Stanley Mission () is a

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

settlement in the

boreal forest Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by pinophyta, coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. I ...

northern

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, Canada. Its location is on the banks of the Churchill River, northeast of the town of La Ronge, north of Prince Albert. Access is provided by Highway 915. The community consists of the northern settlement of Stanley Mission with a population of 124 and Stanley 157, an

Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve () or First Nations reserve () is defined 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." ...

of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band

band government In Canada, an Indian band (), First Nation band () or simply band, is the basic unit of government for those peoples subject to the ''Indian Act'' (i.e. status Indians or First Nations). Bands are typically small groups of people: the largest in ...

with a population of 1,634.

History

People have lived in the area for thousands of years. Across the river at the original site of Stanley Mission is Holy Trinity Anglican Church, built between 1854 and 1860. It is the oldest standing building in Saskatchewan. The community was founded in 1851. The name was derived from Stanley Park, a now-former manor house in Selsley,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, England, which had been the home of the wife of the Rev. Robert Hunt, an Anglican missionary.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Stanley Mission had a population of 104 living in 34 of its 42 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 95. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Attractions

The community has three stores, a band office, a health office, elementary and high schools, a post-secondary learning centre, a community hall, arena (ice skating and hockey), and other services. It is an access point to the northern parts of Lac La Ronge Provincial Park, several tourist fishing camps, and a major recreational canoe route, formerly part of the voyageurs trade routes used by the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

and

North West Company The North West Company was a Fur trade in Canada, Canadian fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in the regions that later became Western Canada a ...

. It is the closest road access to Nistowiak Falls, one of the tallest in

. There are ancient

pictograph A pictogram (also pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto) is a graphical symbol that conveys meaning through its visual resemblance to a physical object. Pictograms are used in systems of writing and visual communication. A pictography is a wri ...

sites in the vicinity. Otter Rapids north of the settlement of Missinipe (Missinipi) are the next landmarks and community along Highway 102, to the north on the Churchill River (Missinipeis also the Woodland Cree name for the Churchill River).

Notable people

Tom Roberts Thomas William Roberts (8 March 185614 September 1931) was an English-born Australian artist and a key member of the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian impressionism. After studying in Melbourne, he travelled to Europe i ...

, journalist

References

External links