The origins of Whitefish Lake Reserve #128 are found in the politics of Canada’s indigenous peoples, the evangelistic zeal of the early Methodist church, and the eternal pur­poses of God. Set apart as a reserve by a Dominion government decree of the late eighteen hundreds, the area had already be­come home to a number of Cree who had settled there decades prior to the passing of the law which made their homeland a re­serve. The scattered reserve, located 130 miles northeast of Ed­monton, Alberta, Canada, stretched for ten miles alongside the shores of three lakes. To the north lies Whitefish Lake, the larg­est of the three. This lake is five miles long and three miles wide. A bit south, Goodfish Lake is only half the size of White­fish Lake. Between them, lying slightly east, is Wayatenaw Lake, the smallest of the three.

        Originally a people of hunting/fishing economy, the Cree were semi-nomadic, following the game, the traplines, the best fishing. For winters, however, a number of these Cree families had made temporary homes on the north shore of Whitefish Lake. Perhaps it was this knowledge which had led a dedicated Ojibway Methodist missionary, Henry Bird Steinhauer, to make his way to the north shore and build the first permanent house there. He wanted to share the Gospel of God’s grace with the Cree people of this region. These were the people God had called him to evangelize.

        Steinhauer, who had personally experienced the power Jesus Christ has to change human lives, gave himself to Gospel work with his whole heart. He knew God loves all people. He was aware the Gospel was for all the world. Under the direction of God’s leading, he willingly, even joyfully, faced the rigors of ministry in Canada’s harsh North. He would pay the price to tell people about God’s Son Who had died on a Cross to save them from their sins. How else could they hear of God’s gifts of forgiveness and eternal life in heaven?

        From time immemorial, Cree had come to the north shore with the late fall winds and left when springs warm breath softened the frozen earth and melted the lake’s ice cover. In 1855, Steinhauer arrived and built a log house. Gradually some Cree families refused springs call to leave. Instead, they built more permanent homes and stayed on the north shore all year, their hearts strangely moved by Steinhauer’s obvious sincerity and The message he brought them. Little by little, a settlement grew around the house and church. The church also served as a school for both boys and girls. In time, temporary living quarters were built on the mission property for the girls. Some evidence of its cellar can still be seen. This school was the first Protestant school in Canada’s far-flung West.
 
        The Cree found it very helpful to house their daughters there, under the supervision of the missionary, when trapline responsibilities called both parents away for some weeks at a  time. The sons could always be boarded out with friends and neighbors. The daughters had the privilege and security of the girls’ living quarters. The Cree were not  the only people in the area. Many Metis families lived side by

        In the New Testament part of the Bible, in the book of Acts, chapter 17 and verse 26, God’s Word says, “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings” God is the One Whose sovereign plan dictates where people live on earth.

        So, Bill Jackson was born on the Whitefish Lake Reserve, to Thomas and Irene Jackson. And, as the boy’s life began to unfold, God’s purposes through this boy also began to unfold.