GUIDE TO CATHOLIC RECORDS ABOUT NATIVE AMERICANS IN THE U.S.
Volume 3: Western United States
Montana: MT-34
Historic St. Mary Church and Research Center
West End of Fourth Street
P.O. Box 211
Stevensville, MT 59870
Phone: 406-777-5734
History: To 1891, St. Mary Church, Stevensville, Montana, was a predominantly Native American (Salish) parish in first the Diocese of Helena and then the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings (Archives: Great Falls, Montana).
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Since ca. 1820s |
The Northwest Fur Company employed lay Iroquois Catholics from Canada who intermarried and catechized among the Salish Indians |
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1831, 1834, 1837, and 1841 |
Four delegations of Salish, Iroquois, and Nez Perce Indians attempted to reach and request Jesuit missionaries the Bishop of St. Louis; only the first and fourth delegations reached St. Louis to make their requests whereas the others were killed in route by Indians from enemy tribes. Narcisse and Paul, two Salish Indians in the first delegation, died in 1831 and were buried in the St. Louis cemetery |
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1841-1850 (closed) |
In response to the fourth request, Rev. Pierre-Jean De Smet, S.J., visited the Northwest tribes in 1840-1841 and with other Jesuits (Turin Province) (Archives: St. Louis, Missouri), he established St. Mary’s Mission and Academy (Salish) |
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1850-1853 |
Jesuits from St. Mary’s attended St. Francis Borgia station (Kalispel), Flathead Lake |
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1865-1866 |
Jesuits at St. Ignatius Mission reopened and attended to St. Mary’s |
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1866-1888 |
Jesuits administered St. Mary’s Mission and Academy |
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1891 |
Chief Charlo and the Salish Indians moved to the Flathead/ Jocko Reservation |
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1891-present |
A few Native American (e.g. Salish) parishioners remain |
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1911-present |
Annually in September, Salish Indians have visited Historic St. Mary’s Mission and cemetery to commemorate the arrival of Rev. Pierre-Jean de Smet, S.J., in 1841 |
Holdings of Catholic records about Native Americans:
Inclusive dates: 1825-ongoing
Volume: Ca. 3.0 cubic feet
Description: The records in the Historic St. Mary’s Mission Library were not organized according to a classification scheme when reviewed by a Marquette University archivist, 2006. Consequently, description is by record type.
/1. Maps
Inclusive dates: 1825-1876
Volume: Ca. .5 cubic foot (20 items)
Description: Maps (copies) of Northwest Jesuit missions and travels and U.S. explorers and military expeditions.
/2. Photography
Inclusive dates: 1841?-ongoing
Volume: Ca. 0.5 cubic foot
Description: Pilgrimage at St. Mary’s Mission with Jesuits and Salish Indians; black and white and mostly in color after 1975; most are copies before 1900.
/3. Reference File
Inclusive dates: 1911-1980
Volume: Ca. 2.0 cubic feet
Description: Clippings and commemorative pamphlets including The Story of St. Mary’s Mission, Rev. Martin Florian, 1959
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
