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Dene Culture and the Catholic Church


Comparing and recognizing similarities between Dene beliefs and the beliefs of the Catholic Church.

Margaret Reynolds, a Dene woman from English River First Nation, shares about the differences in Dene beliefs compared to the beliefs of the Catholic Church, with an audience at the Prince Albert Elders Gathering in March 2020. Reynolds explains how the Catholic Church was domineering in the north and people have lived without their traditional culture for a long time. She understands that the Cree, Dene, Saulteaux in Saskatchewan all believe in the same way and these beliefs have parallels  beliefs of the Catholic Church. Thankfully though, a lot of Dene traditional ceremonies, songs, and drum are coming back after being suppressed for so long.

Please note: The quality of the audio and video in each interview on NCCIE.CA may vary. NCCIE has been a capacity- and skills-building project for students and youth. They have been "learning-through-doing," learning how to arrange and conduct interviews while, at the same time, gaining experience with the technology.

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Contact Details

Location: English River First Nation
Name: Margaret Reynolds
Title: Elder

Contributor

Name: Steffany Salloum
Regional Lead(s):
  • Dustin Brass 
  • Bettina Schneider 

Province/Territory

Saskatchewan

Education Levels

Community
Family
Primary (K - Grade 8)

Education Topics

Culture
History
Traditional Knowledge

Language Spoken

English