In the 1940's and 1950's, sawmills were built at Pendleton Bay (25 minutes northwest of Burns Lake). With a drop in the amount of money coming from their traplines and the fur trade, many natives from Fort Babine and Old Fort took this as an opportunity and moved their families to Pendleton Bay where the small community quickly grew.

The new First Nations residents asked for reserve land in the area, but the Department of Indian Affairs (DIA) pointed out that Indian regulations stated that two independent bands could not hold reserve lands in common. In order to secure reserve land in that area, the two bands would have to become one.

On June 12, 1957 the DIA decided to amalgamate the Bands, the result being the Lake Babine Nation (LBN).
But the promised reserve land at Pendleton Bay never surfaced .When the mills closed down, the people moved into Burns Lake where a new mill was starting up. The DIA convinced the Burns Lake Band to sell them some of their own reserve lands which they gave to the Lake Babine Nation. This place was named Woyene which sadly means "the rest of them." Not everyone is pleased to be there.

Today the Lake Babine Nation is comprised of five communities:
Fort Babine (165 miles NE of Burns lake at the mouth of the Babine Lake.) with 200 members in 36 homes.
Old Fort (20 miles NE of Granisle on Babine Lake) with 15 families.
Tachet (60 miles NW of Burns Lake near Topley Landing) with 200 members in 46 homes.
Donalds Landing (now called Pinkut Lake) (20 miles NE of Burns Lake) with 12 families
and the Woyene in Burns Lake with 700+ people wanting to move "home" to Babine Lake.