The community was both Dene (Beaver) and Chipewayan, not to be confused with the Chippewaw. In earlier times the Chipewayan displaced the Cree, who in turn displaced the Dogrib around Lac LaLoche. The people I spoke to were unanimous about the Dogrib they displaced. The Dogrib were not real people, just animals to be chased away. There were no Dogrib in the area at all, and hadn't been for at least one generation of elders. The Community leader was Albert Cheecham, a Cree person. His daughter Rose, was the schoolteacher. I was told that Rose Cheecham was the most educated native person in the community. Rose had completed her grade 5 in elementary school in Saskatoon. As far as I could see, she did a marvelous job, and would be a credit to any community in Canada.

The people made a living by Fishing in Lac LaLoche marketing their catch to a company in the community of Buffalo Narrows 55 miles to the South by gravel road. A refrigerator truck would come up from Buffalo Narrows on a regular schedule to get the fish. Every family had its own trap lines in the winter season, and some natives worked for the DNR as fire fighters.