 Summer Beaver was policed by the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service, an Aboriginal-based service, until its detachment was condemned and closed down.Summer Beaver began as an intentional community in 1975 when a group of Anglican people, related by kinship, decided to leave Lansdowne House, a Catholic settlement.Violence had reached epic proportions in Lansdowne House in the 1970s and the community was divided along religious lines.