Old Log Church Museum Exhibits
Where They Served
Robert McDonald was charged with training lay preachers to carry the word throughout the camps and isolated communities of the north. He was very successful in this endeavour and many of his students went on to become catechists and deacons of the church. The map shows the communities in northern Yukon and there follows a list of who was preaching in each community through the years.

Noukelakayet, Alaska
Rev. McDonald travelled several times to the mouth of the Tanana River to meet with Tanana and Gwich’in people who gathered there to trade. Church Missionary Society recruit Rev. Thomas Canham learned the Gwich’in language from Robert McDonald at Fort McPherson. In 1887, the Canhams took a five-year term of residency at the Noukelakayet St. James Mission.
Fort Yukon / Gwichyaa Zhee
The Hudson’s Bay Company established a post at Fort Yukon in 1847 and Rev. McDonald based his Takudh Mission at the post between 1862 and 1867.
A young William Loola guided Rev. McDonald on his visits down the Yukon River to Noukelakayet and McDonald taught him to be a gikhyi – a Christian Leader or catechist.
Rev. William Loola was the minister-in-charge of St. Stephen’s Church at in Gwichyaa Zhee from 1904 to 1918.

Rev. William Loola and the St. Stephen’s Church bible class. (UAF 1967.48.17)
Arctic Village
Rev. Robert McDonald often visited with the Neets’ąįį Gwich’in people in the Chandalar River area and when they came to trade at Fort Yukon. In 1864, McDonald wrote out hymns and payers in syllabic form for Christian Leader Peter Roe Koochattsya who was able to hold religious services for the Gwich’in and visiting Inuvialuit. In 1870, Neets’ąįį Gwich’in Christian Leader Richard Bayitinukwulti and his wife helped Rev. McDonald translate the payer book and some hymns into the Neets’ąįį Gwich’in language. Neets’ąįį Gwich’in James Chichinja became a Christian Leader in 1877.

Rev. Albert Tritt at Arctic Village, 1934. UAF 1967.48.17
Rampart House
The Hudson’s Bay Company relocated their Rampart House post to the east of the border with United States in 1890. The Anglican Church first used the buildings erected by the American surveyors and McDonald’s Christian Leader Herbert Ttshitelyi [Ttshihtelya] supported the Church Missionary Society missionary Rev. Wallis. Many First Nation Anglicans supported the church at Rampart House including:
Rev. William Njootli, 1903 – 1906
Rev. Amos Njootli, 1911 - 1923
Ben Kassi, catechist and lay reader
Rev. Julius Kendi, 1929 to 1941

New church under construction, ca. 1918. UAA 65.31.58 or YA John Davies fonds 87/101 #39
Old Crow
John Tizya was conducting services under Archdeacon McDonald’s supervision in 1902. Tizya moved to settle at his fish camp at the mouth of the Crow River in 1905 and this became the future townsite of Old Crow. Anglican Christians have remained strong in Old Crow to the present day and the clergy and lay readers include:
John Tizya, catechist, 1905 – 1920s
Rev. Julius Kendi, 1947 to 1948
Rev. Joe Kyikavichik, 1918 – 1972
Rev. James Simon, 1961 – 1965
Edith Josie and Charlie Peter Charlie, lay readers in the 1980s and 1990s
Dr. Rev. Ellen Bruce 1984 – 2010
Rev. Effie Linklater, 1990s
Rev. Marion Schafer, present day

New church at Old Crow under construction, 1926. (YA A.C. McCullum fonds 82/337 #2)
Fort Reliance
Rev. McDonald taught the Hän who traded at Fort Yukon and Lapierre House, and he travelled into Hän territory in 1871 and 1875. When Rev. Sim visited Fort Reliance in 1883, he found Hän and Tanana people who were very familiar with McDonald teachings. McDonald’s Hän Christian Leaders included William Chichui and David Karsinotilto.
Moosehide and Dawson
Moosehide was established after the Klondike gold rush disrupted the Hän fish camp at the mouth of the Klondike River. The Hän community moved into Dawson after the public school started accepting First Nation students in the 1950s. First Nation clergy and catechists included:
Rev. Richard Martin who assisted Rev. Totty from the 1920s into the 1960s
Jimmy Wood, catechist from the 1940s into the 1960s
Rev. Percy Henry and lay reader Mabel Henry, 1980s – 2024

Moosehide Village, YA, 80/60, Emile Forrest fonds, #47

YA, Isaac and Sadie Stringer fonds, 83/332

Moosehide Village, YA, 80/60, Emile Forrest fonds, #47
Moosehide Village c. 1910s, YA 80/60, Emile Forrest fonds, #47
Old Village and Mayo
Catechist Julius Kendi arrived at Fraser Falls on the Stewart River in 1915 and worked with the Na-Cho Nyäk Dun who were there drying fish to establish a village and Anglican church two miles below the village of Mayo on the opposite banks of the Stewart River. This site is now known as Old Village. The Na-Cho Nyäk Dun moved into Mayo after a flood in the 1950s. First Nation Anglicans who served with the Na-Cho Nyäk Dun in the Mayo area included:
Joseph Kunnizzi, catechist
Rev. Julius Kendi, St Mark’s church at Old Village from 1915 - 1918.
Rev. John Martin in charge of St. Mary and St. Mark's Anglican Church in Mayo, 1935 - 1937
John Kendi, 1941 - 1946.

St. Mark's Mayo, YA, Mary and Claude Tidd coll. 7501
Peel River
The Van Tat Gwich’in lived in a large area along the Peel and Porcupine rivers before they settled at the village of Old Crow. First Nation missionaries who travelled to their camps in the headwaters of Peel River included catechists Andrew Ganiizhii and Julius Kendi (1911 - 1913).

Julius Kendi, ASL, p226 032
La Pierre House
The Hudson’s Bay Company closed their LaPierre House post in 1893 and sold the buildings to Archdeacon McDonald and the Diocese of Selkirk. First Nation Anglican catechists and clergy who held services at LaPierre House included:
Geh ts’eh Henry Venn, catechist 1870s
Rev. John Ttssietla, 1880s and 1890
Joseph Ganiizhii, catechist the late 1890s and early 1900s
Rev. Edward Sittichinli, 1903 - 1906
Richard Martin, catechist 1920s

Rev. A.E. McCullum’s ordination at LaPierre House, 1926. L-r:
Rev. Richard Martin, Rev. McCullum, Bishop Stringer, and
catechist John Tizya. YA A.C. McCullum fonds 82/337 #6
Fort McPherson / Teetł'it Zheh
Rev. McDonald became Archdeacon McDonald in 1874 and based his parish at Fort McPherson between then and his retirement in 1903. Many of his Christian Leaders lived at Fort McPherson and held services when McDonald was too ill or on one of his missionary visits through the Tukudh Mission. First Nation Christian Leaders working here included:
John Ttssietla and Geh ts’eh Henry Venn, catechists in the 1870s
Rev. Edward Sittichinli and Rev. William Njootli, early 1900s – 1920s
Colin Vitshikk, catechist -1920s
Andrew and Joseph Ganiizhii, catechists
Abraham Alexie, catechist
James Simon, catechist 1928 – 1960.

pd 383.2.62

YA, Anglican Church Synod Archives fonds 78/67 #169 cropped

NWT1992.171.29

pd 383.2.62