Fort Nelson First Nation

Welcome to the Fort Nelson First Nation!

Our Vision: Strong, Healthy, Proud and Self-Reliant

We are the Dene and Cree people of the Fort Nelson First Nation.

We have lived and relied on our traditional lands since time immemorial. We use the land for harvesting our food, for gathering our medicine, for moving from place to place, for habitation, for our cultural and spiritual practices, and for a final resting place for our loved ones past.

We have not only a right to manage and plan for the use of our land. We have an obligation to do so. We are responsible for the land and its stewardship. We also have a responsibility to future generations to ensure that our lands will continue to sustain our people into the future, long after resource industries have gone.

In 1910, our ancestors signed on to Treaty 8 with Canada. The 1910 treaty talks affirmed Fort Nelson First Nation’s rights to our traditional lands and ways of life. In exchange for the guarantee that we would be free to live our lives as formerly and undisturbed by newcomers, our ancestors agreed to share our lands and to live in peace with our new neighbours.

It was understood that peace could only come if we were each left to travel our own path as we walked toward a common future. Many things have changed in 100 years, and at times the spirit of the treaty has been forgotten by our new neighbours, but our understanding of the treaty relationship remains, and will remain "as long as the sun shines, the river flows, and the grass grows".

Mussi,

Chief Sharleen Wildeman