Traditional Lands of Cold Lake First Nations
Cold Lake First Nations is a Denesuline (Chipewyan) Tribe and part of the Dene Nation. This dynamic First Nation located 300 kilometers northeast of Edmonton, Alberta, has a total membership of over 2,000 members. Approximately 1,000 Band Members live in three distinct neighbouring communities, namely LeGoff, English Bay and Cold Lake Town Reserves located near scenic Cold Lake.
In 1952, the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan leased provincial lands to the Government of Canada for the purpose of a creating a weapons testing range on the border straddling northern Alberta and Saskatchewan comprising 1,241,000 hectares (3 million acres). The range, originally known as the Primrose Lake Air Weapons Range, is now known as the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range.
As a result of this lease, members of the Cold Lake First Nations and the Canoe Lake Cree Nation in Saskatchewan abruptly lost the support and sustenance of their traditional lands which were used for hunting, trapping and fishing.
In 1995, the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and the Chief and Council of the CLFN agreed to attempt to negotiate a settlement that would:
- Assist the First Nation in improving the economic and social conditions in the community;
- Recognize the past, but focus on forward looking measures to address the future needs of the CLFN.
On July 12, 2003 at a formal ceremony at English Bay, the Governments of Canada, Alberta and Cold Lake First Nations announced that the First Nation's long-standing grievance related to their removal and prevention from having access to the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range had been settled.
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