 Flag | |
| Land | |
|---|---|
| Main reserve | Beaver Lake 131 |
| Other reserve(s) | |
| Land area | 62.42 km2 |
| Population | |
| On reserve | 398 |
| Off reserve | 776 |
| Total population | 1210 |
| Government | |
| Chief | N/A |
| Council size | 3 |
| Tribal Council | |
| Tribal Chiefs Ventures Incorporated (fr) | |
The Beaver Lake Cree Nation is a First Nations band government located 105 kilometres (65 mi) northeast of Edmonton, Alberta, representing people of the Cree ethno-linguistic group in the area around Lac La Biche, Alberta, where the band office is currently located. Their treaty area is Treaty 6. The Intergovernmental Affairs office consults with persons on the Government treaty contacts list. There are two parcels of land reserved for the band by the Canadian Crown, Beaver Lake Indian Reserve No. 131 and Blue Quills First Nation Indian Reserve. The latter reserve is shared by six bands; Beaver Lake Cree Nations, Cold Lake First Nations, Frog Lake First Nation, Heart Lake First Nation, Kehewin Cree Nation, Saddle Lake Cree Nation.
A Métis Settlement profile prepared by the Government of Alberta notes that their self defined tribal affiliation is Nîhithaw, or the Woodland Cree or Wood Cree and their linguistic group is Algonquian (Cree).[1] Their population which includes 390 on reserve and 664 off-reserve, is 1,054 according to the Alberta government, as on 2012.[2] Their land base by Reserve Beaver Lake is 131 6,145.3 (hectares) total 6,145.3.[1] There is no chief and council at this time. Other elected representatives include Member of the Legislative Assembly (Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hills) Shayne Saskiw. Brian Jean was the Conservative MP for Fort McMurray—Athabasca, from 2004 until his resignation in 2014; the seat is now vacant.[3]
The colonial governments of Alberta and Canada authorized hundreds of projects or developments representing thousands of individual authorizations related to "oil and gas, forestry, mining and other activities" on Beaver Lake Cree Nation core lands, covering a large portion of northeast Alberta and falling outside the boundaries of any Indigenous reserve including within its territory, the Cold Lake Weapons Range. The Beaver Lake Cree Nation are contesting the "cumulative effect" of these projects and developments on "core traditional territory".[4] On 14 May 2008 the Beaver Lake Cree Nation (BLCN) issued a Statement of Claim against the governments of Alberta and Canada, claiming that "in failing to manage the overall cumulative environmental effects of development on core Traditional Territory",[5] Alberta and Canada have "breached the solemn commitment" in the 9 September 1876 Treaty 6, that the BLCN could "hunt, fish and trap in perpetuity".[5] On 30 April 2013, in Lameman v Alberta, the Court of Appeal of Alberta dismissed Alberta and Canada's appeal of Honourable Madam Justice B.A. Browne's "historic, precedent-setting judgement, "in their entirety",[4] issued in March 2012.[5]
- ^ a b Government of Alberta 2012, p. 21.
- ^ Grant & Associates 2012.
- ^ Huffington Post 2014.
- ^ a b Watson, Bielby & Veldhuis 2013.
- ^ a b c Woodward 2013.