A Museum Called Manitoba

New Testament Translated into the Cree Language

Story

This is an 1876 Cree syllabics New Testament published in England with penciled-in English translations. This well-used Bible speaks to the founding of The Pas, Manitoba.

Sir John Franklin, searching for the Northwest Passage, traveled through the area that has become known as The Pas twice, in 1819 and 1825. With a trading post and a Cree settlement near the confluence of three rivers, Franklin was impressed by the "island of civilization" and recommended it as a site for a mission.

Eventually Devon Mission was founded in 1840 by the Canadian Missions Society. This Bible, a Christian text translated into Cree Syllabics by an English Reverend living in Moose Factory, is a window into this story.