| Official Name: | Pelican Narrows |
| Native Name: | ᐅᐹᐏᑯᐢᒋᑲᓂᕽ opâwikoscikanihk |
| Native Name Lang: | cwd |
| Settlement Type: | Northern village[1] |
| Pushpin Map: | Canada Saskatchewan#Canada |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Pelican Narrows in Saskatchewan |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Canada |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Saskatchewan |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Northern Saskatchewan Administration District |
| Subdivision Type4: | Census Division |
| Subdivision Name4: | 18 |
| Established Title2: | Post office established |
| Established Date2: | 1949 |
| Area Footnotes: | (2021) |
| Area Blank1 Title: | Northern village |
| Area Blank1 Km2: | 2.40 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Northern village |
| Population Blank1: | 123 |
| Population Density Blank1 Km2: | 51.3 |
| Timezone: | CST |
| Utc Offset: | −06:00 |
| Timezone Dst: | CDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | −05:00 |
| Coordinates: | 55.1883°N -102.9342°W |
| Elevation Footnotes: | (airport) |
| Elevation Ft: | 1,264 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | S0P 0E0 |
| Blank1 Info: | 1911 |
| Footnotes: | [2] [3] |
Pelican Narrows (script=Cans|i=no|ᐅᐹᐏᑯᐢᒋᑲᓂᕽ|opâwikoscikanihk|translation=The Narrows of Fear) is a northern village in the boreal forest of central Saskatchewan, Canada. Its location is on Pelican Lake about northwest of Creighton by the Hanson Lake Road and Highway 135.
The community is northwest of the narrows that join Mirond and Pelican Lakes, which lie between the Sturgeon-Weir and Churchill River systems. Pelican Narrows is the administrative headquarters for the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, a member of the Prince Albert Grand Council, and the majority of the townsite is reserve land. The community consists of the Northern Village of Pelican Narrows and Pelican Narrows 184B and Pelican Narrows 206 Indian Reserve. Together they formed a population centre of about 2,133 people in 2021.[4]
The Cree settlement dates from at least 1730. It was an area of trade for the Hudson's Bay and North West companies. In 1874, the Hudson's Bay Company established a permanent post at Pelican Narrows.[5] [6] This became a Northern Store in 1987 which remains open to this day.
Roman Catholic missionaries were traversing the area from the mid-19th century and established a permanent mission in 1878.[7] Anglican missionaries arrived in the late 1890s and built a church in 1911. Schoolchildren were sent away for a number of years.
In 1967, an all-weather road was built into the community and other services followed.[8]
In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, the Northern Village of Pelican Narrows had a population of 123 living in 30 of its 34 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 178. With a land area of, it had a population density of in 2021.
Pelican Narrows (population centre) with a population of 2,133[4] consists of the Northern Village of Pelican Narrows with 123 people[9] and Pelican Narrows 184B, an reserve of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation with 1,837 people.[10]
2,460 people identified Cree as their mother tongue in 2011.[4]
An annual walleye fishing derby takes place every year in July.Every year, an event known as "Annual Pelican Narrows Winter Festival" takes place. Currently, as of 2023, the Winter Festival has taken place from February 27th to March 12th.
Schools include the Wapanacak Elementary School and the Wapawikoscikan School (Opawikoscikan Community School) which is home of the Tawowikamik Public Library.[12]
Bitter Embrace: White Society’s Assault on the Woodland Cree is a history of the Pelican Narrows region including interviews with local residents.[13]