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Cross Lake Band, Pimicikamak Cree Nation, Canada

The Cross Lake Band of the Pimicikamak Cree Nation (Cree: ᐱᒥᒋᑲᒫᐠ ᓃᐦᐃᖬᐑ) was among the original signatories to the 1875 Treaty 5 with the Canadian government, though its ancestors had lived in the Cross Lake area for 10,000 years. In 2002, the Canadian government finally completed the first all-weather road to northeastern Manitoba after losing a lawsuit with the Cross Lake Band and other First Nations. The Kichi Sipi Bridge (a key part of the all-weather road) uses the Cree name for the Nelson River, which means "Great River." The lawsuit claimed the government had failed to meet the terms set out by the 1977 Northern Flood Agreement and the court agreed. (Pictured: opening of the Kichi Sipi Bridge.)