 First informally and then formally after his ordination in 1886, Pierce worked to convert Natives and suppress indigenous customs (like the potlatch and secret societies) in B.C.coastal villages such as Alert Bay, Bella Bella, Port Essington, Greenville, and Klemtu, and even Wrangell, Alaska.Pierce was missionary at Kispiox for fifteen years starting in 1895, and in 1910 was transferred to Port Essington, where he served until his retirement in 1933.