Lac Ste. Anne Pilgrimage: Elder recalls miracles

Page 1

Frank Ward seldom lets a year slip by without making the trip to Lac Ste. Anne even though it used to take him three days to travel to the pilgrimage.

"I used to come by wagon and a team of two horses," recalled the 72-year old Cree elder, originally born in St. Paul. "I had all kinds of jobs all over the place, but I always tried to make it to Pilgrimage from wherever I was . . . Saddle Lake, Lac La Biche or up north."

Sitting outside his small tent in front of a flickering fire, Ward was eager to reminisce about the first pilgrimages he attended.

"I was 10 years old when I first came to Lac Ste. Anne. Oh, everything's changed so much since then. For one thing, there were no cars. Horses were tied up everywhere and the dogs were running all over the place . . . you could hear them barking all night."

Ward maintains the seasons and weather have even changed since the early days.

"It was warmer back then. You just took two blankets and went to sleep in the grass under the stars. And everyone was together outside, cooking bannock over the fire.

"We were very poor back then. We had some kind of tent to stay in, but that was about all. But then, the people were different back then, too. They'd always help you out. They were friendlier."

Ward adds that it seemed he knew everyone back then and that the world was much smaller. "I always knew the priests who led the Mass, but now there are so many. When I come here these days I just stay right here by my fire and listen to the fathers talk over the loudspeaker . . ."

The faith in the healing powers of Lac Ste. Anne have diminished over the years, as well, says Ward.

"When we came around the bend at Alberta Beach, as soon as we saw the lake everyone would stop and go into the water. We would pray first thing and then everyone would get back into the wagons and we'd sing and pray all the way to the campsite."

Ward fully believes in the powers of the water and the good things that happen to people who pray at Lac Ste. Anne. But he says his faith is nothing compared to the faith the "oldtimers had about this place when I was a kid. The belief was so strong back then that miracles really did happen."

He implies that such miracles don't happen today because "everything is upside down. People are changed . . . there's alcoholism now and everything. This (pilgrimage) is something now to make money from . . ."

Ward points out one of the changes he's most sorry to see is the difference in the lake itself. "The water used to be clean when I first started coming here. We just drank it right from the lake. There were no boats then . . . no gas in the water."

Though the good old days will never return, Ward thinks the pilgrimage is still worthwhile and does have a positive effect on those who attend.

"If you believe in God, then it's all you need. It's in here," he explains, pointing to his heart. "If you just follow everyone else, you'll be in trouble."