Pelican Narrows Part 1

Throughout my previous blogs I have mentioned that we will be going on mission to Pelican Narrows, so I just want to go into what’s happening in Pelican, how it got to where it is now and what our mission will be in making a difference there. I’m sorry if this is a bit long winded but I will try to explain everything as much as I can.

Brief history:

Before white man came to North America, the Cree population of the Peter Ballentyne first nation people lived in Pelican Narrows. The Cree people were wilderness people or natives some may call them and they used to go about and around the lakes trading skins and furs with other bands and populations in that area. They also spoke their native language: Rock Cree. However in the 1600s they were interrupted by the Hudson Bay Company which brought new technology to them and traded guns and other metal equipment. Because you could get around easily by canoes there, Pelican became a trading post for southern and northern Canada, transporting goods up and down the rivers and lakes. This started the movement of the first missionaries coming to Pelican in the 1800s, these of which were Roman Catholic, of which they planted lots of churches and after about 30-50 years, the reserve population started to convert to Christianity.

In 1919 the Cree population were coming off badly due to the Canadian population moving in and bringing their technology and the English language. The government set up treaties which gave them money, yet they still came off badly and struggled. The Cree population is very proud of its heritage, therefore to take away its culture and language damaged their hearts massively.

After a while, some individuals running the Roman Catholic Church started residential boarding schools for the Cree kids in promising to give them a good education and a hope to gain jobs to better themselves. However when these kids arrived the staff mistreated them horrifically: They sexually assaulted them, physically and mentally abused them, they took their identity away from them giving them numbers which they are called by, they learnt everything including the Bible in English which meant they could not understand easily and their Cree language was taken from them. By the time they were 18 they were broken inside and out, with the expectation to go out and get good jobs and be successful. Well this didn’t happen, the young adults scared for life turned to drinking and drugs to try compromise and compensate the pain that they had constantly been suffering with in their childhood. This then made it very difficult for them to pass on good education and moral actions to their kids, as their kids would be brought up in drug ridden homes and violent alcoholic parents.

Fortunately the last residential school closed in 1992, but by that time has left a long lasting damaging impression on the Cree community, which has passed down generations to where we are today. Today a large percentage of adults are usually drunk or high, with fights breaking out regularly because of this. There are a number of gangs that operate in different parts of the town; the Bronx and the NNB (Notorious Native Brothers) are the main two that try to control what goes on. Luckily not everyone is in these gangs and as missionaries we can try to implement them and speak Gods word into their hearts.

The Cree Government:

The Narrows government or counsel is made up of 4 reserves coming together, including 1 Chief and 14 counsellors, 5 of which are from the reserve of Pelican. They do conduct themselves in a democratic manner; however some votes are won due to the surname, connections/relationships, therefore this can have complications in righteous decision making.

Main facts today:

• There is a population of around 4000 people living in Pelican
• The average age of the Cree population is 16.3 years old
• 53% of the population are over 15
• Unemployment is 75%
• 48% come from broken homes 
• 73% of the population do not have education over the age of 15

Canadian Governments Treaty:

The Canadian Government has tried to compensate the Cree First Nations people by giving them treaty money every 2 weeks, this is about $300. They also get their housing heating, electric and other maintenance bills all paid for, so that $300 is meant to be spent on food and any other costs. However this has had a negative influence on the people, as they do not know the value of money. They have no respect for the houses that they live in and too many times has news come through that there has yet been another person killed in house fires, caused accidentally or by arsenal [arson] attacks. It’s a strange different type of poverty compared to let’s say many African countries, as these are people who live very basically with limited housing, burning furniture and knocking down walls in their house for firewood, they have hardly any food in their houses and kids are running around with no jackets on or gloves in the minus temperatures; yet all the kids will have the latest iPhones and other technology and such things. This is because they have the money given to them by the government, but so many people just spend it on alcohol or drugs and leave their kids $10 to go down to the shops and buy themselves food for the day. Their food of which consists of sweets and chocolate, therefore many of them do not have teeth or metal teeth. Because of the way the treaty is set out, the people are getting more money than they would if they worked, therefore this makes an incentive for them not to work and stay at home drinking and not bothering to do anything as they can get more money from that compared to if they get a job.  

What Soul Edge will be doing:

Josh Erb’s twin brother Joel and his wife Joylyn are full time missionaries out there, therefore most of our instruction will be with them, helping them out in what they do. Our days will be packed full of mission work so when I’m out there I will give you a better understanding of what goes on.

1. Our time is divided into school work helping out with their PE sessions
2. Evangelism
3. Street ministry, going out onto the streets and meeting with people, praying and evangelising to them.
4. As we have been disciple for 3 months, we are encouraged to use that teaching and disciple others, building relationships and digging deep into their lives in the hope of revival to their lives and the community 
5. Serving Joel and Joylyn with any jobs they need doing. Logging and hauling will be a big part of our time, due to the place that we are staying has no central heating and will have to be kept warm by fires constantly, which means lots of wood needed!
6. We focus lots of our time also in kid’s ministry, specifically working and running the youth centre there, which can be home to up to 100 youth at a time. There we will be playing games with them, running stands and talking to them. This may be particularly hard as the kids haven’t been brought up with manners and much respect for property; therefore we need to continue the work of Joel and Joylyn in teaching them that. Many of the kids due to their broken families, come to Soul Edge to receive love, therefore we give that attention and love to them.
7. Community work: Cleaning graffiti off walls, fixing broken houses, installing smoke detectors and educating them on that.
8. Enjoying the experience, taking in the breath taking Northern Lights and what the great Canadian North has to offer!
9. Working in the Baby house, where a couple called Stephen and Katie are there on mission too. This involves looking after a number of toddlers and childcare duties.
10. We’re also gunna have fun ice fishing and we complete a 5 day canoe trip at the end of our time there which should be great fun in the rapids!
11. We will be also using Jesus as the main word for God, due to the Cree nations people have their own ancestry Gods and will often ask which God they are praying too if we mention God without relating it to Christianity

Our accommodation will be basic, living a life of simplicity. We have a house on the Narrows (the mountain range in which Pelican is set), no running water, central heating or wifi so unfortunately I will not be able to respond very often to emails or messages, this however will isolate me to simplicity and a heart of service, so in a way I’m not too bothered.

This is a population that needs our help to give them a positive influence and not just give them money, but love. Our mission is to “Come along side what God is already doing, 100% with a heart of love”. Because of the previous bad encounters with outside people, the Cree population are very sensitive to outsiders, making little eye contact. We need to give them that hope that many have seemed lost, that love that was rejected by their previous parents and residential schools, working within their community and show everyone everywhere that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for these people, that there is hope and these people can be saved, that they are Gods children and God does love them just as much as everyone else in this world. These people struggle the most because they are not in the headline news and do not have the big Christian UK or European charities working within them to help them out, this is why we are there as a life line to help them stand on their own feet with God.

I leave on April 2^nd and I’m there for a total of 8 weeks. After that we will be back in Herbert for a week and planning to stay in Calgary with the Unger family for a few days for debrief and preparation for going back to the UK. I will hopefully be posting another blog while I’m out in Pelican to share my experiences if I can get Wifi, but if not you will hear from me again in June, thanks everyone for keeping up with my blogs, supporting and praying with me on my mission, I’m sure God has a lot planned for all of us!