Summary
Between 1845 and 1855 the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate established a series of missions across the west, including at Ile-à-la-Crosse, where many Metis voyageurs wintered. In 1846, two Catholic priests, Alexandre Taché and Louis Richer Leflèche arrived at Ile-à-la-Crosse to establish the St Peter mission.These missions became bases of operations from which clergy travelled in the 1850s and 1860s to seasonal camps on the North and South Saskatchewan Rivers to spread Christianity.
Implications
The establishment of a Roman Catholic mission at Île-à-la-Crosse in 1846 was intended to serve a double purpose of conversion and controlling the movement of hunters and trappers, and cementing HBC suppliers in the region. Historical evidence has demonstrated that missionaries were intolerant of Indigenous religions and livelihoods, and attempted to remove Indigenous practices and beliefs from Metis culture in order to further the Christian colonization of the West.
Sources
PAA, OMI, Little chronicle of St. Laurent, 1875-1877 [Father André] (translation).
Resources
Date
1845-00-00
Community