Danezaa people

Dane-zaa (Beaver) tipi in winter near Peace River, Alberta, 1899

Dane-zaa (Beaver) chief and family, Peace River area Alberta, 1899

Dane-zaa (Beaver) women and children in front of their tipi, 1899

The Dane-zaa (ᑕᓀᖚ, also spelled Dunneza, or Tsattine, and historically often referred to as the Beaver tribe by Europeans) are a First Nation of the large Athapaskan language group; their traditional territory is around the Peace River of the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. About 1,000 Dane-zaa are living today in British Columbia and perhaps half speak the Danezaa language.

History

Prior to 1800 the Dane-zaa inhabited lands further east, near the Athabaska and Clearwater rivers, and north to Lake Athabaska, as well as territory north of the upper Peace River. Recent archaeological evidence establishes that the area of Charlie Lake north of Fort St John has been continuously occupied for 10,500 years by varying cultures of indigenous peoples.

In the late 18th century, European Canadians opened the Peace River area to fur trading. The Cree, a powerful people to the east of the Dane-zaa, had become highly dependent on the European goods and the maintenance of a trade monopoly with North West Company traders (the Northwest Company later amalgamated with the Hudson's Bay Company). The Scots-Canadian explorer Alexander Mackenzie established Rocky Mountain Fort at the mouth of the Moberly River in 1794.

A post journal of 1799-1800 mentions people trading at the post who can be identified as the ancestors of members of the former Fort St John Band, now the Doig River and Blueberry River First Nations. Oral history collected from elders at Doig confirms that the ancestors of present Dane-zaa families were in the upper Peace River area prior to first contact by Alexander Mackenzie in 1793. Traders provisioned their expeditions with bison meat and grease collected by the Dane-zaa in their hunting on the rich prairies of the upper Peace River area. By the time the Hudson's Bay Company took over the North West Company in 1823, bison had become commercially extinct.

For many years the Dane-zaa have followed the teachings and songs of their "Dreamers," who first predicted the coming of the Europeans. The last Dreamer, Charlie Yahey, died in 1976. The Dane-zaa of Fort St John took an adhesion to Treaty 8 in 1900. Today they continue to have a vibrant cultural and economic presence in the North Peace area.

Danezaa First Nations

Treaty 8 Tribal Association

• Doig River First Nation (Dane-Za Adishtl'sh, takes its name from the Doig River running through the reserve and has strong ties with Blueberry River First Nation, band office is on the most populous reserve IR #206, Reserves: Beaton River #204 (North Half), Doig River #206, Population: 276)
• Blueberry River First Nations (was given this name because of the abundant supply of blueberries found in the river valley, band office is on the most populous reserve IR #205, about 80 km northwest of Fort St. John, Danezaa and Cree, Reserves: Beaton River #204 (South Half), Blueberry River #205, Population: 455)
• Halfway River First Nation (originally from Chowade River (Stony River) it was the last First Nation to move to its new location in the early sixties. Once forming with the West Moberly First Nation the Hudson Hope Band, the First Nations separated in 1971, the community is located 75 km northwest of Fort St. John, Reserve: Halfway River #168, Population: 251)
• Prophet River First Nation (the First Nation is located 100 km south of Fort Nelson, Reserve: Prophet River #4, Population: 253)
• Saulteau First Nations (In the 1870s one group of Anishnaubemowin (Saulteau) migrated westward from Manitoba and settled at Moberly Lake, where they later intermarried with the Nēhiyawēwin (Cree) and Danezaa (Beaver) who were already living in the area, the community is located at the east end of Moberly Lake, about 100 km southwest of Fort St. John, Reserve: East Moberly Lake #169, Population: 840)
• West Moberly First Nations (was originally part of the Hudson Hope Band, which split into West Moberly and Halfway River First Nations in 1971, the community is located at the west end of Moberly Lake, about 90 km southwest of Fort St. John, Danezaa and Cree, Reserve: West Moberly Lake #168A, Population: 232)

North Peace Tribal Council (NPTC)

• Beaver First Nation (the Beaver First Nation is the only Danezaa band in Alberta, the two reserves are both near Fort Vermilion, Alberta in the Peace Country of Northern Alberta, band office is on the most populous Reserve IR #164A, Reserves: Boyer #164, Child Lake #164A, Population: 908)

External links

• Doig River First Nation
• Map of Northwest Coast First Nations (including Dunneza)
• Voyages from Montreal Through the Continent of North America to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans in 1789 and 1793 Vol. II (1903 ed.)
• Living In A Storied Land Royal British Columbia Museum
• The Dane-Zaa Living Landscape of Northeastern BC Royal British Columbia Museum