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Professor Thomas Hart wrote the Presbyterian Church central committee in Ontario on 23 October 1885 about its recommendations: The Okanase School will be vacant in a short time owing to the return of Mr. Isaac McDonald to College, and it is desirable to have Mr. John Lauder appointed in his place.
The 1890 formal missions report for the May semi-annual Presbyterian meeting stated the attendance at Okanase was 45 "or when the Indians are all home from hunting 65", with 39 on the communion roll. Each year, the Presbyterian meeting took encouragement from Flett, who was considered to be a missionary hero.
"Mr. Flett finds it very difficult to prosecute his work satisfactorily on account of the prolonged absence of the Indians from their reserves. Okanase is at the foot of Riding Mountain, where the hunting is still good. This furnishes too great a temptation for the Indians to resist and many neglect their farms to follow the chase.
In August, 1891, Inspector of Indian Agencies Thomas P. Wadsworth visited the Birtle Agency. He and agent Markle travelled from Birtle "with the intention of visiting the Riding Mountain and Rolling River Indians.
"We camped the first night at Elphinstone, and the next day arrived at the first named reserve. . . There are 137 souls in the band . . .
"A trip to this reserve would be very incomplete without paying a visit to the Day School. It is taught by a most competent young lady and trained teacher, Miss Cameron under the auspices of the Presbyterian . ..(6)
This first school was a community affair with white and Indian children. The first teacher was Donald McVicar, who also doubled as preacher. He wrote on March 3, 1893, about his experiences at Okanase:
"I have been teaching school since first of January. I got the school from Mr. Herchemer, Indian Agent, and I am getting some salary. I am not getting many children at present, as it was too cold for them in the early part of the winter and now they are all off except a few, out hunting, and they will be out all this month. But I expect a big school in the summer when they will be all in.
"I am getting some white children also, and I find the Indian children smarter and they learn faster, only some of them cannot understand English and they do not know what they are reading about. . ."
"I like to teach the Indians so much. I teach four hours in the day from 9 to 12 and from 2 to 4 and I teach 4 hours at night for young men who cannot come in the day. I get 12 on the average in the night school. I have got all my Cree back. I can talk it as well as I ever did.
"I see what [preaching the Gospel] has done for them, the difference between these Indians and the others who are not Christians is very marked. . ."
McVicar's stint as teacher was followed by John A. Lauder, a Scot who married Ann Ross, Mrs. Flett's niece who lived with the Fletts. Then came Miss Cameron who married a local farmer, the next was Miss Mackintosh, who had Miss Jackson as a companion.
George Flett had retired from active duty on 2 November 1895. The same day, R.C. McPherson was introduced as "missionary to the congregation", although Flett continued to do baptisms through 1896. John Lauder wrote William Caldwell, Flett's sister-in-law's husband, on 29 August, 1897,
"The Okanese Mission is not doing well now. The Missionary [McPherson] preaching away in English with no interpreter and none of his congregation understanding a word. . . things will come to a deadlock one of these days, I think. The old man [Flett] is very angry at it all. . ."(7)
The 1895 Indian Affairs Annual Report submitted to the Governor General by the Superintendent General of Indian Affairs states that
". . . the members of the Riding Mountain Indian Reserve Nº61 have good houses, live comfortably, and in a friendly manner with neighbouring settlers. They have a day school and a Presbyterian Mission, and are regular attenders of the church.
They are well-clothed, have decent homes, well-furnished, their stables and corrals are well kept." [Later, for some years the old church stood in the center of a grainfield and was used as a granary. J.R. Muir operated his first store in the old Indian Church near the mission house.(8)
Footnotes
6. PAC RG10 vol 3859, file 82,250-2, Wadsworth to Indian Commissioner, Regina, 5 September 1891.(back)
7. Caldwell Papers, quoted by Alvina Block. Lauder to Caldwell, 29 August 1987.(back)
8. Muir was a thriving entrepreneur, and later would become involved with Joe Boyer in the sale of the Presbyterian lands. In 1905, he ran "Bob's Cafe" in small store he had built, moving in 1907 to a larger building he constructed on the corner of Railway Street and the Government Road Allowance. Later he built an implement store selling Massey-Harris, and later General Motors. He owned the first McLaughlin Buick dealership outside of Winnipeg and Brandon. Muir took over as postmaster from Leo Lauder in 1916. He built a grain elevator in 1915.(back)
