People | Cree |
---|---|
Treaty | 9 |
Province | Ontario |
Land | |
Main reserve | Fort Albany 67 |
Land area | 363.457 km2 |
Population (June 2022) | |
On reserve | 3229 (includes Kashechewan) |
On other land | 95 (includes Kashechewan) |
Off reserve | 1985 (includes Kashechewan) |
Total population | 5309 (includes Kashechewan) |
Government | |
Chief | Elizabeth Kataquapit |
Council |
|
Tribal Council | |
Mushkegowuk Council |
Fort Albany First Nation (Cree: ᐲᐦᑖᐯᒄ ᐃᓕᓕᐗᒃ pîhtâpek ililiwak, "lagoon Cree")[1] is a Cree First Nation in Cochrane District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada, within the territory covered by Treaty 9. Situated on the southern shore of the Albany River on the west coast of James Bay, Fort Albany First Nation is accessible only by air, water, or by winter road.
The First Nation is a signatory of Treaty 9, and is part of the Mushkegowuk Council, within the Nishnawbe Aski Nation. The community is policed by the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service, an Indigenous police service. It shares band members and the Fort Albany 67 Indian Reserve with the Kashechewan First Nation, which separated from Fort Albany starting in the late 1950s. Fort Albany First Nation is situated on Sinclair and Anderson Islands, as well as on the south shore on the mainland of the river. The Nation controls the Fort Albany Indian Settlement on the south shore of the Albany River, and the Kashechewan First Nation controls the Kashechewan Indian Settlement directly across the river.
The First Nation is located near the former site of Fort Albany, one of the oldest Hudson's Bay Company trading posts, from which it gets its English name. The current community is not the site of the old post, which was re-located several times including on Anderson Island, Albany Island (c.1721) and a location just northeast of the current community. The last trading post was closed up around the 1950s. All the post sites have disappeared and naturalized, leaving no trace of their former use.