Related
External Links
(Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites - links will open in new window)
Rev. Ellen Bruce, the first northern aboriginal woman to be ordained in the Anglican church, died at her home in Old Crow, Yukon, on Saturday. She was 98 years old.
Bruce, who was born in 1911 in northern Yukon, was known for her community service and her dedication to keeping the Gwich'in language alive. She led church services in Old Crow, and across Canada's North, in Gwich'in and English.
"She was this absolute gem, just so kind and sweet, and her humility has taught us so much," Chief Joe Linklater of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation in Old Crow told CBC News.
"Being the reverend that ran our church in the Gwich'in language, that was really so important to everybody."
Bruce was ordained in 1987, making her the first northern native woman to become an Anglican minister.
She was named a member of the Order of Canada in 1991 for her efforts to sustain and promote "the cultural integrity of the Vuntut Gwitchin for over 50 years, helping them adapt from camp life to community life."
"She was, again, sort of a holy woman but a very gentle kind of a person," said Ron Ferris, who was Yukon's bishop around the time Bruce was ordained.
"There was a kind of aura about her. She was just so wise and so sensible and so humble."
A funeral has been announced for Thursday in Old Crow.
Share Tools
Latest North News Headlines
- Hunters not to blame for caribou decline, says NTI
- The decline in the caribou population of south Baffin Island is not a major concern, according to Nunavut Tunngavik. more »
- Body of missing Fort Resolution, N.W.T., woman found
- The family of Melissa Payne has confirmed her body was found Wednesday. more »
- Needed: New approaches to defuse 'suicide contagion' among teens
- Mental health experts say we need to find new ways to refer to and discuss suicide, particularly now that a large medical study has confirmed that teens are more susceptible to the idea if they know a schoolmate who died that way. more »
- Wait time and primary care reforms stalled
- Shortening wait times for hip and knee replacements, increasing electronic health records and starting a national pharmacare strategy are stalled, according to a new progress report. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- Mike Duffy's primary home not P.E.I., unedited Senate report says
- A copy of the original report by an internal Senate committee on Senator Mike Duffy's expense claims, obtained by CBC News, makes it clear the committee believes Duffy's primary residence is in Ottawa, and not in P.E.I. more »
- Neil Macdonald: Harper no Obama when it comes to dealing with scandals
- Beset by three so-called scandals at the moment, Barack Obama has been meeting his accusers and the press head on, Neil Macdonald writes. The same cannot be said for how Stephen Harper operates. more »
- Needed: New approaches to defuse 'suicide contagion' among teens
- Mental health experts say we need to find new ways to refer to and discuss suicide, particularly now that a large medical study has confirmed that teens are more susceptible to the idea if they know a schoolmate who died that way. more »
- 2nd suspect in Tim Bosma case now in court for murder charge
- A second man arrested in the death of Tim Bosma, a Hamilton husband and father who disappeared after taking two men on a test drive of his pickup truck, has arrived in court to face a charge of first-degree murder. more »
- Body of missing Fort Resolution, N.W.T., woman found
- MMA fighter gets jail for assaulting ex-girlfriend
- Arctic bacteria discovered breeding at record –15 C
- Yukoners knit wooly mammoth a new coat
- Yukon couple hold record for longest marriage in country
- Arena fire may force Fort Smith to build outdoor rinks
- Nunavut government is now less accountable, says professor
- Daycare owner failed to prevent sex harassment, says tribunal
- Whitehorse refugee claimant gets second hearing
