Christianity and Native America

Background

Catholic evangelization of the Americas' aboriginal Indian peoples is an ongoing story of epic proportions. It is a saga on spreading the Gospel for over 500 years and it is a struggle for peace and justice, cultural accommodation, and the development of indigenous Christian faith communities.

An unidentified native deacon processed before Mass at the Tekakwitha Conference in St. James Cathedral, Seattle, Washington, 1993. Tekakwitha Conference Records, Anne M. Scheurman, photographer.

With its centralized bureaucracy, numerous religious orders and dioceses, and access to substantial financial resources, the Catholic Church has been able to maintain mission programs on an extraordinary scale. Moreover, a number of its missionaries, especially Jesuits, have had classical educations and linguistic training, which enabled them to create extensive writings on indigenous life and languages, especially as these related to the Church and interaction with officials of Church and state.   Mindful of its mission as a Catholic university, and recognizing the value and preservation needs of Church records pertaining to Native American peoples, the Marquette University Department of Special Collections and University Archives made a commitment to collect and preserve this unique heritage. Marquette actively solicits and makes accessible collections of organizational records, personal papers, oral histories, and audio/visual recordings. Marquette also acquires individual photographs, newsletters, recordings, and other documentation pertaining to Native Catholic activities as well as the products of research that benefited from its collections. Of particular interest are notable "at risk" collections that otherwise might not be saved without outside intervention.  Furthermore, the department may accept other compatible collections relating to indigenous peoples of the Americas.

activities, human concerns, and faith renewal among indigenous, Mestizo, and other disadvantaged groups. These include the records/papers of the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions for U.S.-Mexico borderlands, the Catholic Worker Movement Archives (Worker Houses in Houston, Texas, Mexico City and Chiapas, Mexico, and Tecum Uman, Guatemala, 1980-); the Conrad N. Hilton Fund for Sisters, 1986-ongoing, with projects in Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru; Reverend Ricardo Falla-Sanchez, S.J., regarding the Maya in Guatemala, 1937-1984; Penny Lernoux, National Catholic Reporter correspondent in Latin America, 1978-1989; Monsignor Luigi G. Ligutti, advocate for Latin American missions and the National Catholic Rural Life Conference, 1943-1971; and Sister Relationship Programs from U.S. churches, regarding collaborative activities with churches among the Maya in Chiapas, Mexico and Guatemala, 1960-.

Laguna youth danced an eagle dance as a symbol of holiness during Mass at the Tekakwitha Conference, Phoenix, Arizona, 1984. Tekakwitha Conference Records, Anne M. Scheurman, photographer.

Related publications researched largely with these collections include American Indian Catholics, Vol. 1, On the Padres' Trail, a history, and The Crossing of Two Roads: Being Catholic and Native in the United States, an edited collection of documents by and/or about native Catholics.

United States, Canada, and French Catholicism, 17-20th Centuries

The exploration and missionary activities of Jacques Marquette, S.J. (1637-1675), the Jesuits, and representatives of France, 1610-1791, are documented in the Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents (print and electronic editions); the published writings of Reverend Raphael N. Hamilton, S.J., including the books Father Marquette and Marquette's Explorations: the Narratives Reexamined, other published writings, and his research materials, known as the Père Marquette and North American French Regime Collections. Notable documentation relates to Abenaki, Algonquian, Illinois, Iroquois, Ottawa, and Wyandot in Canada and the United States. 19th and 20th century documentation on native and Métis-French Catholicism in the U.S.-Canadian borderlands and Mississippi River valley is found in the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions Records and other collections.

Burton Pretty on Top (Crow) offered smoke during Mass with a sacred pipe at the Tekakwitha Conference, Norman, Oklahoma, 1991. Such an instrument served Father Marquette as a passport and sign of peace while traveling in North America during the 17th century. Tekakwitha Conference records, Anne M. Scheurman, photographer.

Related publications researched largely with these collections include American Indian Catholics Vol. 2, The Paths of Kateri's Kin, a history, and The Crossing of Two Roads: Being Catholic and Native in the United States, an edited collection of documents by and/or about native Catholics.

United States, Canada, and Anglo Catholicism, 19-20th Centuries

During the latter half of the 19th century, the Catholic Church extended its network of missions and schools among the native peoples in the United States and Canada by building on the earlier efforts of missionaries from Spain, France, and England. To protect, promote, and administer these activities, it created the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions in 1874 to protect, promote, and administer Native American evangelization in the United States. As such, it has served as an advocate for the missions and Native American social and cultural issues in general. In so doing, it facilitated the dispersal of tribal trust funds used to support Catholic schools serving Native Americans, ca. 1900-1970. The Black and Indian Mission Office (formally known as the Commission for the Catholic Missions Among the Colored People and the Indians) was established in 1884 to aid dioceses in funding African American and Native American evangelization in the United States. At first, most funding was devoted to rural dioceses, but during the 20th century, the distribution was expanded to urban dioceses for evangelization of blacks and Indians in cities, including recent immigrants from Canada, Central America, and the Caribbean. The Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions Records, which document both the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions and the Black and Indian Mission Office, include correspondence with over 20,000 Church, government, and community leaders; reports from dioceses, missions, and schools, including attendance records for Indian school pupils; publications such as The Indian Sentinel, Our Negro and Indian Missions, and the BCIM Newsletter; periodicals and newsletters from Catholic missions and agencies in the United States and Canada; U.S. government publications such as Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs; linguistic and worship materials in over 30 indigenous languages; news clippings; and over 25,000 Native American photographs. Notable documentation relates to these Native American peoples: Abenaki, Acoma, Apache, Arapaho, Assiniboine, Brulé, Cahuilla,  Cayuse, Cherokee, Cheyenne, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Coeur d'Alene [Skitswish], Cree, Creek, Crow, Eskimo [Inuit + Yupik], Havasupai, Hunkpapa, Hupa, Jemez, Kiowa, Klamath, Laguna, Luiseño, Menominee, Navajo [Diné], Ojibwa [Chippewa], Oneida, Oglala, Osage, Ottawa, Paiute, Pima, Pomo, Potawatomi, Salish, Sans Arc, Santee, Siksika [Blackfeet], Sisseton and Wahpeton, Tewa, Tohono O'Odham [Papago], Winnebago [Ho-Chunk], Yakama, Yankton, Yaqui, Yuma, and Zuni. Selected images online comprise the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions Digital Collection. 

Other holdings include papers compiled by Julius M. Belleau, regarding Oblates among Cree, Métis, and Ojibwa in North Dakota and Manitoba, Canada, 1815-1880; Conception Abby Records, regarding Benedictines and missions/ parishes among Arikara, Dakota, Hidatsa, and Mandan in North and South Dakota, 1876-1980; papers of Sister Mary Ewens, O.P., regarding Yupik Eskimo nuns in Alaska and Hunkpapa nuns in North and South Dakota, 1882-1987; records of Holy Rosary Mission-Red Cloud Indian School, regarding Jesuits (e.g. Reverends Eugene Buechel, S.J., Robert A. White, S.J., Joseph A. Zimmerman, S.J., Ted F. Zuern, S.J.), Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity, and a mission/ parishes and schools among the Oglala in South Dakota, 1888- with the Catholic Sioux Congress of Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota,  1890-; records of St. Francis Mission, regarding Jesuits (e.g. Reverends Eugene Buechel, S.J., William Stolzman, formerly S.J., Joseph A. Zimmerman, S.J.), Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity, and a mission/ parishes, KINI Radio, and school among Brulé in South Dakota,1886-; the photographic collections of Reverends Eugene Buechel, S.J. and Joseph A. Zimmerman, S.J. further document Holy Rosary and St. Francis Missions and the Oglala and Brulé, ca. 1902-1954; records of the Marquette League for Catholic Indian Missions, a fundraising organization allied to the BCIM, 1904-1991; records of the Osage Mission and School, a Jesuit institution, which served Osage and Quapaw pupils in Kansas, 1847-1872; sacramental records of the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota Episcopal Church; records of the Sacred Heart Franciscans, regarding Franciscans (e.g. Reverends Oderic Derenthal, O.F.M., Eugene Hagedorn, O.F.M.) and missions/ parishes, and schools among Menominee, Ojibwa, and Ottawa in Michigan and Wisconsin, 1829-1981 and Apache, O'Odham, and Pomo in Arizona and California, 1885-1979; a St. Joseph's Indian School Oral History Project, regarding Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and Menominee pupils at a mission school in Wisconsin, 1883-1980; records of St. Mary's Mission, regarding a Jesuit parish among the Potawatomi in Kansas, 1851-1871; records of St. Paul's Mission, regarding Benedictines (e.g. Reverend Sylvester Eisenman, O.S.B.) and a mission school among the Yankton in South Dakota, 1867-1989; records of St. Stephen's Mission regarding Jesuits, Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, and a mission/ parishes and school among Arapaho and Shoshoni in Wyoming, ca. 1880s-; and Santa Barbara Franciscan Records, regarding Franciscans and missions/ parishes and schools among Apache, Navajo, Pima, Tohono O'Odham, and Yaqui in Arizona and New Mexico, 1873-1922. The St. Francis Missions Digital Collection is comprised of selected images online from that collection and selected images from the Sacred Heart Franciscan Records are included in the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions Digital Collection. 

Angel McFarland Sobotta (Nez Perce) signed the Lord's Prayer in Plains Indian Sign Language at the Tekakwitha Conference, Phoenix, Arizona, 1984. Tekakwitha Conference Records, Anne M. Scheurman, photographer.

The Guides to Catholic-Related Records about Native Americans in the United States list additional sources of related records whereas the national Catholic directories are useful for tracking the origins and whereabouts of past records and the clergy, nuns, missions, and Catholic organizations that created them. Publications researched largely with these collections include American Indian Catholics, Vol. 3, Where the Two Roads Meet, a history of native-Anglo Catholicism and native Catholic leadership,17-20th centuries, and The Crossing of Two Roads: Being Catholic and Native in the United States, an edited collection of documents largely authored by Native Catholics.

Catholic Revitalization in the United States and Canada, 20-21st Centuries

In the United States and Canada, several collections document the late 20th century renewal of faith by native Catholics and the Church's efforts to meet their pastoral needs in urban as well as rural areas. The Tekakwitha Conference Records relate to the concerns of U.S. missionaries from Northern Plains states, 1940-1979, and the concerns of native Catholics from the United States and Canada following reorganization, 1979-ongoing. The Kateri Tekakwitha Project Oral History Collection relates to devotions to Kateri Tekakwitha by a several individual Native Americans of Dakota, Laguna, Navajo, Pima, Tohono O'Odham and other tribes in Arizona, New Mexico, and South Dakota, 1994-1995. The photographic collections of Anne M. Scheurman and the Association of Native Religious and Clergy further document native religious, clergy, and laity at the annual meetings of the Tekakwitha Conference and related events in Canada, the United States, and the Holy See (Vatican City) since the 1970s.

The Inculturation Task Forces, 1993-ongoing, began in response to a request by the Holy See for clarification in the relationships between indigenous and Catholic traditions in the United States. First the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops organized a Committee on Native American Catholics to identify and support native Catholics and related diocesan activities and then the Dioceses of Rapid City (South Dakota), and Tucson (Arizona) organized task forces of local Dakota and Tohono O'Odham Catholics, which explored their native and Catholic beliefs and practices and the relationships between the two traditions.

The Conrad N. Hilton Fund for Sisters, 1986-ongoing, financed several human concern projects among Native American (Arizona, Florida, Minnesota, and New Mexico), Mestizo, Métis, and other disadvantaged groups in the United States and Canada.

Local activities relating to Christian formation, inculturation, and social concerns are documented in records of the Kisemanito Centre, Alberta, Canada, 1976-1987; the Sioux Spiritual Center of the Diocese of Rapid City, 1990-ongoing; St. Isaac Jogues Church, Rapid City, South Dakota, 1983-1994; and the Siggenauk Center succeeded by the Congregation of the Great Spirit, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1974-ongoing.The Kisemanito Centre provided Oblate-sponsored workshops for the Cree and Diné of Alberta and Northwest Territories whereas the Sioux Spiritual Center served the Dakota of western South Dakota under Jesuit leadership. St. Isaac Jogues with a Jesuit pastor and the Siggenauk Center/Congregation with a diocesan pastor serve Dakota and intertribal communities respectively in urban settings.

Publications researched largely with these collections include American Indian Catholics, Vol. 3, Where the Two Roads Meet, a history of native-Anglo Catholicism and native Catholic leadership, 17th-20th centuries, and The Crossing of Two Roads: Being Catholic and Native in the United States, an edited collection of documents by and/or about Native Catholics.

Other Marquette Native American Collections and Resources

Federal-Tribal Relations and Legal Rights: The papers of Juliana Peña Calac (Cupeño, 1893-1967), relate to family concerns and Cupeño rights in California, 1891-1955. The papers of Noel P. Fox (1910-1987), Michigan federal judge, relate to Ottawa treaty rights in Michigan and other legal issues, 1973-1981. The papers of Valentine T. McGillycuddy (1849-1939), South Dakota Indian agent, relate to the Oglala in South Dakota, 1877-1893. Records in the Marquette University Archives relate to the university's use of native images as sports team mascots, 1953-1990s. The papers (and publications) of Francis Paul Prucha, S.J., Marquette University history professor, relate to U.S. federal-tribal relationships and government-issued peace medals, 1947-. The papers of Thomas Jefferson Morgan (1839-1902), U.S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs, relate to federal-tribal relationships, 1889-1893. The Rapid City Journal Native American Reference File relates to western South Dakota, ca. 1950-1980. In part, the records of Henry S. Reuss, Wisconsin Congressman, relate to the Menominee Reservation in Wisconsin, including the restoration of Menominee federal trust status and legal protection for the Wolf River, 1952-1979. The Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Archives relate to the land claims and tenure of Tiwa Indians in Texas, 1794-1985. The records of Honor Our Neighbors' Origins and Rights, 1990-2006, document advocacy for Ojibwa treaty rights and various legal and ethical issues in Wisconsin and elsewhere in North America.

Languages, Music, Beliefs, and Performing Arts: Several collections contain audio recordings, texts, and images pertaining to Native American languages, music, and performing arts. Included are the music collections of Frank Andrews (Brulé and others in Montana, Oklahoma, and South Dakota) and Lee Whitehorse Sutton (various groups in Oklahoma, North and South Dakota, and Wisconsin), Sheet Music (Dennison Wheelock, Oneida, "Suite Aboriginal"), the Walter Bernard Hunt Collection (Ojibewa, Oglala, and others in South Dakota and Wisconsin) Soaring Eagle-Reverend Emmett Hoffmann (Cheyenne language in Montana), the papers of Joseph W. Cook (Yankton linguistics in South Dakota), Paul Radin (Ojibwa, Winnebago, and Zapotec language, literature, beliefs, and ceremony in Canada, Mexico, and the United States), and the records of the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions (various languages and music in the United States and Canada, Series 1, 4, 8-9, 14), Holy Rosary Mission-Red Cloud Indian School (Oglala and Dakota language and literature in South Dakota, Series 6-10), St. Francis Mission (Brulé and Dakota language in South Dakota, Series 5-10), St. Stephen's Mission (Arapaho and Shoshoni in Wyoming, Series 5-9), the Tekakwitha Conference (music and ceremony by various groups in the United States and Canada, Series 5-7), U.S.C.B. Inculturation Task Forces (Brulé and Oglala music, beliefs, and ceremonies in South Dakota), and the W.P.A. Indian Research Project (Ojibwa literature in Wisconsin). The St. Francis Missions Digital Collection is comprised of selected images online from that collection and selected images from the records of the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions and the Sacred Heart Franciscans and the Walter Bernard Hunt Collection are included in the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions Digital Collection. 

Other Social and Cultural Concerns: The Blackfoot Research Project of Susan Dietrich (1914-1993) and Lewis Oscar (1914-1970), Columbia University and the Alice Beck Kehoe files on the Siksika Indians in Montana, ca. 18-20^th centuries. The Soaring Eagle-Reverend Emmett Hoffmann Collection pertains to the Cheyenne in Montana and Oklahoma, 1932-1979. The Don Doll, S.J., Collection features photographs and related documentation of prominent Brulé, Hunkpapa, Oglala, Sans Arc, Santee, Sisseton and Wahpeton, and Yankton Indians in South Dakota, which he compiled for the book, Vision Quest: Men, Women, and Sacred Sites of the Sioux Nation.

Genealogical Requests

Several Marquette collections contain records that are useful for Native American genealogical research. Included are Catholic sacramental records, church census records, photographs, and mission school attendance records, which typically list individual names (spellings may vary), attendance dates, tribal affiliations, and degree of Indian blood. Due to The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, most genealogical records are restricted and microfilm versions will not be loaned. However, under certain circumstances, on-site patrons may use restricted records and department staff will conduct genealogical searches for patrons who submit a completed Genealogical Request Form.

Access and Services

Marquette welcomes public use of its collections. However, for optimum service, patrons are invited to consult with the archivist before their first use of Marquette materials and thereafter as needed. All original items must be used in the department's reading room whereas most microfilm and many publications and recordings may be borrowed through interlibrary loan. To insure the immediate availability of materials and audiovisual equipment, appointments are advised for all on-site research. Restricted materials are subject to special regulations and are not available through interlibrary loan. Researchers involved in extensive projects may wish to also review the lists of selected products from previous research (African Americans and Native Americans).

Service Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and evening and weekend hours by appointment. Photographic identification is required for access to the Raynor Memorial Libraries. For further information see General Information and Services and contact:

Mark G. Thiel, CA, Archivist
Marquette University
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
R360 John P. Raynor, S.J., Library
1355 W. Wisconsin Ave.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233

Raynor Memorial Libraries
P.O. Box 3141
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-3141

Telephone: (414) 288-5904
Fax: (414) 288-6709
mark.thiel@marquette.edu