The Beaver Lake Cree Nation app is now availablenow availablefree to downloadon iPhone and Androidin your pocket

Beaver Lake Cree Nation (BLCN), formerly known as the Beaver Lake Tribe, is a Nehiyaw Nation near Lac La Biche, about 105 km northeast of Edmonton. Its leaders signed the adhesion to Treaty 6 at Fort Pitt on September 9, 1876. BLCN's territory covers 38,972 square kilometres in the heart of the Alberta oil sands, and the Nation's reserves include:

• Beaver Lake 131
• Blue Quills First Nation Indian Reserve, shared by six bands

Culture is at the centre of community life. The Elders Society passes traditional knowledge to younger people and meets monthly to advise Chief and Council. The Nation's annual Pow Wow is one of the largest in the area, drawing more than 450 competitors from Canada and the United States.

The community runs a K-12 school, an early learning and child care centre, a health centre, and an addictions treatment centre that has operated since 1984. Nation businesses include an 88-head buffalo ranch, the Busy Beaver convenience store with gas pumps, and Spruce Point Resort and Campground. The Nation has also been putting solar power on community buildings.

In 2008, BLCN sued the federal and Alberta governments, arguing that so much development had been allowed on its lands that its members could no longer exercise their treaty rights. You can learn more on the Nation's Defend the Treaties page.