Getting to know the Opaskwayak Cree Nation, near The Pas Manitoba
The Opaskwayak Cree Nation
Link to communities section (NW Ontario First Nations)
Check out the sincere invite by Chief Micheal G. Constant in a 2014 film (3:04 min to 4:17 min)
Umpherville is an area in Manitoba and is nearby to The Pas and Grace Lake. It is part of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation.
http://aroundguides.com/24689340
Located north of the 53rd parallel in northwestern Manitoba and immediately adjacent to the Town of the Pas, the Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN) Reserves consists of 17 parcels of land varying in size, and having a total acreage of 14,288 (5,782 hectares). OCN, located at the junction of the Saskatchewan and Pasquia Rivers , is 620 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg via PTH #10 (375 kilometres by air).
A member of the Swampy Cree Tribal Council, the Opaskwayak Cree Nation, then The Pas Band, signed an Adhesion to Treaty No. 5 in September 1876. As with other Cree dialects spoken in Manitoba , the Opaskwayak Cree language is derived from the Algonquian linguistic family.
http://www.pbdcltd.com/a-brief-history-of-ocn.html
The Opaskwayak Cree Nation is a First Nations band government in Manitoba, Canada. The First Nation has territory near The Pas, Manitoba, along the Saskatchewan River. The First Nation hosts the Opaskwayak Indian Days annually each August. The OCN Blizzard, a Manitoba Junior Hockey League team, is based on the reserve and plays out of the Gordon Lathlin Memorial Centre.
The current townsite of Opaskwayak reserve parcel 21E was a historical gathering place where people travelled to for spiritual healing. The area Cree would meet here every summer to fish, harvest, and cultivate the land. Also during this time it was an opportunity for creating social ties and practicing the ceremonial way of life known as the Metewiwin or Grand Medicine Society. The language of the Opaskwayak people is from the Swampy Cree “N” dialect. There were a number of local bands who shared the same defined territory which in turn, composed of a number of interrelated families who came together periodically through the year for various social, cultural activities and ceremonies. The Nation has made many developments, including the Joe. A. Ross, Oscar Lathlin Collegiate, and a Community Plex for the events such as: bingos, socials and community events, etc. The local hotel known as Kikiwak Inn was built and completed in July 1996. The Otineka Shopping Mall was built in the early 1970s and opened in the 1975 which has various retail outlets. The McGillivary Care Home was constructed in 1982 for community Elders. The community of Opaskwayak Cree Nation has two churches on the reserve. The Church of Redeemer is situated in Big Eddy, and the Church of Messiah is situated in the townsite area. Both of these churches have been recently constructed to replace the old churches. According to oral traditions Cree people have occupied the landscape of north-central Manitoba since a time before memory; archaeology supports this. The earliest archeological evidence of the people occupying the area has been carbon dated 2,600-4,000 years ago. OCN is accessible by rail, road, water, and air travel.
Government
The Band is governed by the Chief and eight Councilors, who are elected according to the Indian Act for a three-year term. The reserve consists of 21 parcels of land varying in size from 10 to 5200 acres and totaling less than 15,000 acres. The most populated settlements are located in and around the Town of The Pas. Most of the reserve’s borders are with the Rural Municipality of Kelsey and the Town of The Pas. The balance is with the unorganized portion of Census Division No. 21.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opaskwayak_Cree_Nation
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We live in The Pas/Opaskwayak, MB. This town is about 12,000 people including the surrounding areas. The Natives run about 2,000 or more. The Saskatchewan River separates The Pas and Opaskwayak. “Opaskwayak” is a Cree word meaning basically the English word for “The Pas.” The Opaskwayak Cree Nation is north of the river and they have their own businesses including their own Jr. hockey team named the “Blizzards.” They came close to winning the Royal Bank Cup several years back. They lost in the final against a team to Halifax I believe. Jordon Too Too played a couple of years here before moving to the NHL.
In 1911, the railroad came through and this town exploded with people. The Pas was known as the “Hub of the North.” Anyone wanting to go north had to go through The Pas and so the locals benefited economically from those who came and went. Like any other place that has mixed races namely “whites” and “natives” there were tensions but overall we fared well and came a long way from that. If The Pas has a black eye it is due too the tragic Helen Betty Osbourne incident that happened in the November, 1971. This set relations back a few years. It took a number of years to sort out and it had to put some distance from this tragic event. Now The Pas/Opaskwayak is no longer a White and Native issue. It is like most towns that worry about jobs, growth and its future. Our pulp/paper mill almost shut down in the last recession but our Provincial government came through to save the paper mill. Some jobs were lost and this led to some moving out of town seeking work elsewhere.
Spiritually, the people have heard of the gospel and most don’t seem to have the need to follow the Lord. We have five evangelical churches here in The Pas: The Alliance Church, the Baptist Church (King James only), two Apostolic churches (one split from the other) and the Riverside Church started by the Northern Canada Evangelical Mission.
http://www.cnbc.ca/articles/the-pas-first-nations-church
Opaskwayak Cree Nation 1-888-763-1566
Kikiwak Inn
July 1997 saw yet another economic development achievement realized for OCN with the Grand Opening of the 60-room Kikiwak Inn, located on the OCN reserve. Spearheaded by PBDC and completed at a cost of approximately $8.5 million, the Kikiwak Inn is a world class hotel featuring delicious dining, a lounge, and the most modern business and banquet facilities. Their full service restaurant, the Niska Dining Room, can present traditional northern meals or the very best in continental fare. There is an indoor pool and hot tub, as well as an exercise room, and their rooms and suites are spacious, modern, and competitively priced.
http://www.pbdcltd.com/a-brief-history-of-ocn.html
Mourning the deaths of three people May 2016 (1:12 min) Drumming video included.
Movie of the First Nation (35 min) 2014. Very good invite from the chief to all to build up relationships.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1udc38dih9w
Northern Lights magazine online
M O T I V A T I O N F O R M I N I S T R Y
What motivates a young First Nations man towards ministry?
Peter Constant and his wife, Charlene, are Bible college students in the middle of a one-year internship, gaining firsthand experience in full-time pastoral/church work.
Peter & Charlene ConstantPeter & Charlene ConstantIt wouldn’t be unrealistic to think that Peter’s motivation has something to do with the major role a certain local church has had in his own life.
“Riverside Bible Church (near Opaskwayak Cree Nation, The Pas, Manitoba) was where my parents, Eric & Ethel Constant, attended,” says Peter.
“My mother became a believer first when missionaries, Dennis & Amanda Anderson, led her to the Lord. My mom, who has since passed away, led me to the Lord. My dad became a believer later on.”
Charlene grew up on a farm near Gladstone, MB and moved to Moose Factory, ON to begin her nursing career. Her family and church all had a part in her following Christ. In 2007 she moved to The Pas for work and that’s where she met Peter and was introduced to Riverside Bible Church.
Their internship is in a setting they are very familiar with, and that’s quite alright with them. They appreciate Riverside’s solid base, God’s Word, and the people are dear to their hearts.
The arrangement is part of their “fourth year” college training. “It was shortly after Charlene and I got married that we decided that we should attend Bible school,” says Peter. With a hunger to know more of God’s Word and how to communicate it, they moved to Lac La Biche (AB) to attend NCEM’s Key-Way-Tin Bible Institute. “It was a wonderful time being immersed in God’s Word,” they remember.
However, the School closed its doors after their first year (due to staff shortage) and they wondered if and where they should continue. They investigated several Bible colleges and eventually sensed that God was leading them to Millar College of the Bible in Pambrun, Saskatchewan. They’ve appreciated Millar’s emphasis on Bible and personal discipleship.
RECOGNIZING OPPORTUNITIES
This year they are serving under the supervision of NCEMers, Dennis & Amanda Anderson, along with modular classes on the Millar campus. Their assignment began in the summer with a week at Steeprock Bay Bible Camp. Peter was the speaker, and they were encouraged right from the start seeing how the Lord could use them. Through Peter’s chapel talks, many kids indicated they wanted to receive the Lord!
Peter at a men’s fellowship cook-out.Peter at a men’s fellowship cook-out. After camp some of the teens at The Pas expressed their desire to have a regular youth group. The Constants saw this as a great opportunity to disciple those who had been to Bible camp.
A surprise for Charlene was how much she really enjoys and appreciates youth ministry. “I did not feel qualified for it at all,” she says. Charlene also teaches Sunday school two or three times each month.
Peter has been preaching at Riverside twice a month on Sundays, and also is leading a mid-week Bible study twice each month. But ministry is more than just scheduled activities, they’re learning. “God can also use ordinary and surprising situations to accomplish ‘ministry,’ ” they say. “Ephesians 2:10 has been part of our prayers often, that we would recognize the works that God has already prepared for us to do, and that we would do them to the best of the ability that God has given us.”
MINISTRY CHALLENGES
Ministry is not always easy, they are finding. “Some of the challenge we face is the busyness. We have to try and set aside time for one another as a married couple or else we start to feel ‘far away’ from each other.
“Also, sometimes we sense that the community does not welcome our church because they view us as different,” they add. “Some of the community’s religious practices and beliefs do not ‘mesh’ with the Word of God.
“It can be challenging at times, but we know the Lord faced these challenges, as well, when He came face to face with religious leaders.”
The Constants say they’re learning the necessity of Hebrews 12:2: “We fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. If we take our eyes off Him, we sink like Peter the disciple did (Matt. 14). He is our anchor!”
TRUE MOTIVATION
“Ministry, we’re finding, is a daily surrender from the heart to the lordship of Christ,” conclude Peter & Charlene. “You really have to believe that the reason you serve the Lord is because you love Him. But it’s not just our love for Him that drives us – it’s because He first loved us!”
Peter & Charlene will graduate from college this spring and appreciate prayer for God’s leading. The Constants have been our Tribal Trails TV guests. You can receive their program on DVD at no charge by contacting NCEM.
(from Northern Lights issue #534)
http://www.ncem.ca/component/content/article/9-news-main/347-not-just-our-love-for-god
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