The Sturgeon Lake First Nation ( cr, ᓇᒦᐏ ᓵᑲᐦᐃᑲᓂᕽ, namîwi-sâkahikanihk) is a Cree First Nation

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 ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. Its location is on the eastern shore of

Sturgeon Lake Sturgeon is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the Late Cretaceous, and are descended from other, earlier acipenseriform fish, which date back to the Earl ...

about 30 km northwest of Prince Albert. The First Nation's territory consists of one reserve, Sturgeon Lake 101. It is located in the transition zone between the

aspen parkland Aspen parkland refers to a very large area of ecotone, transitional biome between prairie and boreal forest in two sections, namely the Peace River Country of northwestern Alberta crossing the border into British Columbia, and a much larger area ...

and

boreal forest Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces ...

biomes. The reserve borders the Rural Municipalities of Shellbrook No. 493 and Buckland No. 491, as well as the

Little Red River 106C Little Red River 106C is an Indian reserve of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band in Saskatchewan. It is 34 kilometres north of Prince Albert. In the 2016 Canadian Census The 2016 Canadian census was an enumeration of Canadian residents, which cou ...

History

On August 23, 1876, Chief Ah-yah-tus-kum-ik-im-am (Chief William Twatt) and four headmen signed

Treaty Six Treaty 6 is the sixth of the numbered treaties that were signed by the Canadian Crown and various First Nations between 1871 and 1877. It is one of a total of 11 numbered treaties signed between the Canadian Crown and First Nations. Specific ...

Fort Carlton Fort Carlton was a Hudson's Bay Company fur trading post from 1795 until 1885. It was located along the North Saskatchewan River not far from Duck Lake. It is in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan and was rebuilt by the government of Sask ...

and selected their reserve. The First Nation is today predominantly Cree culturally but also has some

Saulteaux The Saulteaux (pronounced , or in imitation of the French pronunciation , also written Salteaux, Saulteau and other variants), otherwise known as the Plains Ojibwe, are a First Nations band government in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, A ...

members

It was originally known as the William Twatt Band after the

Orcadian Orcadians, also known as Orkneymen, are an ethnic group native to the Orkney Islands, who speak an Orcadian dialect of the Scots language, a West Germanic language, and share a common history, culture and ancestry. Speaking Norn, a native North ...

surname of the Treaty Chief, who was the Grandson of Magnus Twatt who came from

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) nort ...

(off the North coast of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

) in 1771 to work for the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trade, fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake b ...

, but changed its name in 1963 to the Sturgeon Lake Band, and later to the Sturgeon Lake First Nation

The 2001 settling of a grievance between the band and the federal government concerning a loss of timber revenue that dated back to 1906 has enabled the community to expand its economic opportunities.

Reserves

Sturgeon Lake First Nation has reserved for themselves five reserves: *

Sturgeon Lake 101 Sturgeon Lake 101 is an Indian reserve of the Sturgeon Lake First Nation in Saskatchewan. It is 29 kilometres northwest of Prince Albert. In the 2016 Canadian Census The 2016 Canadian census was an enumeration of Canadian residents, which cou ...

* Sturgeon Lake 101A * Sturgeon Lake 101B * Sturgeon Lake 101C * Sturgeon Lake 101D

Infrastructure

The community's infrastructure includes a band office, school, gymnasium, fire hall, band hall, community health clinic, and a healing lodge. Currently 1,578 of the 2,188 band members live on their 9,209.5-ha reserve

People from Sturgeon Lake First Nation

* Belinda Daniels, language teacher

References

Saulteaux Cree governments Anishinaabe reserves in Canada First Nations governments in Saskatchewan {{Saskatchewan-geo-stub