All the reserves are named for the people who live there. The name for this group is Cree in origin, meaning “pointed skins,” which refers to the way they prepared animal pelts for trade. They call themselves Dene, meaning “people.” By the end of the 1800s, they occupied what are now the northern portions of the prairie provinces and the southern part of the Northwest Territories. Their language is a branch of the northeastern Athapaskan and is closely related to Dene Tha’ and Dogrib. (Adapted from Canadian Encyclopedia, Vol. I, 1988.) The people were signatories to Treaty No. 8 in 1899, and all eight reserves were created in 1937. The members form part of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation.