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 When
George McDougall began his missionary work in the
1860s his task was to reinforce and promote the agricultural settlements
started by Robert Rundle. The first site
for this was
the Victoria
Mission where, along with Thomas Woosley and
Henry Bird Steinhauer, McDougall recruited
Aboriginal and Métis families, set up river lots, sowed
grain, seeded gardens and began teaching agricultural
techniques. As houses, a school, church and hospital were being built,
the McDougalls made numerous trips to Fort Edmonton for supplies and to the
Aboriginal camps
to teach, worship and promote settlement.
McDougall's establishment of other missions followed a similar pattern. In 1871, the family moved to Fort
Edmonton to create a permanent mission outside the fort, which by that
time had become a major centre of transportation and trade. Roman
Catholic missionaries, under the leadership of Father Lacombe, had developed missions in the
vicinity-consequently, the need for a Methodist
mission. In 1873, McDougall also opened a
mission along the Bow River at Morley, which provided access to both the Stoney-Nakoda
and Blackfoot tribes. George appointed his son John
McDougall and John's wife Elizabeth Boyd
to this mission.
George McDougall faced many challenges and lived through some of the most turbulent
years in Canadian prairie history: the Hudson's Bay Company sold its lands to the
Canadian government and preparations were made for the signing of
treaties; herds of buffalo were moving south and visibly diminished; erratic weather patterns caused successive crop failures;
disease swept the prairies; illegal liquor traffic created major social problems for
Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities alike; and warfare and rebellion in
many areas disrupted the settled agricultural lifestyle that the
missionaries were trying to create.
George McDougall faced these challenges by relying on his insight and experience
as a missionary. He
 mediated
between Aboriginal people and the government in the making of the treaties. While
he sometimes
advocated on behalf of the Aboriginal community, he also acted as a
spokesman for the government in persuading the tribes to remain at peace
and not join rebellious groups. He helped lead a campaign for the total
prohibition of the sale of liquor, opened hospitals and sat on one of
the first health boards (largely in response to the smallpox epidemic
of 1870-71 that affected his family and those to whom he ministered).
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