Hay River Missions, Hay River, Northwest Territories  

Located at the mouth of the Hay River on the traditional lands of the South Slavey Dene, the Hay River Missions reflect an important period in relations between Dene and newcomers in the late 19th to mid-20th centuries. The K’atl’odeeche First Nation and the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches forged significant relationships at these missions, which encompassed St. Peter’s Anglican Church and Ste. Anne’s Roman Catholic Church, as well as a hospital, cemeteries, and other structures built over the course of several decades. Between 1893 and 1937, the site was also home to St. Peter’s Indian Residential School, an Anglican institution attended by Indigenous students from as far away as Wrigley, Fort Chipewyan, and Fort Norman.

Long before the establishment of the missions, the K’atl’odeeche First Nation lived along the K’atl’odeeche (Hay River) in the Northwest Territories. Since early times, Dene would gather for summer fishing at the mouth of the river, which also served as a gathering place in their seasonal round.

During the late 18th century, the fur trade expanded into the Arctic watershed region. In time, Anglican and Roman Catholic missionaries followed, becoming active in the region in the mid-19th century. In 1868, the Hudson’s Bay Company established a fur trade post at Hay River, and, soon thereafter, Roman Catholics built up their mission nearby. Although the HBC post closed in 1878, mission activities by both churches continued across the region.

A group of Dene settled near the mission site at the mouth of K’atl’odeeche (Hay River) and engaged in agriculture. In the 1890s, they petitioned for missionaries to be sent to the community and, in response, a resident Anglican missionary arrived in 1893. Between 1901 and 1909, the K’atl’odeeche First Nation and the Anglican missionaries collaborated in building St. Peter’s Church. Characterized by vernacular architecture, it featured furnishings made by K’atl’odeeche First Nation. The Anglicans also ran St. Peter’s Indian Residential School at their mission site. Starting as a day school in 1893 with five local students, the school expanded in 1895 to include a dormitory. The residential school was closed in 1937. At the Roman Catholic mission, Ste. Anne’s Church was constructed between 1938 and 1940, near an older log church. The Roman Catholic mission also comprised a cemetery and several other buildings, including a rectory that was built in 1936.

The Hay River Missions National Historic Site, located across the river from the current community of Hay River, reflects decades of interaction between Indigenous and settler populations. Significant relationships were established between the K’atl’odeeche First Nation and the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches at this site. The historic structures and cemeteries are part of a cultural landscape, located on the lands of K’atl’oceeche First Nation, that speaks to the blending of Indigenous and Christian beliefs in the early period of settlement in the Northwest Territories.

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