Country Canada Post office established 1949 Area 9.16 km² Local time Saturday 5:52 PM | Census Division 18 Postal code S0P 0E0 Population 2,703 (2011) | |
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Time zone Central Standard Time (UTC−6) Weather -3°C, Wind N at 11 km/h, 79% Humidity | ||
Pelican Narrows is a northern village in the boreal forest of central Saskatchewan, Canada. Its location is 120 km (75 mi) northwest of Creighton by Hanson Lake Road and Highway 135. Its name in Cree is Opawikoscikcan which means "The Narrows of Fear".
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Map of Pelican Narrows, SK, Canada
The community is northwest of the narrows that join Mirond and Pelican Lakes which lie between the Sturgeon-Weir and Churchill River systems. Pelican Narrows is the administrative headquarters for the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation and the majority of the townsite is reserve land. The community consists of the Northern Village of Pelican Narrows and Pelican Narrows 184B Indian Reserve. Together they formed a population centre of 2,703 people in 2011.
History
The Cree settlement dates from at least 1730. It was an area of trade for the Hudson's Bay and North West companies. In 1874, the Hudson’s Bay Company established a permanent post at Pelican Narrows. This became a Northern Store in 1987 which remains open to this day. Roman Catholic missionaries were traversing the area from the mid-19th century and established a permanent mission in 1878. Anglican missionaries arrived in the late 1890s and built a church in 1911. Schoolchildren were sent away for a number of years. In 1967, an all-weather road was built into the community and other services followed.
Demographics
Pelican Narrows (population centre) with a population of 2,703 consists of the Northern Village of Pelican Narrows with 790 people and Pelican Narrows 184B Indian Reserve of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation with 1,913 people.
2,460 people identified Cree as their mother tongue in 2011.
Infrastructure
Events
An annual walleye fishing derby takes place every year in July.
Education
Schools include the Wapanacak Elementary School and the Opawikoscikan High School which is home of the Tawowikamik Public Library