Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 7.djvu/823

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INDIAN


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INDIAN


Conventuals), Brothers of the Sacred Heart. Wo- men, 1762 — Sisters of St. Benedict, Sisters of Charity, Poor Clares, Sisters of St. Francis, Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Sisters of St. Joseph, Little Sisters of the Poor, Sisters of Providence, Ursuline Sisters, and Servants of Mary.

Statistics (1909). — Bishops, 2; mitred abbot, 1; priests, 222 (religious, 62); churches with resident priests, 138; missions, 50; stations, 10; chapels, 30; seminary for seculars, 1, with 60 students; for religious,

1, with 35 students; colleges and academies for boys,

2, with 200 pupils; for girls, 10, with 5S3 pupils; parish schools, lOS, with 15,097 pupils; orphan asylums, 2, inmates, 158; industrial and reform schools, 2, inmates, 221; total young people under Catholic care, 16,354; hospitals, 5; homes for aged poor, 3, inmates, 237; Catholic population, 118,420, in a total of 1,284,493.

Alerding. Hist, of Caih. Ch. in the Diocese of Vinrennes (In- di.inapoiis. 1SS3): Baylet, Memoirs of the Right Rev. Simon Wm. Brutr (.New York, 1860-1S73): Ltons, .Si7i'pr Jubilee of University of Notre Dame (Chirapo. 1869): She.\. Hist, of Cath. Ch. in U. S. (New York, 1S90). III. IV: Clarke. Lives of De- ceased Bishops of U. S. (New York, 1872): Catholic Directory (Milwaukee. 1909): Catholic Telegraph (CinciaDati), contempo- rary files.

Thom.vs F. Meehan.

Indian Missions, Bureau op Catholic, an institu- tion originated (1874) by J. Roosevelt Bayley, Arch- bishop of Baltimore, for the protection and promotion of Catholic Indian mission interests in the United States of America. The United States Government holds the Indians of the Republic as its wards and, accordingly, supervises them in all their internal and external relations. Consequently, missionaries, phi- lanthropists, traders, and others who have to do with the Indians or who live among them, are obliged to approach them through governmental channels, and to conduct all negotiations with them under permis- sion and direction of Government Indian officials. Catholic Indian mission interests being extensive, varied, and scattered over many States and dioceses, the church, as a measure of expediency bordering closely upon necessity, established, at the seat of Government, the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions, through which to transact the affairs of the missions with the United States Indian Otlice — the director of the Bureau being the mouthpiece of the hierarchy and of the missionaries in their official relations, re- regarding Indian matters, with the Government. In order to do its work intelligently and effectively, the Bureau exercises a limited supervision over the mis- sions and mission-institutions. At the present time the bishops and missionaries, generally speaking, look to the Bureau for the support of the mission schools and for material assistance in maintaining and estab- lishing missions. To meet these demands, the Bureau, tlirough various agencies, solicits alms for the missions from the Catholic body (Indian and white) throughout the United States.

The Bureau comprises: a board of incorporators — the Archbishop of Baltimore (president), James Car- dinal Gibbons; Archbishop of Philadelphia, Most Rev. Patrick J. Ryan; Archbishop of New York, Most Rev. John M. Farley; a director. Rev. Wm. H. Ketcham; a treasurer. Very Rev. E. R. Dyer, S.S.; a secretary, Charles S. Lusk; a legal-advi.ser, Hon. Charles J. Bonaparte; a field-lecturer, Rev. Charles Warren Currier. The Archbishops of Baltimore and Phila- delphia and the director form the executive board. As for the greater portion of the Indian population, the advent of the ('atholic missionary antedates that of the United States Government. Prior to the creation of the Bureau, Catholic Indian affairs were adjusted locally between bishops and missionaries and Indian agents and other Government officials. Tired of destructive and expensive Indian wars, and realizing that the western Indians could not be kept in a pacific state by money or force or promises, Presi-


dent Grant looked for the solution of the Indian problem in the Christianizing of the tribes. Accord- ingly he announced to Congress (5 December, 1870) his "Indian Peace Policy"; — "Indian agencies being civil offices, I determined to give all the agencies to such religious denominations as had heretofore estab- hshed missionaries among the Indians, and perhaps to some other denominations who would undertake the work on the same terms — i. e., as a missionary work". This plan to give the agencies over to "such religious denominations as had heretofore established missionaries among the Indians" was fair and practi- cable and might have proved successful had it been carried out impartially. In 1870 there were seventy- two Indian agencies, and in thirty-eight of these Catho- lic missionaries had been the first to e.itablish them- selves. Despite this fact only eight — Colville and Tulalip in Washington Territory, Umatilla and Grand Ronde in Oregon, Flathead in Montana. Standing Rock and Devil's Lake in Dakota, Papago in Arizona — were assigned to the Catholic Church. Eighty thou.sand Catholic Indians passed from Catholic in- fluences to Protestant control.

This condition necessitated vigorous defensive measures on the part of the Cliurch. At the instance of bishops in whose jurisdictions there were Indians, Archbishop Bayley on 2 January, 1874, appointed General Charles Ewing Catholic Commissioner. The same year. Very Rev. J. B. A. Brouillet, Vicar-General of the Diocese of Nesqually, was called to Washington to assist General Ewing. In 1875 Catholic ladies of the city of Washington organized the Catholic Indian Missionary Association. Father Brouillet became the director and treasurer of The Catholic Indian Mission Work. In 1879 the Bureau was officially created with General Ewing, commissioner, Feather Brouillet, director, and Rev. Feli.x Barotti, treasurer. On 1.3 June, 1879, the Sacred Congregation of the Prop.a- ganda gave a letter of commendation in fa\'our of The Catholic Indian Mission Work. Father Barotti died in 1881 and was succeeded as treasurer by Charles S. Jones of Washington, D. C. On 14 June, 1881, the Bureau was incorporated under the general incorporation law of the L-nited States. On 1 June, 1877, Pius IX created General Ewing a Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great. On General Ewing's death (1883), Captain John Mullan of San Francisco was appointed Catholic Commissioner. Father Brouillet died in 1884 and Rev. J. A. Stephan was appointed director. By a decree of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, the Bureau was formally recog- nized as an institution of the Church and placed under a committee of five prelates: James Cardinal Gibl)ons, Most Rev. Patrick W. Riordan, Archliishop of San Francisco, Right Rev. James A. Healy, Bishop of Port- land, Right Rev. John B. Brondel, Bishop of Helena, and Right Rev. Martin Marty, Bi-shop of Siou.x Falls — (in 1893 this committee was increased to seven by the addition of Most Rev. Patrick J. Ryan, Archbishop of Philadelphia, and Most Rev. Placide L. Chapelle, Archbishop of Santa Fe) . The committee of five made appointments as follows: president, Right Rev. Mar- tin Marty; vice-president. Most Rev. Placide L. Cha- pelle; director. Rev. J. A. Stephan; assistant director. Rev. George L. Willard; treasurer, Rev. J. A. Walter.

In 1894 the committee of regents was dissolved and the Bureau reconstituted. The old organization was superseded by a new corporation chartered in per- petuity by an Act of the General Assemljly of the State of Maryland (appro\'ed 6 April, 1894). the Most Rev. Archbishops of Baltimore, New York, and Philadelphia being the incorporators, and the cor- porate title, The Bureau of t'atholic Indian Missions.

Under the new organization Bishop Marty was re- tained as president and at his death (1896) was suc- ceeded by Cardinal Gibbons. Right Rev. Monsignor J. A. Stephan was director until his death in 1901.