Willow Cree is the result of the alliance between Beardy’s & Okemasis Cree Nation No. 96 & 97, and One Arrow First Nation. The band is named after Chiefs Beardy and Okemasis, whose names translate to “one who has a little beard” and “little chief” respectively, in Cree. The Cree name for this combined reserve is nîpisîhkopâwiyinînâhk, which means “among the Willow Cree”.

August 28, 2021, marked the 145th anniversary of the Treaty # Six signing between Chiefs Beardy, Cutnose (Saswaypew), One Arrow (Kapeyak-waskonam), and the Government of Canada. The treaty was signed east of present-day Fort Carlton, near the historic Titanic Church, on August 28, 1876.