BUREAU OF CATHOLIC INDIAN MISSIONS
Record Group 1 of Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions Records
BCIM Series 1-1 Scope and Content: Retrospective Additions and Special Compilations
Retrospective additions and special compilations of BCIM and Commission correspondence acquired or compiled by or after 2000. Included is correspondence acquired after 2000 and not microfilmed; a compilation of Bureau correspondence by Native American correspondents selected from throughout the general correspondence, 1873-1975; and a compilation of BCIM and Commission legal documents and minutes of meetings by their boards of directors, 1876-1976. The BCIM Series 1-1 Index of Native American Authors includes all identified notable authors; PDF copies are available on request.
Additions to Correspondence, 1892-1975: Although created during the Stephan, Ketcham, Hughes, and Tennelly administrations, the Marquette Archives received these Bureau and Commission records after 2000 and has interfiled them between the Tenelly and Lenz administrations. Their arrangement and titles reflect the classification schemes used by their respective administrations with the special files "Pious Foundation," "Royalties," and "Real Estate" included in the alphabetical arrangement under "50-General." The Pious Foundation, founded by Rev. James Stephen Barry, provided mass stipends received by clergy on the Standing Rock Reservation, North and South Dakota. The related Standing Rock correspondence is filed under that heading. The royalties and real estate headings contain correspondence relating to such assets donated to the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions.
Native American correspondence, 1873-1975: This is a special compilation of notable facsimile and transcribed copies of Bureau correspondence by Native American correspondents arranged alphabetically by the first letter of the authors' surnames and thereunder chronologically. [Nicholas] Black Elk (Oglala, 1863-1950), Reverend Phillip B. Gordon or Ti-bish-go-gi-jik (Ojibwa, 1885-1948), and Zitkala Sa or Gertrude S. Bonnin (Yankton) are included. The BCIM Series 1-1 Index of Native American Authorsincludes all identified notable authors; PDF copies are available on request. The Sacred Heart Province Franciscan Records, Series 1, includes additional letters by Father Gordon. Many of these Native-authored documents also appear in The Crossing of Two Roads: Being Catholic and Native in the United States.
BCIM legal documents and board of directors' minutes: 1876, 1878-1917, 1935, 1940-1942. This is a special compilation of facsimile copies and extra original copies compiled from original documents, which are inter-filed throughout the general correspondence. Also included are record copies from among the additions. The legal documents include charters, bylaws, and incorporation articles. These records were not microfilmed as a discreet unit. However, PDF copies are available on request.
Commission charter and board of directors' minutes, 1915, 1920-1974, 1976: This is a special compilation of facsimile copies and extra original copies compiled from original documents, which are inter-filed throughout the general correspondence. Also included are record copies from among the additions. The legal documents include charters, bylaws, and incorporation articles. These records were not microfilmed as a discreet unit. However, PDF copies are available on request.
Combined BCIM and Commission board meetings, 1940-1976: Since 1940, the BCIM and Commission boards comprised the same directors. They held back-to-back meetings with minutes of both often recorded in one document in the order held. Most deliberations pertained to Commission business.
Reformatted records: These records within the Series 1-1 Correspondence are not included in the microfilm edition. However, PDF copies are available, for which fees may be assessed according to the Fee Schedule.
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