Browse Exhibits (21 total)

Interactions between the Jesuit Priests and the Native American Tribes of the Columbia Plateau region were dynamic and complex interactions.  The purpose of this exhibit is to begin to shed light on some of the specific missions built by the Jesuit Priests, as well as to begin to understand the methods of conversion and evangalizing of the Native peoples of this region.  This exhibit consists of primary sources, primarily photographs, taken by Jesuit priests at these missions, depicting Native children and adults throughout the conversion process.  

Many priests focused on the Native children in terms of teaching and evanglizing, as the children were more succesible to learing new ways of life, and with the goal that these children would then live a Catholic life, and be able to pass on these teachings to future generations.  By starting with the children, the Jesuits sought to evangelize future generations of Native peoples.

The conversion of these children consisted of both cultural and religious changes.  The cultural aspect of change consisted of Western attire and cutting of their hair, as well as teaching English.  In terms of religious conversion, glass lantern slides were commonly used to visually teach both children and adults the teachings of Catholisism.  There is lots of evidence of First Communions, particularly at the Sacred Heart Mission, which is evidence of the conversion of many Native children.  

Primary sources are defined as first-hand testimony or direct evidence concerning the topic being explored. They are created by witnesses or recorders who experience the events or conditions being documented. However, it is important to take into account the perspective of the individual documenting the event. The Jesuits in the Northern Native communities experienced events, customs, and ceremonies with minimal or no knowledge about the event occurring. In other words the Jesuit journals and photographs were taken documented through an outsider’s perspective. At the most the Native people being “observed” helped the Jesuit documenting spell out their name. However, most of the photos taken do not contain names or descriptions. Even after living with the Native people for a period of time many of the Jesuits believed the Northern Native people to be savages with no purpose in life, who would be condemned, and therefore needed their salvation. This discrimination is seen throughout documentation, therefore making it difficult to verify description of people and customs. 

The photographs in this exhibit come from the archives of the Oregon Province of Jesuits housed at Gonzaga University.  Information for this exhibit has been drawn from letters and journals of Father Bellarmine Lafortune, S.J. who lived amongst the King Islander community.  His main goal was to bring Catholicism to the indigenous community.  King Islanders had been isolated from white culture prior to the Nome Gold Rush of 1898 and this collection captures images of the period of transition that ensued.   

This exhibit highlights photographs that reveal the tension formed by the Jesuits entering the King Island community and bringing entirely new religious and cultural ideas with them.  The documents cited in this exhibit are written from a Jesuit perspective and reveal the inherent biases that the white people had against these indigenous peoples.    

Special Collections at Santa Clara University have also digitized photographs of the King Islanders. For images taken by Bernard Hubbard, S.J. see: https://content.scu.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/kingisland 
Much of those photographs are from mid-twentieth century. Thus the Treca collection here are some of the earliest archival photographs of the King Island community.