Albert Lacombe - Moving West

Moving West

Lacombe was dissatisfied in Canada East, and in 1852 he followed Monsignor Alexandre Taché, then suffragan bishop of Saint Boniface, to the Red River Colony. Later in 1852, Father Lacombe proceeded to Fort Edmonton and Lac Ste Anne, where he overwintered with the Cree and Métis. It was during this time that he began his studies of the Cree language, which ultimately led to a translation of the New Testament into Cree, as well as a grammar and dictionary of the Cree language co-written with fellow Oblate, Constantine Scollen at Rocky Mountain House, Alberta in 1870. After relocating to Lac Ste. Anne, Lacombe concerned himself during the period from 1853 to 1861 with expanding the mission and deepening his ties to the native population, eventually travelling as far north as the Lesser Slave Lake in search of converts. He began his novitiate in the Oblate order in 1855 under René Rémas and became a member of the congregation on 28 September 1856. During his years at Lac Ste Anne, Lacombe visited Jasper House, Fort Edmonton (Edmonton), Lac la Biche, Lesser Slave Lake, and Fort Dunvegan (Dunvegan).

Despite his good relations with the natives, Father Lacombe had, by 1861, been unsuccessful in persuading the Cree near Lac Ste. Anne to abandon their nomadic lifestyle. He therefore sought out a new mission site more suitable for agriculture, and in 1861 a settlement was established along the Sturgeon River at Saint Albert, Rupert's Land.