Catholic Mission In Canada

Missionary Sister reflects on serving for 50 years with the Little Red River Cree Nation

If I look back, I realize that this is the 48th Christmas letter I have written since I have been in the North, the first one written back in December of 1962.

With nostalgia in my heart, I realize that this will likely be the last of the many I have sent over the years. Yes, it seems that this is really and truly our last year in John D’Or Prairie, Alberta.

If you remember, we were supposed to be leaving last summer, but because of a parish retreat planned for November, we got year’s extension. Well, the parish retreat is now over and, though it was a lot of work, we were blessed with a good attendance.

It certainly was great getting to see so many of you while I was back East. The fact that this happened to be my 50th anniversary of religious life really did make everything more special.

Getting back to John D’Or in August meant getting back to work.

As the time for the parish retreat was looming near, from mid-September on we began meeting once a week with the planning committee: a group of twelve parishioners who had volunteered to plan the different events of the retreat. Thanks to the Internet, we were corresponding regularly with the two priests: Father Bill Bernard, a Redemptorist priest from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and Father Kevin MacDonald, another Redemptorist from Boston.

Both were to come and preach the retreat from November 7 to 11.

But, even if the retreat was to be the focus of our parish preparations, we couldn’t let the regular activities fall by the wayside. All the regular ministry was taking place as usual. Parents of babies were being prepared for the baptism of their children, and then we had a meeting with 32 parents who registered 54 children into the program to prepare for First Reconciliation and First Communion.

On a sadder note, we had two funerals, one in October—a young man of 20 years of age stabbed in High Level, and that of Nancy Metsikassus in November. Nancy was 93 years of age and the oldest member of the Nation. Then, on November 4, Sister Jeannette and I travelled to Grande Prairie (400 miles southwest and a seven-hour drive) to pick up Fathers Bill and Kevin, or so we thought, and bring them back to with us.

Imagine our surprise when we learned that Father Kevin was obliged to fly back to Boston because his 20-year-old nephew had died suddenly. Father Bill took everything in stride and covered most of what had been planned. The retreat was such a success that afterward some people asked that we do something as a follow-up. We began a Scripture Sharing group that meets every Thursday evening. We have also noticed a much better attendance at our Sunday Celebrations of the Word as people were touched by their retreat experience.

Another highlight in our lives was Michael Nanooch being admitted to the bar on November19th. Michael is the eldest son of our very good friend Nelly D’Or Nanooch. When I arrived in Fox Lake in 1962, Nelly was in the seventh grade. When I moved to John D’Or in 1965, her family had moved across, too, but Nelly was now 16 and had dropped out of school.

As I needed a caretaker for our little one-room school, I hired Nelly just to give her something to do, and, over the years, we became fast friends. Hers was the first wedding in John D’Or Prairie. When Michael was born and she could no longer keep her job as caretaker, her husband Germain replaced her. We became even closer as four more sons were born and then Nelly’s husband passed away in1982. Either Sister Jeannette or I had all five boys in school and they grew into fine young men each in their own right.

In 2004, when Michael decided that he wanted to go back to school to become a lawyer, his wife and four children backed him one hundred per cent, even if it meant selling all they owned and moving to Saskatchewan for four years.

After graduating last year, the family again packed up and moved to Edmonton where Michael worked for a law firm for one year before being called up to the bar. The swearing-in ceremony was held in the tiny log courthouse in Fort Vermilion. This was a historic event as it was the first time that anyone had ever been admitted to the bar north of Edmonton, and that it was a First Nations person, made it all the more significant.

We are very proud of Michael and I know that Nelly, who passed away in 2001, is even more proud of her son. Over the years Michael and Lana have sort of adopted Sister Jeannette and me. Michael has built a beautiful log cabin about 10 miles from John D’Or as he has a trap line in the Caribou Mountains. This is where the family spends whatever time they can. In the spring, Michael plows a large parcel of land near the cabin and puts in a huge vegetable garden while Lana plants every kind of flower that will grow. I call the place “The Garden of Eden,” and it is here that we put in our garden also. Michael and Lana tend both theirs and our garden through the summer while we are away on vacation. Every year, when we return in August it is to harvest enough veggies to see us through the winter. These are the kinds of friends we have. These are the ones we will miss so much after we leave.

Sister Bernadette Gautreau and Sister Jeannette Berger, of the Sisters of Ste. Chrétienne, continue to serve in the Archdiocese of Grouard-McLennan, Northern Alberta.