It was established as a trading post of the North West Company in 1788,[1] named after the Chipewyan people living in the area.

[5] In 1802, the HBC set up another post on English Island at the lake's outlet, called Nottingham House, but was abandoned in 1806.

[10] This fort was established by John Clarke, and Sir George Simpson stayed here 1820–1821, during which time he reorganized the fur trade.

[14] It is located on the western tip of Lake Athabasca, adjacent to Wood Buffalo National Park, approximately 223 kilometres (139 mi) north of Fort McMurray.

Fort Chipewyan has a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc) with long, very cold, dry winters and short, warm, wetter summers.

[33] The hamlet's population is predominantly made up of Cree and Chipewyan (Dene) First Nations and Métis people.

[39] In December 2005, one-third of Fort Chipewyan's residents signed a petition to request the government to build a 50 km (31 mi) all-weather road to connect with existing roads to the northwest that provide access to Fort Smith, Northwest Territories.

In September 2014, the community of Fort Chipewyan in collaboration with Keepers of the Athabasca installed a 1.8 kW solar array on the roof of the Elder Lodge to be used for emergency backup power.

[41] The table below shows the mean daily global insolation (kWh/m2) in Fort Chipewyan for each month of the year using five different fixed solar array orientations and one which tracks the sun.

The solar farm is expected to supply approximately 25 percent of Fort Chipewyan's energy and annually replace 800,000 litres of diesel fuel.

ATCO stated that with the completion of the 2.2 MW-capacity project, about 25 fewer tanker trucks will trek across the winter ice road connecting the community with Fort McMurray, 220 kilometres to the south.