GUIDE TO CATHOLIC RECORDS ABOUT NATIVE AMERICANS IN THE U.S.
Volume 3: Western United States
Alaska: AK-37
Catholic Churches of Western Alaska: St. Joseph’s, Nome, St. Jude’s, Diomede, St. Francis Xavier, Kotzebue, St. Ann’s, Teller
Phone: 907-443-5527
Email: stjoseph@cbna.org
St. Joseph Church
409 Steadman Street
P.O. Box 1010
Nome, AK 99762
St. Jude Church
P.O. Box 7999
Diomede, AK 99762
St. Francis Xavier Church
P.O. Box 358
Kotzebue, AK 99752
St. Ann Church
P.O. Box 529
Teller, AK 99778
History: Within the Diocese of Fairbanks (Archives: Fairbanks, Alaska) in Western Alaska, St. Jude Mission, Diomede, St. Francis Xavier Church, Kotzebue, and St. Joseph Church, Nome, and St. Ann Mission, Teller, have shared resources including a Fairbanks diocesan priest.
St. Joseph Church, Nome, Seward Peninsula, Nome Census Area, Alaska:
|
1899-1901 |
Jesuits (Turin, Canada Provinces) (Archives: St. Louis, Missouri, and Montreal, Quebec) visited Nome/Anvil City (Inupiat, in part) |
|
1901-1986 |
Jesuits (California, Oregon Provinces) (Archives: St. Louis, Missouri) established and administered St. Joseph Church, Nome |
|
1918-1923 |
In response to the impact of the “Spanish Flu” influenza epidemic among Native Americans, Sisters of Charity of Providence [Sisters of Providence] (Sacred Heart Province) (Archives: Seattle, Washington) established and administered the Nome Hospital (Inupiat) |
|
1952-present |
Little Sisters of Jesus (Archives: Baltimore, Maryland) have provided healthcare and socio-economic assistance to the needy |
|
1986-present |
Fairbanks diocesan priests have administered St. Joseph’s |
Jesuits and Fairbanks diocesan priests at St. Joseph’s attended the following Native American missions and stations:
|
1902-1910 |
Teller station |
|
1904 |
Nome District, Kuskokwim River, and Yukon River Delta stations |
|
1959-present |
St. Jude Church/ Mission, Diomede, Little Diomede Island |
|
1960-present |
St. Ann Mission, Teller |
|
1987-2000 |
Holy Angels Mission (Yupik Eskimo, Koyukon) Unalakleet |
|
2000-present |
St. Francis Xavier Church, Kotzebue |
St. Jude Mission, Diomede, Little Diomede Island, Nome Census Area, Alaska:
|
1913-1930s |
Jesuits visited Little Diomede Island (Inupiat) |
|
1934-1936, 1947-1959 |
Jesuits established St. Jude Mission (Inupiat) and attended it from Christ the King, King Island |
|
1936-1947 |
Jesuits administered St. Jude Church |
|
1959-1970s |
Jesuits from St. Joseph’s, Nome, attended St. Jude |
|
1954-1996 |
Little Sisters of Jesus provided healthcare and socio-economic assistance to the needy |
|
1974-1980 |
Dominican Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary (Sinsinawa, Wisconsin), Sisters of St. Joseph (Nazareth, Michigan), and Ursulines (Western Province) (Archives: Santa Rosa, California) served St. Jude’s with religious education and sacramental preparation |
|
1979-1983 |
Fairbanks diocesan priests administered St. Jude |
|
1983-present |
Fairbanks diocesan priests at St. Joseph’s, Nome, have attended to St. Jude’s |
St. Francis Xavier Church, Kotzebue, Baldwin Peninsula, Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska:
|
1895 |
Jesuits (Turin Province) visited Kotzebue (Inupiat) |
|
1929-1930 (killed in crash of the plane, Marquette Missionary) |
Jesuits and Alaska vicariate apostolate priests established and jointly administered and served St. Francis Xavier Mission (Inupiat) and the region with the “Marquette Missionary” airplane donated by the Marquette League (New York, New York) (Archives: Milwaukee, Wisconsin) |
|
1931-1990s |
Jesuits (California, Oregon Provinces) administered St. Francis Xavier Church |
|
1990s-present |
Lay administrators (Inupiat) have managed the daily operations of St. Francis Xavier |
|
1990s-present |
Sisters of Charity of Providence [Sisters of Providence] (Seattle, Washington) have also served the parish |
|
1990s-present |
Fairbanks diocesan priests at St. Joseph Church, Nome, have attended to St. Francis Xavier Church |
St. Ann Church, Teller, Seward Peninsula, Nome Census Area, Alaska:
|
1902-1910 |
Jesuits visited Teller station (Inupiat) |
|
1909- |
Jesuits at St. Joseph’s, Nome, established and attended St. Ann/St. Emma Mission |
|
1918-1920 |
The “Spanish Flu” influenza epidemic ravaged Teller (Inupiat) |
|
1962-1960s |
Fairbanks diocesan priests administered St. Ann Church, Teller |
|
1962 |
Fire destroyed St. Ann’s, which was rebuilt |
|
1960s-present |
Fairbanks diocesan priests at St. Joseph’s, Nome, attended to St. Ann’s, Teller |
Holdings of Catholic records about Native Americans:
Inclusive dates: 1901-ongoing
Volume: Several volumes
Description: Sacramental records (e.g. baptisms, marriages, burials) for St. Joseph Church, Nome, St. Jude Mission, Diomede, St. Francis Xavier Church, Kotzebue, St. Ann Mission, Teller, and other attended missions and stations.
For more information on the Marquette League for Catholic Indian Missions and its magazine, The Calumet -- see -- Marquette League for Catholic Indian Mission Records. Marquette University. Special Collections and Archives, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Calumet featured articles about the gifting and demise of the “Marquette Missionary” airplane near Kotzebue, Alaska, February 1930-February 1931.
Unless otherwise noted, the repository on this page holds (or held) the records described here and they are not held at the Marquette University Archives.
new2006/rev2020
