Father Jean Séguin (1833-1902) (left and below right
in traditional Gwich'in clothing)
visited the Gwich'in at Tsiigehtchic every summer for nearly 30 years
beginning in 1862. A small house was constructed
for his use, but a chapel-house was not built until 1896. The landmark white
church on the hill overlooking the mouth of the Arctic Red River
was built in the late 1920s. (Photos taken from Aux Glaces Polaires, Indiens et Esquimaux. Duchaussois 1921)
The first mission chapel-house is long gone (Photo: F.H. Kitto/Public Archives
of Canada), replaced by a more modern
building
which combines a residence and a chapel where mass is said on Sundays by
an Oblate priest who travels to Tsiigehtchic from Inuvik.