St Paul des Cris
Posted by: 
yellowmojo
N 53° 47.698 W 111° 41.267
12U E 454695 N 5960929
A marker for a mission that once stood in this area. On Hwy 36 and the north side of the North Saskatchewan River.
Waymark Code: WMC8QN
Location: Alberta, Canada
Date Posted: 08/09/2011
Views: 6
In 1865, Father Albert Lacombe, Oblate of Mary Immaculate, founded a mission called St Paul des Cris among the cree people. He chose a site on the North Saskatchewan River where the town of Brosseau, Ab is today.
Father Lacombe's brother, Gaspard, and Noel Courtepatte had arrived first at the site with ox carts full of provisions, and built a shelter. Lacombe arrived in May, rafting down the river from St. Albert with seed grain, 50 bushels of seed potatoes and a plow. As the plow broke the earth, Cree women and children prepared the seedbed by smashing the clods of earth. Then, the women planted the crops. The Cree left for the summer buffalo hunt, returning to harvest their crops in the fall. After the harvest, the winter buffalo hunt took them away again.
Father Lacombe knew the seasonal round of hunting meant the Cree camps were not pitched in one place very long. Lacombe decided to move with the Cree, and give his religious instruction, services, and sacraments in their camps. He used St Paul des Cris as a base. The mission also became a stopping place for travelers, and over the years, Lacombe and others improved the buildings and expanded the site. It reached Cree, Stony, Blackfoot, Metis, and Sarcee people.
Changing times led to the abandonment of the site. With peace between the Blackfoot and the Cree, the Cree could break up into smaller camps. The scarcity of buffalo meant the Cree were hunting further from the North Saskatchewan River. The Metis were choosing other locations for their winter settlements. St Paul des Cris was no longer a central location for a mission and, it closed in 1874.
Type of Marker: Geographical / Natural History
Sign Age: New Alberta Tourism Marker Style
Parking: a quaint little store that sells homemade goods & ice cream has it's parking lot right where this marker stands
Placement agency: Alberta Tourism
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