Woodland Cree First Nation is asking the federal government for acknowledgement and compensation over the forced relocation of a community in northern Alberta.

A federal lobbying registration added to the IJF’s lobbying database on Sept. 10 says the First Nation wants Canada to acknowledge its role in the relocation and provide compensation, including the return of Woodland Cree land as reserve.

The registration does not say how much compensation the First Nation is seeking or what exact land it wants returned.

Woodland Cree have raised the issue with Ottawa before.

In a 2025 pre-budget submission, the Nation said the relocation took place between 1965 and 1966, based on a government and church-led plan to move the community from Marten River to Cadotte Lake, about 500 kilometres northwest of Edmonton. The two communities were about 13 kilometres apart.

The Nation said its ancestors petitioned against the relocation, but their homes in Marten River were eventually bulldozed. The submission says the relocation caused intergenerational trauma and deep economic, spiritual and social disruption.

"There has been a tremendous failure on behalf of the federal government to seriously account for the violence and trauma incurred by our Nation and to negotiate justice and reconciliation," the Nation said.

The government acknowledged in 1970 that actions surrounding the relocation had been “ill conceived and unco-ordinated," but no remedy beyond regular social services followed, according to the Nation.

Woodland Cree have been lobbying Ottawa over the issue for years.

Federal lobbying records show the Nation was seeking acknowledgement, compensation and return of the land at least as early as 2024.

Woodland Cree First Nation is a Treaty 8 Nation in northern Alberta. The Nation joined Treaty 8 in 1991 and is made up of four reserves: Cadotte Lake, Simon Lake, Golden Lake and Marten Lake.

According to Indigenous Services Canada, Woodland Cree First Nation had 1,377 registered members as of August 2026.

The lobbying registration also says the Nation wants to engage the federal government on the role of private-sector investment in developing Indigenous-owned projects, as well as services and education priorities for Woodland Cree members living on and off reserve.

The nation is lobbying several federal institutions, including Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, Indigenous Services Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, and Natural Resources Canada.

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