About Us
We are the K’ai Tailé Dené,
people of the land of the willow
Our name signifies our deep connection with the rich, vast landscapes of the Peace-Athabasca Delta—lands we have traditionally survived on and connected with for thousands of years. From hunting and trapping to fishing and gathering, these lands have provided for our people since time immemorial and continue to support the traditional ways of our ancestors.
Today, we are known as the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN). We signed Treaty 8 in Fort Chipewyan in 1899, acknowledging our inherent and cultural connection with the land. We continue to exercise our treaty and cultural rights and maintain our identity as K’ai Tailé Dené, people of the land of the willow.
Vision Statement
Our vision is to continuously and fiercely protect our language, Traditional Land and Treaty Rights for future generations.
Mission Statement
Our ongoing mission is to honour our ancestors’ traditional ways of being and knowing and innovate new ways to protect and preserve our language, Traditional Land and Treaty Rights.
We do this by investing in people, programs and infrastructure to empower our Members and strengthen and sustain our Nation to benefit future generations.
Our core values
Service
Empowerment
Trailblazing
Collaboration
Accountability
Respect
Our Nation at a glance
We have a population of about 1,200 people.
About a third of our Members live in Fort Chipewyan, a large percentage live in Fort McMurray, and some live in Fort McKay and Fort Smith, NWT.
The remainder of our Members are scattered throughout Alberta and across Canada and the world.
We protect eight reserves on the south shore of Lake Athabasca, the Athabasca Delta and the Athabasca River.
Our Dené Laws
Share what you have
Help each other
Love each other
Sleep at night and work during the day
Be polite
Be respectful of Elders
Children behave respectfully
Pass on teachings
Be happy
Our protection area
Chipewyan 201
Chipewyan 201C
Chipewyan 201F
Chipewyan 201A
Chipewyan 201D
Chipewyan 201G
Chipewyan 201B
Chipewyan 201E
Our entities
ACFN’s Dené Lands and Resource Management (DLRM) was established to create capacity for the community in order to work with industry and government to assess the environmental impacts of industrial development on the ACFN territory.
Acden is the business arm of the ACFN. Acden provides essential services for the planning, construction, maintenance and reclamation of Alberta’s oil sands.
Learn more at acden.com.