Mikisew Cree First Nation (, ''meaning: "

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of pr ...

"'') is an Indigenous

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

government of Woodland Cree people in northeastern

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 ...

and in

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

, Canada. Most Mikisew Cree First Nation members live in

Fort McMurray Fort McMurray ( ) is an urban service area in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in Alberta, Canada. It is located in northeast Alberta, in the middle of the Athabasca oil sands, surrounded by boreal forest. It has played a significa ...

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, and Fort Chipewyan in Alberta and in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories. According to former chief Lawrence Courtoreille, starting in 1944 many

Dene The Dene people () are an Indigenous group of First Nations who inhabit the northern boreal, subarctic and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dene speak Northern Athabaskan languages and it is the common Athabaskan word for "people". The term ...

people were induced by the government of to transfer their registration to the Mikisew band, including Courtoreille's own mother, leading to "a little over fifty percent" of the Mikisew Cree band members having some Dene heritage . Dene people were denied access to hunting, fishing, and gathering within the boundaries of Wood Buffalo National Park unless they switched their registration, and were threatened with eviction from the Birch River settlement. In the end, Cree access to the park was restricted as well. The Mikisew Cree First Nation is one of the five Athabasca Tribal Council Nations. The group signed a treaty in 1986 with Canada establishing several reserves. The Mikisew Cree won a case in the Supreme Court of Canada in 2005 over title interests to areas of the Wood Buffalo National Park.

References

External links

Mikisew Cree First Nation website
First Nations governments in Alberta Cree governments Dene communities Forced migration Assimilation of Indigenous peoples of North America Ethnic cleansing in North America {{cultural-assimilation-stub