GUIDE TO CATHOLIC RECORDS ABOUT NATIVE AMERICANS IN THE U.S.
Volume 2: Midwest United States
Illinois: IL-2
Catholic Church. Archdiocese of Chicago. Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Archives and Records Center
711 West Monroe Street
Chicago, IL 60661
Phone: 312-831-0711
Email: See website
http://archives.archchicago.org/
Hours: See website
Access: Some restrictions may apply
Copying facilities: Yes
History: In 1843, the Diocese of Chicago was erected for Illinois from portions of the Dioceses of St. Louis and Vincennes, and with diminished area, it was elevated to an archdiocese in 1880. It reported no baptized Native American Catholics in 1900 and 1,500 in 1999. Within its current area, the Chicago Archdiocese and its predecessors administered the following missions and schools that served Native Americans:
| 1821-1833 | Father Gabriel Richard attended Fort Dearborn (Métis, Potawatomi) |
| 1833-1840 (no longer Native) | Father John Mary Irenaeus St. Cyr administered Old St. Mary Church (Métis, Potawatomi), Chicago |
| 1883-1884 | St. Mary Training School (Dakota?, Santee?, Sisseton Wahpeton?), Feehanville [near Des Plaines] |
| 1952-present | St. Kateri Center of Chicago/ Anawim Center/ Archdiocesan American Indian apostolate, Chicago |
Holdings of Catholic records about Native Americans: Includes sacramental records (e.g. baptisms, marriages, burials) for (Old) St. Mary Church and school records for St. Mary Training School; parishioners included Chief Billy Caldwell or Sauganash (Potawatomi), 1780-1841).
Unless noted otherwise, the repository named above holds (or held) the records described and not the Marquette University Archives. However, Marquette’s holdings, e.g. Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions Records, include related records about these Native and Catholic groups and places.
new2006/rev2017
