Aboriginal Peoples of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo

Aboriginal peoples have used and occupied the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) since time immemorial. Waterways, such as the Athabasca River were, and remain, very important to the traditional lifeways and cultures of the Aboriginal peoples who call this region home.

The aboriginal communities of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo have largely descended from the Dene, Cree and Metis People. The arrival of these cultural groups to the Athabasca region is discussed in the following pages as are the traditional ways of life and how contact with Europeans changed these lifeways. For more information see:

• The Dene
• The Cree People
• The Metis People
• The Traditional Lifeways
• European Contact
• Aboriginal Communities in the RMWB today