Father Patrice Mercredi, OMI

 

Students of Bishop Piche School in Fort Chipewyan will recognize this painting right away. It is a mural (~7x15 feet?) painted by Father Patrice Mercredi, O.M.I. It hung over the stage in the auditorium. It shows Fort Chip before the old HBC buildings were dismantled in 1939, but after the Holy Angels Residential School building was built in 1942-44. I took this photo during Christmas vacation in 1965, with Sister Brady's permission. Bishop Piche School was destroyed by fire in 1981, but by then the mural was safely hanging in the Mission Parish Hall. It now belongs to Fort Chipewyan Bicentennial Museum. 

The two figures on Monument Hill seem to be waving at the artist.

The airplane is a pretty accurate depiction of a Barkley-Grow T8P-1. Only eleven of these were made, with seven of them coming to Canada as they made good bush planes. I've researched all seven of them, and am pretty sure he painted CF-BTX as it was being used by CPA in the north at that time. It crashed beyond repair in 1945.

My sister Tania receiving her Grade 9 graduation certificate from Sister Brady in 1966. Father Mercredi's painting is on the wall behind Tania. 

Sister Archange Jeanne Brady used the mural for the dust jacket on her excellent book A History of Fort Chipewyan. She gave me a copy in 1983, just five months before she died. She had very strong relationships with young people in Fort Chipewyan, which is evident in her book - every photograph has students' names lovingly recorded. She started teaching at Holy Angels school in 1950, and was principal for Bishop Piche School from its opening in 1961 until her retirement in 1976. At that time she was made Honorary Chief by the Cree and Chipewyan Band Councils, and given the Cree name Anah ka sakihat awassissa, The one who loves children. Her book is still for sale at the Fort Chipewyan Bicentennial Museum.

So who was Father Mercredi? I was surprised to find very little recognition for this man. He was born in 1904 in Fort Chipewyan to Vital and Sara (McDonald) Mercredi, a mix of French, Cree, Irish and Scot. From the age of seven until 17 he lived in the Holy Angels Residential School. He trapped with his father for a few years before returning to school, then in 1928 moved to Manitoba as a noviciate for the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. He spent time in France to "become cultured" (his words), and returned to Fort Chipewyan to be ordained as a priest in 1934. He then worked in several Cree communities in northern Saskatchewan and Alberta, mostly serving in settlements along the railway between Lac La Biche and Fort McMurray until he retired in 1970. His paintings of the stations of the cross are in the mission churches of St. Gabriel in Janvier and St. Vincent in Conklin. A high school in Fort McMurray is named in his memory. 

Father Patrice Mercredi with the Mazur brothers in Fort McMurray, about 1946.

The NWT Archives has Ray Price's notes from time he spent with Father Mercredi in 1977. In his interview Father Mercredi was very forthcoming regarding frustrations with his career, in particular having to struggle against racism all his life:  

"... discriminated against by fellow priest, discriminated against by the Brothers in the service of the priesthood, discriminated against in college, and in seminary. And it was explicitly at one time that he was sent to France for 4 years in order to 'Frenchify' him, to make him a cultured man and to turn him into a Frenchman. They haven't been able to succeed and the older he gets the more he goes back to his roots, and he feels it is in Fort Chipewyan and in the North American Indian culture, a cul­ture that was dependent directly upon the land...". 

One of his strongest criticisms is that the church went into the north not to evangelize, but rather to civilize.

Father Mercredi died on October 31, 1982, and is buried in St Albert Roman Catholic Cemetery.

Fort Chipewyan Aerial Views 1958 1962 1963 1965

This post is of aerial views of Fort Chipewyan and surrounding area that may be if interest to historians, in particular the water levels and location of buildings that no longer exist. 

The HBCo store when we arrived in July 1958, with the CUL fuel tanks on the beach. Construction has started on the generator building, but the power poles haven't yet been erected. The rubble on the lot east of Mah's cafe may be from Walter Skinner's store which burnt, not sure when.

The next six photos below were taken from the MASL Norseman returning from a trip to Edmonton. They clearly show the layout of the town, with the best views I've found of the houses north and west of Mah's Cafe. They were taken with my 35mm Sears Tower rangefinder camera purchased this from the catalogue in the Spring of 1961. The camera I ordered was out of stock, so Simpson's Sears substituted the next model instead, which pleased me greatly! 

Looking north-east, two islands south of Potato Island, August 1962. The direction of water flow in the channel, one of many connecting Lake Athabasca to the Quatre Fourches River, depends on relative water levels of Lake Athabasca, the delta lakes, the Athabasca River, and the Peace River.

Potato Island from the south-west, August 1962.

Approaching Fort Chipewyan from the south-west, August 1962. 

Fort Chipewyan looking north-east, August 1962. 

Fort Chipewyan looking east, August 1962. Note the evidence of the July flooding - water by the road across from Flett's, standing water by the beach, and the washout in front of Mah's. Also, this is the only photo I can find of Mah's house, with their substantial garden. The lake level is unusually high.

Fort Chipewyan looking south-east, August 1962. 

The next seven photos were taken by me from Courier Air Services' Helio Courier leaving from the airport behind the RCMP property and making a pass along the waterfront.

Fort Chipewyan looking west, July 1963.

Fort Chipewyan looking north-west, July 1963.

Fort Chipewyan looking north-west, July 1963.

Fort Chipewyan looking north, July 1963.

Downtown Fort Chipewyan looking north, July 1963.

Roman Catholic Mission, Fort Chipewyan, July 1963.

Fort Chipewyan looking northwest, July 1963. 

The next four views of Fort Chipewyan were taken by Mike on his Pentax. The pilot made an intentional flyby of the town for these photographs. 

The Roman Catholic Mission, Fort Chipewyan, September 1963.

Downtown Fort Chipewyan, September 1963.

Fort Chipewyan, with properties belonging to Walter Wylie, the Anglican Mission, Indian Affairs, HBCo, and the Public School along the lake frontage, September 1963.

Fort Chipewyan, RCMP and Alberta Forestry properties, September 1963.

Fort Chipewyan and Mission Creek from the northwest, July 1965.

1966 Airport Opening Celebration

This history of Fort Chipewyan was included in the program for the day. Peter Fidler, who built Nottingham House on English Island in 1802 for the HBCo, was my great-great-great-great grandfather. He abandoned Nottingham House in 1806 after sustained aggression by the Northwest Company strong-man and thug Simon Black. Nottingham House was the focus of an archeological survey lasting from 1972 to 1977. 

The photos below were taken by Mike on that day. Unfortunately there are none of the buffalo meat barbecue feast or the entertainment. 

The Right Honourable J. Grant MacEwan, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta

Constable beside public school

Mike Weld

Ball game after the festivities