The Big River First Nation is a part of the Cree Nation and is located in the Saskatchewan province of Canada. The Big River First Nation is also called ᒥᐢᑕᐦᐃ ᓰᐲᕁ mistahi-sîpîhk in Cree meaning "at the big river". They are signatories of Treaty 6 are located close to Pelican Lake Ojibway, the Big River and Prince Albert National Park. They are 120 km northwest of the city of Prince Albert and 19 km southwest of the village of Debden. The Big River First Nation has nearly 30,000 acres of reserve land. Their reserves include-

The Big River 118 reserve is 11571.80 hectares and the Big River 118A is 393 hectares in area. Their administrative headquarters are located in the village of Debden and the two reserves are located west of Debden. The Cree is the largest Native population in Canada and has 154 bands, one of them being the Big River First Nation. The Big River First Nation is band number 404 out of Canada's 634 Federally Recognized First Nation bands. As of 2022, The Big River First Nation had a total population of 3863, with 2556 people living on-reserve and 1095 people living off-reserve. They have 407 dwellings, of which 366 are occupied.

The Big River First Nation is located roughly 98 km northwest of the city of Prince Albert in the Saskatchewan province of Canada. At this time, it is unclear when the Indigenous peoples initially settled along the banks of the Oklemow-Cee-Pee River (Big River). The first Chief of the Big River First Nation, Cree Chief See-See-Way-um, signed Treaty 6 on September 3, 1878. The band took Treaty 6 under Chief Flying Dust at Fort Carlton in 1878. However, they broke away and only occupied the reserve about a decade later, led by Chief Kenemotayo (okinomotayew, "long goatee [like a moose]"), who had been one of Flying Dust's headmen. Chief Kenemotayo was also the second chief of the Big River First Nation. Following the Treaty, for the next two decades, the Big River First Nation continued to be self-sufficient through hunting, trapping, and fishing.

The Big River First Nation follows a custom electoral system. The current chief of the Big River First Nation is Chief Jack Rayne. The current twelve Tribal Council members are Leonard Lachance, Noreen Morin, Marvin Netmaker, Jonathon Bear, Robert Rabbitskin, Isadore Weenonis, Sylvia McAdam, Michael Crookedneck, Tyrone Morin, Marshall Dreaver, Euclid Morin, and Bryan Morin. Typically each term lasts 4 years and the current council members were appointed on October 2, 2019, and their current term expires on October 1, 2023. The Big River First Nation has certain community goals regarding Governance which include being transparent and accountable financially and administratively as well as supporting community development through the establishment of policies and laws.

The Big River First Nation falls under the Whitefish (Big River) First Nation (Cree Court) Circuit Point. Their community goals regarding Justice include building trust between their members and the Royal Canada Mounted Police (RCMP), and to helping and supporting members of the Big River First Nation with their dealings with the justice system. As a Nation primarily of Cree, the Big River First Nation falls under The Cree Court. This means that the hearings consist primarily or entirely in Cree. The court deals with issues of crime and child protection. Cree Courts are quite similar to other Provincial Court circuits, except that in Cree Courts almost everyone involved, including judges, clerks and accused persons converse in Cree. The lawyers are permitted to speak English and the accused may either speak the Indigenous language of Cree or English. The Cree Court is the first of its kind across Canada and has many benefits. These benefits include, but are not limited to, improving communication of the accused to suit their needs, and understanding the importance of First Nation culture, language, community, and traditional values.

The Big River First Nation's community goal regarding culture is to connect members to their culture. As they are part of the Cree Nation, Big River First Nation has made significant efforts to respect, protect, and promote the values of the Cree community. They hold many workshops throughout the year for its members to practice important Cree traditions of oral history, oral storytelling, land-based life skills, and cultural camps. These workshops are often based on the age of their members, meaning based on their age, meaning that parents, teen parents, and youth are given special workshops. The Mistahi Sipiy Elementary School and the Se-Se-Wa-Hum High School have an Elders Program which gives students access to cultural teachings.

As Big River First Nation is a Cree Nation, the Cree language plays a crucial role in the community. According to census data from 2016, a majority of 57% of the youth population have knowledge of the Indigenous language, which in this case is Cree. It is also the first language of nearly 33% of the youth population. Comparatively, only 3.5% of the total population of Saskatchewan has knowledge of the Indigenous language(s). Cree is crucial in the Justice System of the Big River First Nation as they fall under the Whitefish (Big River) First Nation (Cree Court) Circuit Point. In this court, most of the proceedings are done in the Cree language.

In addition to workshops and the Elders Program, the Big River First Nation strengthen their culture by hosting and attending events of sun dances, chicken dances, round dances, community feasts and pow wows. Pow wows are ceremonies in Native American and First Nation cultures where individuals meet and socialize through cultural events and activities. They are very important to the Big River First Nation and the community also has a pow wow arbour project. Sun dances have an important role in Big River First Nation culture as well. Sun Dance, which is also sometimes referred to as Rain or Thirst Dance, is a sacred ceremony done to reaffirm their beliefs and ways and celebrate good health, safe community, and a good harvest.