Fort Chipewyan, Alberta

Fort Chipewyan is the oldest European settlement in the Canadian province of Alberta. The settlement was founded by the North West Company as a trading post in 1788. The settlement was named after the people of the Chipewyan who lived in this region. The fort is located on the northwest tip of the Athabascasees and adjacent to the Wood Buffalo National Park.

The fort has about 900 inhabitants who live mainly from tourism, especially in the summer months. There is here no permanent paved roads, only in the winter it can be reached from Fort Smith on a winter road. In summer, the fort can be reached by boat from Fort McMurray, about 280 km to the south Athabasca River. The most important means of transport throughout the year, the aircraft, the city is served by Edmonton and Fort McMurray from.

In recent years, an unusually high number of cancer and immunodeficiency diseases was found among the inhabitants, which is 230 km upstream brought by the local population with the pollution from the mining of oil sands in the Athabasca in conjunction. In May 2006, Health Canada began an investigation that is still ongoing (as of June 2006).