The Beaver Lake Cree Nation, a Treaty 6 (1876) First Nation in Alberta, commenced an action alleging that the taking up of treaty lands by the province for resource and industrial development has compromised the First Nation's ability to pursue its traditional way of life (see also Yahey v. British Columbia, 2021). In the current action, the plaintiffs seek an advance costs order to finance the litigation. The case management judge granted advance costs, but the Alberta Court of Appeal overturned that decision because, in its opinion, the First Nation did not meet the advance costs requirement of impecuniosity because it had sufficient financial resources to fund the litigation, but chose to use them for other pressing needs of the community. Impecuniosity, along with a prima facie case and a matter of public interest, is an essential requirement for an advance costs order. The Supreme Court unanimously allowed the appeal, but sent the matter back to the Court of Queen's Bench to decide if the test for impecuniosity the Court laid down could be met. The Supreme Court ruled that an advance costs application can be successful even though a First Nation has funds that it chooses to use for other pressing community needs such as housing, clean water, health, education, and social services. However, evidence has to be presented of those pressing needs, the resources needed to meet them, the First Nation's assets and income, and the estimated cost of the litigation. The case management judge made her decision on an inadequate factual basis, which is why the matter was sent back to the lower court. The Supreme Court stressed that judges, in exercising their discretion in deciding whether to issue advance costs orders, should respect Indigenous self-government and the perspective of First Nations in establishing priorities for their communities. Additionally, court decisions should promote reconciliation and take account of the need for access to justice.