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Norway House, 1846 The Norway House fur trade post was the major inland distribution centre of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) during the first half of the nineteenth century. Remnants of the post still remain, providing a visual link to the community's past and a potential economic opportunity. With the precedent of Louisburg as inspiration, this fort could be restored to its fur trade glory days to support a tourist industry. |
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Weslayan Mission Station, Ross Ville, 1846 At the urging of the local Cree, who had been evangelized by their relatives at the Red River Settlement, the HBC permitted the establishment of the Wesleyan Methodist Mission in 1840, with headquarters at Norway House. Located across the bay from the HBC post and named after Donald Ross, the post manager, Ross Ville flourished from the beginning. The Cree language was first written and read there, using a syllabic system developed by the Rev. James Evans, the mission's first superintendent. Eventually, syllabics were used throughout Western and Northern Canada not only by the Cree, but by other aboriginal groups as well. |
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Peter Jacobs, 1846 Peter Jacobs, known also by his Mississauga (Ojibway) name of Pahtahsega "he who comes shining, or one who makes the world brighter," was the first schoolmaster at Ross Ville. As the first professional educator in the community, it is fitting that his picture should hang in the new educational complex at Norway House. |
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Ogemawwah Chack or "Spirit Chief," 1848 Ogemawwah Chack, an old man when Paul Kane painted him in 1848, was probably of Cree and Inuit ancestry. Originally from the region about York Factory, he moved inland first to Oxford House and then to Norway House. He is ancestor to many of the people living at Norway House and Grand Rapids today. |