The community of Dillon is home to the Buffalo River Band, a Denesuline First Nation. It is situated on the banks of the Buffalo River that winds from Dillon Lake to Peter Pond Lake. Reserve lands surround the village, stretching along the beautiful southwestern shoreline of Peter Pond Lake. The village's 500 residents work primarily in trapping, fishing, and forestry. Most residents speak the Dene, with English as a second language.

Recent research indicates that the Dene people were encouraged by the Hudson's Bay Company to move southward toward the Churchill River in the mid seventeen hundreds to trap beaver. This movement increased after a smallpox epidemic in 1781 that wiped out ninety percent of the Cree and Dene population.

The Buffalo River Band is thought to have lived at Buffalo Narrows for some time in the 1890's before settling at Buffalo River. In 1972, the Peter Pond Band was divided into the Turnor Lake and Buffalo River First Nations. The people of Dillon look to a future as full participants in the local economy and the education of their children while looking back and respecting the teachings and traditions of their Dene heritage.

The citizens of Dillon thank you for allowing them to bring you a small part of their community into your home via the WWW and invite you to take a brief electronic tour of their part of the world, and hope you will soon come to visit them in person, for a day or a lifetime!

Dillon Links

Northern Affairs

Historical background

Saskatchewan Map

Elderspeak Dene information

Buffalo River First Nation Web Site

Buffalo River Indian Band