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In a year marked by deep hurt and division between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Saskatchewan, much hope is focused on Saskatoon’s new Anglican bishop.

On Saturday, Rev. Chris Harper will become the first Indigenous person to lead the Diocese of Saskatoon, a geographic band stretching across central Saskatchewan from Manitoba to Alberta.

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“I am hoping and I am praying that I might be able to offer myself as a mediator, as a bridge builder,” Harper said in a recent interview.

Leaders and dignitaries attending the service will include the Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, the mayor of Saskatoon and the treaty commissioner.

For Harper, his new role is a virtual homecoming. He was born in Paradise Hill and raised in Onion Lake Cree Nation, two communities just over the northern boundary of the diocese he will lead.

A former emergency medical technician, Harper was ordained as an Anglican priest in 2005, and served in the Parish of Birch Hills/Kinistino/Muskoday, southeast of Prince Albert.