Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions
Record Group 1
Scope and Content: Series 1-1

The correspondence, by laws, and minutes of meetings under the BCIM's fifth Executive Director, Rev. John B. Tennelly, S.S., is arranged according to the scheme established previously under Monsignor Hughes.

General Information

These records contain extensive and diverse historical narratives about Native Americans and their communities, and especially Native American Catholics and their Catholic parishes and events. Also detailed are the Catholic missionaries and their evangelization through parishes, schools, and special events. These accounts are especially valuable whenever related historical records have not survived elsewhere.

Additions and Special Compilations, 1873-1990: BCIM correspondence from the Stephan (1885-1900), Ketcham (1901-1920), Hughes (1921-1935), Tennelly (1936-1976), and Lenz (1977-1990) administrations acquired after 2000, which has been neither microfilmed nor interfiled within those respective records. Rather, these additions have been maintained separately and cross-referenced with their respective holdings.

Reformatted records: The microfilm version of the Series 1-1 Correspondence is available via interlibrary loan within the United States; please follow the Guidelines for Interlibrary Loans.