GUIDE TO CATHOLIC RECORDS ABOUT NATIVE AMERICANS IN THE U.S.
Volume 2: Midwest United States
Michigan: MI-45

St. Isaac Jogues Mission
1529 Marquette Avenue
Sault Sainte Marie, MI 49783

Phone: 906-632-3213
Email: See website

 

History: St. Isaac Jogues Mission, Sault Sainte Marie, Chippewa County, Michigan, has been a predominantly Native American parish in the Diocese of Marquette (Archives: Marquette, Michigan).

1949-1994	Jesuits (Detroit Province) (Archives: St. Louis, Missouri) established and administered St. Isaac Jogues Mission (Ojibwa)
1994-present	Capuchins (St. Joseph Province) (Archives: Detroit Michigan) have administered St. Isaac Jogues; Rev. John S. Hascall (Ojibwa), O.F.M. Cap., pastor, unknown-2020s

Jesuits administered the Ojibwa Indian missions of the Upper Peninsula (excluding the mission at Baraga) from various sites including:

1850s-1939	Sault Sainte Marie
1939-1946	St. Ignace
1946	Upper Peninsula missions divided into Eastern and Western Districts
1946-1948	St. Ignace for the Eastern District
1946, 1955-1960	Escanaba for the Western District
1947-1955	Marquette for the Western District
1948-1994	Sault Sainte Marie for the Eastern District
1960-1994	Assinins and Bark River for the Western District

Although the missions were attended from the places noted above, the related sacramental records were kept at the following locations:

1834-1940	Holy Name of Mary Church, Sault Sainte Marie for the entire Upper Peninsula excluding the Baraga Mission
1940-1959	St. Isaac Jogues Church, Sault Sainte Marie for the entire Upper Peninsula excluding the Baraga Mission
1960-present	St. Isaac Jogues Church for the Eastern District; for the Western District, the sacraments administered were recorded in the books of the parish where the Indian community resided

St. Isaac Jogues Church holds records from the following missions among Ojibwa Indians:

1892-1960 (closed)	St. Lawrence Mission, Indian Point
1894-1943 (closed)	St. Teresa Mission, Sugar Island
1899-1946 (closed)	Our Lady of the Snows Mission, Hessel
1899-1960 (closed)	St. Florence Mission, Indian Point
1899-present	Bay Mills/ Iroquois Mission station, and since 1939, St. Kateri Tekakwitha/ St. Catherine Mission, Bay Mills
1923-1990s (transferred to Capuchins, Sacred Heart Friary, Baraga)	Sacred Heart Mission, Sugar Island
1941-1960 (closed)	Holy Angels Mission, Sugar Island
1942-1960 (closed)	St. Aloysius Mission, Neebish Island
1943-1960 (closed)	Ss. John and Anne Mission, Sugar Island
1946-1960 (transferred to Sacred Heart Friary, Baraga)	St. James Mission, Hannahville
1947-1958 (transferred to St. Charles, Rapid River)	Sacred Heart Mission, Stonington
1949-1958 (transferred to Sacred Heart Friary, Baraga)	St. Catherine Mission, Zeba
1953-1961 (closed)	Our Lady of the Way Mission, Eckerman

 

Holdings of Catholic records about Native Americans:

Inclusive dates: 1940-ongoing

Volume: Over 1.8 cubic feet

Description: The records at St. Isaac Jogues Church were not organized according to a classification scheme when reviewed by a Marquette University archivist, 1980. Consequently, the description is by record type.

A. Sacramental records, 1940-ongoing, 6 volumes:

1. Baptisms, 1940-1946: for all Native missions in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

2. Baptisms, 1947-1955: for Eastern District missions of the Upper Peninsula

3. Baptisms, marriages, deaths, first communions, and confirmations, 1947-1959: for the Western District missions of the Upper Peninsula

4. Baptisms, marriages, deaths, first communions, and confirmation, 1949-ongoing: for St. Isaac Jogues Church

5. Baptisms, marriages, deaths, first communions, and confirmations, 1962-ongoing: for Bay Mills, St. Catherine Mission

6. Baptisms, marriages, deaths, first communions, and confirmations, 1962-ongoing: for Sugar Island, Sacred Heart Mission

B. Subject file, 1940s-present, .7 cubic foot: alphabetically arranged; noteworthy folders include:

1. Assinins, St. Joseph Orphanage correspondence, 1940s

2. Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions correspondence, 1940s-present

3. Camp Baraga, 1940s

4. Diocesan correspondence, 1940s

5. Photographs of Native missions in the Upper Peninsula, 1960s, 25-30 prints

6. Reports to the bishop, 1940s-present

7. Sermon notes of Rev. Joseph Lawless, S.J., 1940s-1960s

8. Clippings, historical notes, 1940s-1960s

C. Financial records, 1950s, .5 cubic foot: primarily receipts and vouchers

 

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.

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