Location and Population

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada define “Aboriginal Peoples” as a collective name for the original peoples of North America and their descendants.  The Canadian Constitution recognizes three groups of Aboriginal peoples – First Nations (status, non-status and Treaty First Nations), Métis and Inuit.  These are three distinct peoples with unique histories, languages, cultural practices and spiritual beliefs.  More than one million people in Canada identify themselves as an Aboriginal person, according to the 2006 census.  Canada has 615 First Nations – representing more than 50 nations or cultural groups and 50 Aboriginal languages.

There are five First Nations within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, with a registered population of about 6,400 members.

  • The Mikisew Cree First Nation is the largest with about 2,550 registered members.  MCFN has nine reserve areas located in and around Fort Chipewyan with a total land area of approximately 6,440 ha.
  • The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) has a registered population of 888.  ACFN has eight reserve areas in the Athabasca Delta and on the south shore of Lake Athabasca in and around Fort Chipewyan with a total land area of approximately 21,205 ha.
  • The Fort McKay First Nation has five reserve areas with about 648 registered members. The Fort McKay reserve areas are in and around the hamlet of Fort McKay and total approximately 14,886 ha.
  • Fort McMurray No. 468 First Nation has four reserve areas with approximately 3,231 ha and 608 registered members. Three reserve areas are located near Anzac on Gregoire Lake while the fourth is located about 20 kilometres east of Fort McMurray.
  • Chipewyan Prairie Dene First Nation has about 704 registered members and three reserve areas with approximately 2,669.7 ha located in and around the community of Janvier/Chard.

There are seven Métis locals of Region 1 of the Métis Nation of Alberta that lie within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo: Fort Chipewyan Métis Local # 125, Fort McKay Métis Local #63, Fort McMurray Métis Local #1935, Fort McMurray Métis Local #2020, Willow Lake Métis Local (Anzac) #780, Chard Métis Local #214 and Conklin Métis Local # 193.  Estimates of the regional Métis population vary with estimates in the range of 5-6,000.

The region is also home to a number of non-status Aboriginal peoples, but population numbers are unknown.

According to the 2006 Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo census, in rural communities, about half the people report they are of Aboriginal heritage. About 10 per cent of Fort McMurray residents indicate they are of Aboriginal heritage.

Facts sourced by Oil Sands Developers Group (Summer 2010).

Sources for all facts available upon request.

Aboriginal Peoples and Oil Sands Development in the Wood Buffalo Region

Did you know...

Canada’s oil reserves are second in the world behind Saudi Arabia

Of 179 billion barrels of Canada’s oil reserves, the oil sands represent 97 per cent

For each permanent oil sands-related job, nine additional direct, indirect and induced jobs are created in Canada.

Currently 240,000 jobs in Canada are directly or indirectly linked to the oil sands.

Between 2000 and 2020, oil sands development has the potential to generate at least $123 billion in royalty and tax revenues for Canada’s federal and provincial governments.

The oil sands currently account for only 4.6 per cent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. This is less than 0.1 per cent of total global emissions.

Alberta was the first jurisdiction in North America to legislate industrial greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Producers have made great strides in reducing the amount of emissions per barrel of bitumen extracted from the oil sands. The equivalent of 2.6 million tonnes of reductions have been made – the same as taking more than 550,000 cars off the road.

The province of Alberta has committed $4 billion toward climate change initiatives, including $2 billion for public transit and $2 billion for carbon capture and storage (CCS). This is the largest CCS investment in the world.

Air quality around oil sands operations is better than all North American cities reviewed by the Alberta Clean Air Strategic Alliance.

Alberta air quality standards are the most stringent in Canada.

Air quality in Fort McMurray is monitored around the clock. Results are available at the WBEA site.

Air quality has been extensively modeled and demonstrated to remain within Alberta’s strict air quality guidelines even with all projected oil sands development in place.

Oil sands are located below the surface of 140,200 square kilometres of land, 4.5 per cent of Canada’s total boreal forest.

Mineable oil sands only exist under 0.1 per cent of Canada’s total boreal forest.

While disturbance is occurring daily, in more than 40 years oil sands mining has disturbed about one hundredth of one per cent of the Canadian boreal forest – some 500 square kilometres.

Since 2001, coordinated efforts between government and industry through Integrated Landscape Management (ILM) activities have reduced land surface disturbance in the region by 20 per cent.

As required by law, and included in all project approvals, reclamation work is ongoing and continuous in the oil sands. All lands disturbed by oil sands will be reclaimed.

Mining is only an option for oil sands that sit less than 75 metres under the surface.

More than 80 per cent of the oil sands will be developed using in-situ technologies.

In-situ projects resemble conventional oil development and do not require tailings ponds, or mine pits.

In-situ operations create linear disturbance of the surface for wellheads. But new technology and processes, including low-impact seismic and directional drilling, are reducing that footprint.

In Alberta, Alberta Environment regulates oil and gas industry water use under the Water Act. Oil and gas companies are subject to the same conditions for use as any other licensed water user in Alberta.

Currently, the oil sands industry draws less than half the water allocation allowed by Alberta Environment from the Athabasca River.

Water allocations are strictly controlled during low flow periods.

More than 80 per cent of water drawn by industry from the Athabasca is recycled.

Non-potable water which is unsuitable for drinking, livestock or irrigation use is used wherever possible for in-situ production.

Alberta Environment prohibits the release of any water to the Athabasca River that does not meet water quality requirements.

RAMP, a multi-stakeholder body, conducts annual monitoring of the river’s fish species, fish habitat and water quality. The monitoring has not detected significant changes to the Athabasca River. www.ramp-alberta.org

Bitumen from exposed oil sands along the river banks has seeped naturally into the Athabasca River as it cut its way through the landscape.

Tailings contain the water, residual bitumen, sand and clay that is left over when the bitumen is separated from the sand.

In the ponds, the solids separate from the water so the water may be recycled into the process again. Of the total water used by oil sands mines, 80 per cent is recycled.

During and after mining, the tailings ponds are reclaimed. No tailings water is released to the Athabasca River or any other watercourse.

The first tailings ponds will be reclaimed in 2010.

80 per cent of the oil sands resource will be developed using in-situ technology which does not require tailings ponds.

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