< St. Stephen's Mission Records Index < St. Stephen's Mission Notable Events and People

ST. STEPHEN'S MISSION RECORDS, 1865, 1886-[ongoing], n.d.

Historical Note

St. Stephen's Mission was established by Jesuits in 1886 with approval of Chief Black Coal (Arapaho).  The school has been continually staffed by Jesuits and Franciscan Sisters until control was transferred to the St. Stephens Indian School Educational Association, a local Native American corporation. After some early federal funding, the school prospered through the private contributions of Katharine Drexel and the federal disbursement of tribal funds held in trust.

Catholicism flourished on the reservation during the first half of the twentieth century.  In most communities, local parishes were organized, each with a catechist, lay sodalities, and an itinerant Jesuit pastor.  Annually, the faithful gathered for reservation wide general sodality meetings.

Christian fervor waned after World War II, which has been addressed by revitalization efforts since the 1970s.  Parishes were re-organized with more resident (and fewer itinerant) Jesuit and Native priests and deacons, and parish councils.  The general sodality meetings and Catholic Sioux Congresses remain popular among the elders, however, many faithful also attend Mini (diocesan) and National Tekakwitha Conferences and have organized parish Kateri Circles.

See also --  St. Stephen's Mission Notable Events and People.

See also --  Notable Authors and Photographers among the Jesuits and Sisters of St. Francis.

Scope and Content

St. Stephen's Mission Series 1, Mission and School Correspondence: General correspondence comprises an important part of the collection. Most letters pertain to mission and school activities, the Arapaho Indian pupils, and the Jesuits and Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia. Also included is a brochure regarding Sister Florence Petsch (Arapaho), O.S.F. (1982).

The Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions Records, Series 1-1, General Correspondence, includes related correspondence between St. Stephen's Mission and the Bureau.

St. Stephen's Mission Series 2, Mission and School Reports: Notable reports include House Diaries and Chronicles of the Jesuits (1912-1973) and Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia (1892-1967), the the Arapaho Map Project (1985, n.d.), the histories of St. Stephen's Mission and the parishes formerly attended by St. Stephen's, and the autobiography of Ernest Sun Rhodes (Arapaho). The Arapaho Map Project documentation includes notes on local history and place names from several elders.

The Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions Records, Series 2-1, School Reports, includes St. Stephen's School attendance reports for pupils who were enrolled tribal members. 

St. Stephen's Mission Series 3, Mission and School Financial Records: Notable records include Financial Records from the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia and the Heritage Center.

St. Stephen's Mission Series 4, Mission, School, and Heritage Center Proceedings: Notable proceedings include the records of meetings from the St. Stephen's Mission Board of Directors, the Heritage Center, and the St. Stephen's Indian Education Association. The records of the latter pertain to the transition of school management from Jesuit to community control.

St. Stephen's Mission Series 5, Mission and School Publications:  The holdings contain several titles and articles pertaining to St. Stephen's Mission and School. Included are Catholic worship texts in Arapaho and Arapaho oriented literature for children.

The Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions Records, Series 14-1, General Publications, contains complete holdings of the Wind River Rendezvous, a fundraising magazine for St. Stephen's Mission, and The Eagle, a literary journal of St. Stephen's Indian School.

Work in-progress: The Marquette University Libraries are developing bibliographic records for the publications in this collection. This includes all books, pamphlets, magazines, newsletters, prayer cards, published maps, published sound and video recordings, etc., and excludes clipping files and reprints of articles. As they are created, the bibliographic records will appear in Marqcat, the Marquette University online catalog. Furthermore, as an interim and supplemental search tool, most titles to publications in this and related collections appear in the Index to Publications in Native America Collections.   

St. Stephen's Mission Series 6, Mission and School Photography: The Photography comprises an important part of the collection. Most photographs pertain to mission and school activities, the Arapaho Indian pupils, and the Jesuits and Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia. Also included are out-of-state field trips, e.g. Northeast Tekakwitha Conference, Fonda, New York, 1989.

The Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions Digital Collection and the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions Records, Series 9, include additional photographs regarding St. Stephen's Mission.

St. Stephen's Mission Series 7, Jesuit Papers:

Damhorst, Reverend Joseph E., S.J.: The papers of Father Damhorst include notes by John C'Hair, Jr. (Arapaho) that relate to Beginning to Live a Life of Faith, by  Patrick J. Twohey, S.J., 1978.

Jutz, Reverend John B., S.J.: Father Jutz's papers are not included in the St. Stephen's Mission Records. See the records of the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions, St. Francis Mission, and Holy Rosary Mission/Red Cloud Indian School.

Nunlist, Brother Ursus, S.J.: Although brief, the writings of Brother Nunlist pertain to the founding of Holy Rosary Mission, Pine Ridge Reservation, St. Francis Mission, Rosebud Reservation, and St. Stephen's Mission, Wind River Reservation. See also the Jesuit Papers in the St. Francis Mission Records and the Holy Rosary Mission/Red Cloud Indian School Records. 

Short, Reverend Anthony J., S.J.: The papers of Father short include a history of the Arapaho Indians and St. Stephen's Mission.

Sialm, Reverend Placidus F., S.J.: Father Sialm's papers are not included in the St. Stephen's Mission Records. See the records of the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions, St. Francis Mission, and Holy Rosary Mission/Red Cloud Indian School.

Starkloff, Reverend Carl F., S.J.: See the Tekakwitha Conference Records.

St. Stephen's Mission Series 8, General Publications: This series contains monographs regarding Arapaho history, language, and culture that were collected by St. Stephen's Mission.

Work in-progress: The Marquette University Libraries are developing bibliographic records for the publications in this collection. This includes all books, pamphlets, magazines, newsletters, prayer cards, published maps, published sound and video recordings, etc., and excludes clipping files and reprints of articles. As they are created, the bibliographic records will appear in Marqcat, the Marquette University online catalog. Furthermore, as an interim and supplemental search tool, most titles to publications in this and related collections appear in the Index to Publications in Native America Collections.   

St. Stephen's Mission Series 9, Mission, Jesuit, and General Sound Recordings: This series contains recordings regarding Catholic worship, recollections, and stories by Arapaho Indians.

Series 10, General and Jesuit Motion Pictures and Video Recordings: This series contains a video recording regarding St. Stephen's Mission.

Series 0, Unprocessed Mission and Jesuit Records: Marquette also holds unprocessed archival records from St. Stephen's Mission. These records are not ready for research use and therefore, they are restricted.

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