Onion Lake Cree Nation

Onion Lake Cree Nation
Band No. 344

People	Cree
Treaty	Treaty 6
Headquarters	Onion Lake
Province	Saskatchewan
Land
Reserve(s)	Seekaskootch 119 Onion Lake 119-1 Onion Lake 119-2 Makaoo 120
Land area	585.711 km2
Population (2019)
On reserve	3954
On other land	1
Off reserve	2520
Total population	6475
Government
Chief	Henry Lewis
Website
onionlake.ca

Two members of Onion Lake Cree Nation in 1946

The Onion Lake Cree Nation is a Plains Cree First Nations band government in Canada, straddling the Alberta/Saskatchewan provincial border approximately 50 km (31 mi) north of the City of Lloydminster.

It is within Alberta's County of Vermilion River and Saskatchewan's Rural Municipality of Frenchman Butte No. 501 at the intersection of Highway 17 and Alberta Highway 641/Saskatchewan Highway 797.

The Makaoo 120 reserve is located within both provinces while the Seekaskootch 119 reserve is wholly within Saskatchewan. Both reserves once maintained separate band governments, combining to form Onion Lake in 1914. With all reserves combined, the Onion Lake Cree Nation has a total land area of 585.711 square kilometres (226.144 sq mi), and has 6,475 registered members (as of August 2019).

The Onion Lake Cree Nation has four schools within the community, one of which is a Cree immersion program.

Etymology

Onion Lake is a translation of oskaskosîwi-sâkahikan, "wild onion lake", a nearby body of water where the plant was abundant. When referring to the community today, though, Cree speakers typically use wîhcekaskosîwi-sâkahikanihk, "[domestic] onion lake".

Onion Lake, Saskatchewan

The unincorporated area of Onion Lake is located within the Saskatchewan portion of the Onion Lake Cree Nation at the intersection of Highway 17 and Alberta Highway 641/Saskatchewan Highway 797.

External links

• Onion Lake Cree Nation
• Saskatchewan Roman Catholic Churches ~ Online Parish Registers ~ History >>Onion Lake