A Study of Missionary Marginalization: The Oblates and the Dene Nation of Western and Northern Canada since 1847

Abstract

Marginalized people tend to be self-assertive, spiritually strong, and endowed with the potential for new visions and creative energies. This Canadian case study of dual marginalization traces the Oblate missionary first evangelization of the Dene Nation of western and northern Canada from 1847 to the present and provides a three-stage model for a re-envisioned second evangelization. This paper traces the stages from triumphalist missionary operation through a contemporary period of chastened mutual accompaniment to a shared future mission opportunity, proposing that the missiological gift from those on the margins can be a universal, transformational message of liberation, healing, and reconciliation.