Cold Lake First Nations
Band No. 464
Łue Chok Tué

People	Dënesųłı̨né
Treaty	Treaty 6
Headquarters	Cold Lake
Province	Alberta
Land[1]
Main reserve	Cold Lake 149
Other reserve(s)	Cold Lake 149A Cold Lake 149B Cold Lake 149C Blue Quills
Land area	208.53 km2
Population[1]
On reserve	1322
On other land	1
Off reserve	1637
Total population	2960
Government[1]
Chief	Kelsey Jacko
Council size	6
Tribal Council[1]
Tribal Chiefs Ventures Limited (fr)
Website
clfns.com

TheCold Lake First Nations is aFirst Nationsband government. This band is the governing body for people descended from several different historic groups, hence the plural,nations, used in the band's name. In August 2019, there were 2,960 members of this band, of which 1,322 lived within fivereserves, about 220 square kilometres (85 sq mi) large within the province ofAlberta.

TheDënesųłiné of Cold Lake occupy the territory around present-dayCold Lake, Alberta, in the northeast of the province close to the Saskatchewan border. They are the only Chipewyan community who are signatory toTreaty Six and are somewhat isolated from other Chipewyan. Their closest Chipewyan neighbors are situated at Ejerésche orDillon, Saskatchewan and K'ái K'oz Desé orJanvier, Alberta, both of which are approximately 5 hours away by motor vehicle.^[2]

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Oral traditions of the Cold Lake First Nations reach back in time and in traditions similar to those we can expect at the end of the lastice age.^[3]Prehistoricartifacts, such asstone tools and pottery, have been dated to over 5,000 years old. Researchers have also discovered apre-Columbian campsite covering about 1,200 square metres along the lakeshore at English Bay.^[4] Locally known as Berry Point, the area has been used by the Denesuline for fishing, hunting and gathering medicines since time immemorial. The bones of their ancestors are buried in grave sites there.^[5]

The Denesuline of Cold Lake were traditionally anomadic people who lived off the land byhunting and gathering.Wetlands,prairie andboreal forest made up their homelands in this eco-region and was indeed plentiful in food. During thefur trade era, they trapped in and aroundPrimrose Lake andCold Lake where there was an abundance in fur-bearing animals such asbeaver andmuskrat^[6]

In 1716, the peoples in the Cold Lake area were supposedly attacked for the first time by fur tradingCree, who had become owners of firearms by trading with Europeans.^{[citation needed]}Not before 1800 the groups around Cold Lake started to trade with Europeans on their own, but then they travelled to the trading posts on theHudson Bay and even toHochelaga on theSaint Lawrence River.

TheGovernment of Canada negotiated with Woodland and Plains Cree, and someNakota as well as with theDenesuline Peoples around Cold Lake. Treaty 6, which covers modern-day central Alberta and Saskatchewan, was signed in 1876 at Carlton and Fort Pitt.^[7]

A Cree decided to go to a piece of land at Willow Point, a territory reaching about 20 miles (32 km) south and westwards. It included the Cold Lake, which the Denesuline calledLuwe Chok Tuwe orŁue Chok Tué and where they spent the summers, while the winters were spent onPrimrose Lake (called in theChipewyan languageXah Tué).^{[citation needed]}

When chief Uldahi died in June 1882, he had no successor. Consequently, the group dwelling at Heart Lake elected its own chiefs and headmen. They also tried to get a reserve of their own. On a hill above Reiter Creek they gathered in the summer of 1913 and elected Alexi Janvier (Nanuchele) as their chief. At the end of the First World War people coming back from Europe's battlefields brought with them theSpanish flu. Nearly half of the population died.^{[citation needed]}

After theFrog Lake Massacre of May 1885, the band's main group fled to the Cold Lake in fear of revenge. Despite moderation of a priest, the militia disarmed the tribe. Women and children were sent to a camp onReiter Creek, while the men stayed in the army's camp. When the band returned to the Cold Lake, they met another armed unit there. The oral tradition tells about a mass execution, which was averted in a last-minute decision.^{[citation needed]}

In 1890 many Chipewyan families went fromHeart Lake (Saskatchewan) toPrimrose Lake, as they were used to do traditionally, but this time they stayed there permanently.^{[citation needed]}

When land surveys started in 1902 the Indians of Cold Lake were still suspected to have participated in the North-West Rebellion. The responsibleIndian agent believed that their territory was much too large for only 330 members of the tribe. Their territory was reduced to 73 square miles (190 km²). In exchange for not losing their fishing rights, they swapped their 16 square miles (41 km²) of land in the south of the Beaver River with a piece of land on the Cold Lake, to be more precise the English Bay. At the same time French settlers came to theFrench Bay.^{[citation needed]}

During theCold War theRoyal Canadian Air Force was looking for a test area and found it around Primrose Lake. The people living there were offered compensation.^{[citation needed]}

While the most modern techniques were introduced onCFB Cold Lake, the first power line was not installed before 1964.

The largest reserve today isCold Lake 149 in the east ofBonnyville (145.281 km²). There are other reserves, like the one of 4134 ha on the Beaver Creek (149B), 96.2 ha of the territory of theBlue Quills First Nation Indian Reserve, 71.6 ha on the southern shore of Cold Lake (149A) and 149C, and the land meant as a kind of compensation for the Air Base, which consists of 2023.5 ha.^{[citation needed]}

• Cold Lake First Nations^[1]
• traditional territory^{[permanent dead link]}

• First Nations governments in Alberta
• Dene governments

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