Lejac is a locality on the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...

line in the

Nechako Country The Nechako Country, also referred to as the Nechako District or simply "the Nechako" is one of the historical geographic regions of the Canadian province of British Columbia, located southwest of the city of Prince George and south of Hwy 16 on ...

region of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

, located on the south shore of Fraser Lake between the communities of

Fraser Lake Fraser Lake is a village in northern British Columbia, Canada. It's located on the southwest side of Fraser Lake between Burns Lake and Vanderhoof alongside the Yellowhead Highway. The small community's population is primarily employed by eith ...

(W) and Fort Fraser (E).

Name origin

Lejac derives its name from the now-closed Lejac Residential School, which had been named for one of the co-founders of the residential school at Fort St. James. Though not on

Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve (french: réserve indienne) is specified by the ''Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." Indi ...

itself, Lejac is a community of the Nadleh Whut'en First Nation of the

Dakelh The Dakelh (pronounced ) or Carrier are the indigenous people of a large portion of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. The "Carrier" name was derived from an English translation of ''Aghele'', the name from the neighbouring Sekani ...

(Carrier) people, whose main community, Nadleh Village, is adjacent to the original site of the fort, which is located in Beaumont Provincial Park. Nadleh was also referred to as Fort Fraser, though today's non-native community of that name was based around the CNR stop of that name, and is on the opposite side of the

Nechako River The Nechako River arises on the Nechako Plateau east of the Kitimat Ranges of the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, and flows north toward Fort Fraser, then east to Prince George where it enters the Fraser River. "Nechako" is an angl ...

, which is connected to the outflow from Fraser Lake by the short

Nautley River Nautley River (Dakelh: Nadlehkoh - ″Where the salmon return creek″ or Nadleh - ″(fish) run″) drains Fraser Lake into the Nechako River in the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Only long, it is one of the shortest rivers in th ...

, whose name comes from the Nadleh Whuten people. Fort Fraser was the site of the first non-native agricultural undertakings in British Columbia.

Catholic pilgrimage site

Lejac is most notable for a now-annual pilgrimage by Catholic faithful to the grave of Rose Prince, or "Rose of the Carrier", who had been a student at the residential school and is revered by Catholics for her uncorrupted body being discovered during the moving of coffins from an older cemetery to a new one. Many believe she will eventually be sainted, and so far has been approved by the Vatican for preliminary steps towards

beatification Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their na ...

, a precursor to official sainthood. Uncorrupted: The Story of Rose Prince
- A documentary film about Rose Prince.

References

{{coord, 54, 03, 00, N, 124, 45, 00, W, display=title Nechako Country Catholic pilgrimage sites Dakelh communities

Name origin

Catholic pilgrimage site

See also

References