RCMP said a fire at a defunct Catholic church in Fort Chipewyan was reported at 2:34 a.m.
A community member identified the building as the Nativity of the Virgin Roman Catholic Church, built in 1909.
In a Facebook Live broadcast at 3:20 a.m., Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) Chief Allan Adam said the building is “completely destroyed.”
In the video, flames have engulfed the structure and it soon retreats, fearing that a fuel tank has caught fire.
“Over 100 years into the story, it went up in flames. This was uncalled for. This was a beautiful church,” comments Adam.
The AFCN board later issued a statement that read in part: “Although the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and the Roman Catholic Church is complex, the loss of the church will be deeply felt in the community.
“During the fire that gutted the church in the early hours of August 25, over a hundred years of community history was lost, a history that included weddings, funerals and hundreds of other important community moments.”

Roman Catholic Mission at Fort Chipewyan, including Church of the Nativity (1913). Source: Glenbow Archives, NA-1561-4 According to a national database, the Roman Catholic Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was built by Oblate missionaries after a Roman Catholic mission was established there in 1849. The one-and-a-half-story wood-frame building that burned early Thursday morning was the third church to be erected in the community.

FIRE ‘SUPPOSITION’: MUNDES

The RCMP Corp.  Troy Savinkoff said the cause of the fire is not yet known, but the fire will be investigated as suspicious.  He also confirmed that the RCMP did not receive any threats against the church prior to the fire.
No injuries were reported.
The Alberta Forest Service assisted local firefighters in extinguishing the fire.  The flames did not spread to any other buildings.
The foundations were all that remained after the fire was put out.

A church in Fort Chipewyan, Alta. destroyed by fire on August 25, 2022. (Source: Bernice Mercredi)

A CENTURY OF HISTORY

Blue-Eyes Simpson is a native elder of Metis.  She grew up in the community and is a devout Catholic.  She has many memories of the church from her childhood.

An undated photo of Fort Chipewyan Church. (Source: Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, Historic Resources Management Branch) “It was very beautiful inside. It had the paintings, the drawings, the paintings up the sides of the ceiling. Everything was painted with berries, the colors, so it’s been there for 113 years and it’s got so much history,” he told CTV. New Edmonton. “You know, as a child, and as a young teenager growing up in my older years, even though he had closed his doors more regularly, we could hear the elders singing in our native languages ​​and those memories just resonated with us all the time. » He says the church no longer had a regular priest, but would come in for funerals, weddings or baptisms. He heard the fire bells around 2:30 a.m. Thursday and drove to the church grounds. “I said, ‘I have to go check.’ And in my thoughts I said, “I hope it’s not the church.” A church in Fort Chipewyan, Alta. destroyed by fire on August 25, 2022. (Source: Bernice Mercredi) “There was no slow burn. It was fully, fully wrapped. Orange from start to finish,” he said. “Very heartbreaking to see and just feel, you know, what’s going on.” He said there had been concern from community members about the church because of arson attacks at other Catholic churches following discoveries made at residential school sites by ground-penetrating radar. “Some have very mixed feelings about what has happened. Some have mixed feelings about our church being there. But a lot of it is – it was a historic site. For us, as I said before, he had many memories.” He says Fort Chipewyan is considering bringing ground penetrating radar to their community. Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Roman Catholic Church Provincial Historic Resource, Fort Chipewyan (July 2006). Source: Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, Historic Resources Management Branch Simpson hopes the community will continue to come together to participate in religious ceremonies. He says that the Father’s House, the building opposite the church, has a small chapel inside. It hadn’t been used much because it was in bad shape, but hopefully it can be fixed in the future.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Fort Chipewyan RCMP at 780-697-3665. The settlement of about 800 in the northeastern part of the province is accessible only by plane most of the year.