Enoch Cree Nation: whose land the hotel stands on

Enoch Cree Nation welcomes visitors to its website with its name in Cree, maskêkosihk, and a translation: "People of the land of the medicine." It describes itself as a proud First Nation in Treaty No. 6 territory that works to preserve and promote its culture, language, history and spirituality while advancing the economic, educational, health and social well-being of its people. The same page ends: "tawâw, You are welcome here."

The Nation and the treaty

According to Wikipedia, the Nation's members are of Cree ancestry and speak the Plains Cree dialect; the band is a signatory of Treaty 6 and a member of the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations. Its earliest known leader was Chief Lapotac; the band was recognised by the Crown in 1842, and Chief Enoch Lapotac signed Treaty 6 in 1884. The street the resort stands on is Lapotac Boulevard.

The land

The Nation's main reserve, Enoch Cree Nation 135, lies west of and next to the City of Edmonton and is bordered on the north, west and south by Parkland County; Highway 60 runs north to south through its centre. Wikipedia records that the reserve was originally 44 sections including access to the North Saskatchewan River, and that surrenders in 1902 and 1908 reduced it to nearly half that size — surrenders whose legitimacy and compensation are disputed. The resort sits on the northeast corner of the larger reserve.

From oil to the resort

Wikipedia notes that oil was found on the reserve in 1947 and became a major source of funding, and that the fall in oil prices in 1986 led the Nation to look for new sources of revenue. In October 2006 it opened River Cree, described as a CA$180-million casino, hotel and sports complex. STAY Magazine reports that the Nation built it with Las Vegas-based Paragon Gaming as a partner, with the hotel run by Marriott, and that in 2014 the Nation bought out Paragon's interest and took full ownership. CDC Gaming calls the Nation the owner of the current expansion. The Twin Rinks are run by River Cree Sports LP, which describes itself as an Enoch Cree Nation company.

Yekau Lake

On 13 November 2020 the Government of Canada announced an agreement with the Nation over the Yekau Lake Practice Bombing Range, land leased as part of Canada's war effort in the Second World War. Canada agreed to $91 million in compensation for the specific claim the Nation had filed in November 2007. The government's release says the Nation has designated the former range as natural parkland for traditional land use, the restoration of cultural medicines and protection. Wikipedia adds that the settlement covered income lost when a Nation golf course closed in 2014 for safety reasons.

Visiting as a guest

The resort's events give visitors respectful ways in. The Holiday Market from 19 to 21 November 2026 brings First Nations, Métis and Inuit vendors and Indigenous food, with admission by donation to the Kanaweymik Initiative. The gift shop sells Indigenous artwork, moccasins, jewellery and dreamcatchers. And each September the Nation and the resort host the River Cree Relay Cup, an Indian Relay horse-racing championship at Enoch Race Park; the sixth edition ran on 4 to 6 September 2026.

For anything about the Nation itself — its government, its programmes, its history in its own words — go to the Nation's website rather than to us.