centring on the Peace River in Canada. It extends from northwestern Alberta to the Rocky Mountains in northeastern British Columbia, where a certain portion of the region i ...

of northeastern

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It is west of the border with the province of

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Local disputes

The Kelly Lake Cree Nation (KLCN), the Kelly Lake First Nation (KLFN), and the Apetokosan Nation (AN) are three different groups who all claim to represent the Aboriginal community of the area. The

Canadian government The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes ministers of the Crown ( ...

currently recognizes none as Aboriginal peoples, though they have been part of land claims in the courts and are recognized as stakeholders in the Northern Gateway Pipeline region by

Enbridge Enbridge Inc. is a multinational pipeline transport, pipeline and energy company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Enbridge owns and operates pipelines throughout Canada and the United States, transporting crude oil, natural gas, and n ...

Recognition

In 2008, the British Columbia Assembly of First Nations endorsed the claims of the local people as a First Nation, supporting the claim that the people of Kelly Lake were left out during the enumeration of peoples living within 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 eleven Numbered Treaties. The agreement encompassed a land m ...

area. In the 1999 court documents, both the KLCN and KLFN are described as a group of "

Beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

, and

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

people". The chief of the KLCN has claimed indigenous rights because of the group's Dunne-za and Nehiyaw ancestry when speaking to a joint review panel on

BC Hydro The British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, trade name, operating as BC Hydro, is a Canadian electric utility in the province of British Columbia. It is the main electricity distributor, serving more than 4 million customers in most areas, wi ...

Site C dam The Site C Dam is a hydroelectric dam currently under construction on the Peace River, 14 kilometers southwest of Fort St. John in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. It is located approximately 80 kilometers downstream from the W. A. C. Be ...

project. He also claimed that the people's traditional territory extends in Alberta.http://www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/documents/p63919/97889E.pdf Currently there are fewer than 100 people living in the small community and just 33 houses and an old school transformed into a Community Centre. The closest town is away so residents require vehicles if they should work. School pupils take a bus to Hythe Regional for the younger ones and then to Beaverlodge Regional High for grades 10-12. The Community Centre is open four days a week for the younger members to play in a gymnasium, or perform arts and crafts.

References

{{authority control Designated places in British Columbia Peace River Country Unincorporated settlements in British Columbia First Nations in British Columbia Cree Dane-zaa Iroquois First Nations in Alberta Métis in Canada Self-identification as First Nations

Local disputes

Recognition

See also

References