Alberta is home to 48 First Nations connected with Treaties 6, 7 and 8. These Nations include Blackfoot, Cree, Dene, Nakoda, Saulteaux and Tsuut’ina peoples. Each Nation has its own government, citizenship, history, cultural practices and official community name.
The borders of Alberta do not define the full traditional territories of its First Nations. Those territories often extend into British Columbia, Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories, Montana and other parts of the northern plains and western woodlands.
First Nations before the Province of Alberta
First Nations lived throughout the region for thousands of years before Alberta became a province in 1905. Families travelled between seasonal camps, hunting areas, fishing places, gathering grounds, trading centres and ceremonial locations.
On the southern plains, bison provided food, hides, tools and materials for shelter. Farther north, communities depended on combinations of hunting, fishing, trapping and plant gathering suited to the boreal forest, lakes and river systems. Trade routes connected the plains, Rocky Mountains, parkland and northern forests long before European settlement.
First Nations were never one uniform population. Blackfoot, Cree, Dene, Nakoda, Saulteaux and Tsuut’ina peoples spoke different languages and followed their own political and legal traditions. Alliances, trade relationships and conflicts changed over time.
The fur trade brought new goods and economic relationships, but it also brought epidemics and competition for resources. During the nineteenth century, the destruction of the bison herds, settler expansion and Canadian control of western lands placed severe pressure on First Nations.
Treaties 6, 7 and 8 in Alberta
The numbered treaties that cover Alberta were signed before or soon after Canada began extending its authority across the West. First Nations and the Crown did not always understand the negotiations in the same way.
The Crown recorded the agreements in written documents. First Nations also relied on discussions, oral promises, ceremonies and their own laws. Many First Nations understand the treaties as agreements to share the land and maintain a continuing relationship with the Crown, rather than as simple land sales.
The treaties remain in effect. Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 recognizes and affirms existing Aboriginal and treaty rights.
Treaty 6
Treaty 6 was first signed in 1876 at Fort Carlton and Fort Pitt. Its territory covers much of central Alberta and Saskatchewan.
First Nations connected with Treaty 6 in Alberta include Cree, Saulteaux and Nakoda communities. Examples include Alexander First Nation, Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation, Enoch Cree Nation, Frog Lake First Nation, Saddle Lake Cree Nation, Sunchild First Nation and the four Nations of Maskwacis: Ermineskin Cree Nation, Louis Bull Tribe, Montana First Nation and Samson Cree Nation.
The written treaty addressed reserve lands, annual payments, education, agricultural assistance and hunting and fishing. It also contained a medicine chest provision and assistance during famine or pestilence. The meaning and implementation of these promises remain subjects of negotiation, court decisions and claims.
Treaty 7
Treaty 7 was signed in 1877 at Blackfoot Crossing and Fort Macleod. It covers much of southern Alberta.
The Treaty 7 Nations are Siksika Nation, Kainai Nation, Piikani Nation, Tsuut’ina Nation and the Stoney Nakoda Nations. The Stoney Nakoda Nations consist of Bearspaw First Nation, Chiniki First Nation and Goodstoney First Nation.
Siksika, Kainai and Piikani are members of the Blackfoot Confederacy. Their traditional territories extend beyond the Canada–United States border. The Tsuut’ina speak a Dene language, while the Stoney Nakoda speak Nakoda.
Treaty 7 negotiations took place during a period of hunger, disease and rapid bison decline. The written agreement included reserve lands, annual payments, livestock, agricultural supplies and hunting rights. First Nations accounts also preserve oral understandings about peace, assistance and sharing the land.
Treaty 8
Treaty 8 was first signed in 1899. It covers a large northern region that includes parts of Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories.
Treaty 8 First Nations in Alberta include Cree, Dene, Dënesųłiné and Dunne-za communities. Among them are Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Beaver First Nation, Dene Tha’ First Nation, Fort McKay First Nation, Little Red River Cree Nation, Mikisew Cree First Nation and Tallcree First Nation.
Many northern families depended on hunting, fishing and trapping across wide territories. During treaty negotiations, leaders sought protection for those ways of life. Treaty 8 continues to shape discussions about harvesting rights, resource development, consultation and protection of land and water.
First Nations languages in Alberta
First Nations languages spoken in Alberta include Blackfoot, Plains Cree, Woods Cree, Saulteaux, Nakoda, Tsuut’ina and several Dene languages. Dënesųłiné is often called Chipewyan in older government records. Community names and preferred spellings may differ between historical documents and current Nation websites.
Residential schools, day schools and other colonial policies punished children for speaking their languages. Many students returned home unable or afraid to speak with parents and grandparents in their first language. This disrupted the transfer of vocabulary, oral histories, place names and ceremonial knowledge.
First Nations now operate language classes, immersion programs, cultural camps, online dictionaries and community recording projects. The programs differ because each Nation decides which dialect, spelling system and teaching methods fit its community.
Reserve lands and traditional territories
A reserve is land set apart for the use and benefit of a First Nation under Canadian law. It is not the same as the Nation’s entire traditional territory.
Traditional territories include places where families hunted, fished, gathered plants, held ceremonies, buried relatives, traded and travelled. Some of these areas now lie within provincial parks, cities, farms, forests, energy projects and privately owned land.
A First Nation may have several separate reserves rather than one continuous land base. Some Alberta reserves sit near Calgary, Edmonton and other population centres. Others are in remote northern areas where transportation, construction and access to services cost much more.
First Nations governments and organizations
Each Alberta First Nation has its own chief and council or another recognized governing structure. Some communities hold elections under the Indian Act. Others use a community election code based on laws approved by their members.
First Nations may also work through tribal councils, treaty organizations and regional service agencies. These organizations can coordinate work involving education, health care, child and family services, housing, policing, emergency management and treaty advocacy.
Treaty organizations do not replace the authority of individual Nations. Each First Nation decides which agreements to enter and which responsibilities to handle through regional organizations.
Culture and community life
Public cultural events in Alberta include powwows, rodeos, hand games, language gatherings and treaty commemorations. Some Nations host annual events that welcome visitors, while other ceremonies remain private or require an invitation.
Cultural practices differ between Nations. Blackfoot ceremonies should not be described as generic Cree traditions, and Dene teachings should not be presented as if they apply to every Alberta First Nation. Readers should use information published or approved by the Nation whenever possible.
Community museums, cultural centres and schools preserve oral histories, photographs, family records and historic objects. Elders and knowledge keepers also teach through spoken instruction, land-based activities and ceremony. Some teachings are not intended for publication.
Land, resources and economic development
First Nations participate in agriculture, construction, forestry, tourism, retail, transportation and energy development. Some own businesses directly, while others form partnerships or community development corporations.
Resource projects can provide employment and revenue, but they can also affect hunting areas, burial sites, water, wildlife and medicinal plant locations. Federal and provincial governments may have a duty to consult First Nations when proposed decisions could harm Aboriginal or treaty rights.
Consultation does not automatically mean that a Nation has approved a project. First Nations may support, oppose or seek changes to a proposal based on its location, environmental effects and the terms offered.
Current issues facing Alberta First Nations
Alberta First Nations continue to address treaty implementation, housing shortages, access to health care, clean water, education funding, child welfare, language loss and the return of land.
Conditions vary sharply from one community to another. A Nation near a large city may face pressures from urban development and rising land values. A northern community may struggle with expensive transportation, limited housing materials and long trips for medical care.
First Nations also pursue specific claims involving reserve land, treaty payments, agricultural benefits and past government management of money or property. A specific claim usually concerns an alleged failure by the federal government to meet a legal obligation. It is different from a claim to Aboriginal title over land that was never covered by treaty.
First Nations, Métis and Inuit are distinct peoples
First Nations, Métis and Inuit are the three Indigenous peoples recognized in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. The terms are not interchangeable.
Alberta has First Nations reserves and eight legally recognized Métis settlements. Métis settlements are not First Nations reserves, and Métis governments are not First Nation band councils. Inuit also have their own identities, governments and homelands, although Inuit individuals and families may live in Alberta.
Finding reliable information about an Alberta First Nation
Start with the Nation’s official website or government office. Confirm its current name, spelling, leadership and contact information directly with the community.
Federal First Nation Profiles provide population, reserve and governance information, but government databases may not reflect recent name changes immediately. Tribal council and treaty organization websites can provide further information, although the individual Nation remains the best authority on its identity and community history.
This Alberta First Nations category will include individual Nation profiles, treaty histories, biographies, language articles and reports about current issues. New profiles should use the Nation’s preferred name and link to its official website whenever one is available.
Sources and further research
- Government of Alberta, First Nations Relations
- Indigenous Services Canada, Indigenous Peoples in Alberta
- Indigenous Services Canada, First Nation Profiles
- Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, treaty texts and treaty research reports
- Department of Justice Canada, Constitution Acts, 1867 to 1982
- Official websites of Alberta First Nations and treaty organizations
