Native Cultural Arts Museum

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About

The Native Cultural Arts Museum provides quality learning experiences to the public by respectfully portraying the history, cultures and languages of northern Alberta.

The Native Cultural Arts Museum is a part of Northern Lakes College and is located in Grouard, Alberta. The museum was established in 1976 in tandem with the College’s former Aboriginal Arts & Design program. Today, the Museum collection celebrates various aspects of Aboriginal cultures, with a special focus on Métis and Cree peoples of northern Alberta. The Museum’s historical and contemporary collections serve to educate the public by respectfully portraying Aboriginal lifestyles through exhibits of art, music, hunting, regalia, clothing, and more.

Interpretive Tours

Interpretive guided tours of both the Museum and the St. Bernard’s Mission are offered year-round. Please call the Museum to make a reservation and to ensure that we can accommodate your tour needs.

Partners

St. Bernard’s Mission
Together, the St. Bernard’s Roman Catholic Church and the adjacent cemetery are known as the St. Bernard’s Mission. The St. Bernard’s Mission has been officially designated as a Provincial Historic site in Alberta. This beautiful church was constructed for Bishop Emile Grouard and completed in 1902. Bishop Grouard was a reputable artist and in the St. Bernard Church, his paintings are adorned on the wall behind the altar. In the cemetery adjacent to the church, visitors will locate the tombstones of Roman Catholic Bishops of the St. Bernard Mission – including Bishop Grouard – and brothers and nuns who contributed to the establishment of religious importance in the region.
Today, the St. Bernard Church remains to be an important and operational church within the community of Grouard. As a friend of the Museum, the St. Bernard Church graciously allows the Museum to offer visitors interpretive tours of this site. We kindly remind all of our visitors that as the church remains operational, interpretive tours of the St. Bernard’s Mission cannot be guaranteed by the Museum.

Acknowledgements

The Native Cultural Arts Museum is operated by the Council of Community Education Committees of Northern Lakes College, with additional support and funding from the Alberta Museums Association, and the Municipal District of Big Lakes. Our student work opportunities are funded with support from Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ), Young Canada Works (YCW) and the Summer Temporary Employment Program (STEP).