GUIDE TO CATHOLIC RECORDS ABOUT NATIVE AMERICANS IN THE U.S.
Volume 3: Western United States
Alaska: AK-37

Catholic Churches of Western Alaska: St. Joseph’s, Nome, St. Jude’s, Diomede, St. Francis Xavier, Kotzebue, St. Ann’s, Teller
Phone: 907-443-5527
Email: stjoseph@cbna.org

 

St. Joseph Church
409 Steadman Street
P.O. Box 1010
Nome, AK 99762

 

St. Jude Church
P.O. Box 7999
Diomede, AK 99762

 

St. Francis Xavier Church
P.O. Box 358
Kotzebue, AK 99752

 

St. Ann Church
P.O. Box 529
Teller, AK 99778

 

History: Within the Diocese of Fairbanks (Archives: Fairbanks, Alaska) in Western Alaska, St. Jude Mission, Diomede, St. Francis Xavier Church, Kotzebue, and St. Joseph Church, Nome, and St. Ann Mission, Teller, have shared resources including a Fairbanks diocesan priest.

St. Joseph Church, Nome, Seward Peninsula, Nome Census Area, Alaska:

1899-1901

Jesuits (Turin, Canada Provinces) (Archives: St. Louis, Missouri, and Montreal, Quebec) visited Nome/Anvil City (Inupiat, in part)

1901-1986

Jesuits (California, Oregon Provinces) (Archives: St. Louis, Missouri) established and administered St. Joseph Church, Nome

1918-1923

In response to the impact of the “Spanish Flu” influenza epidemic among Native Americans, Sisters of Charity of Providence [Sisters of Providence] (Sacred Heart Province) (Archives: Seattle, Washington) established and administered the Nome Hospital (Inupiat)

1952-present

Little Sisters of Jesus (Archives: Baltimore, Maryland) have provided healthcare and socio-economic assistance to the needy

1986-present

Fairbanks diocesan priests have administered St. Joseph’s

Jesuits and Fairbanks diocesan priests at St. Joseph’s attended the following Native American missions and stations: 

1902-1910

Teller station

1904

Nome District, Kuskokwim River, and Yukon River Delta stations

1959-present

St. Jude Church/ Mission, Diomede, Little Diomede Island

1960-present

St. Ann Mission, Teller

1987-2000

Holy Angels Mission (Yupik Eskimo, Koyukon) Unalakleet

2000-present

St. Francis Xavier Church, Kotzebue 

St. Jude Mission, Diomede, Little Diomede Island, Nome Census Area, Alaska:

1913-1930s

Jesuits visited Little Diomede Island (Inupiat)

1934-1936, 1947-1959

Jesuits established St. Jude Mission (Inupiat) and attended it from Christ the King, King Island

1936-1947

Jesuits administered St. Jude Church

1959-1970s

Jesuits from St. Joseph’s, Nome, attended St. Jude

1954-1996

Little Sisters of Jesus provided healthcare and socio-economic assistance to the needy

1974-1980

Dominican Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary (Sinsinawa, Wisconsin), Sisters of St. Joseph (Nazareth, Michigan), and Ursulines (Western Province) (Archives: Santa Rosa, California) served St. Jude’s with religious education and sacramental preparation

1979-1983

Fairbanks diocesan priests administered St. Jude

1983-present

Fairbanks diocesan priests at St. Joseph’s, Nome, have attended to St. Jude’s

St. Francis Xavier Church, Kotzebue, Baldwin Peninsula, Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska:

1895

Jesuits (Turin Province) visited Kotzebue (Inupiat)

1929-1930 (killed in crash of the plane, Marquette Missionary)

Jesuits and Alaska vicariate apostolate priests established and jointly administered and served St. Francis Xavier Mission (Inupiat) and the region with the “Marquette Missionary” airplane donated by the Marquette League (New York, New York) (Archives: Milwaukee, Wisconsin)

1931-1990s

Jesuits (California, Oregon Provinces) administered St. Francis Xavier Church

1990s-present

Lay administrators (Inupiat) have managed the daily operations of St. Francis Xavier

1990s-present

Sisters of Charity of Providence [Sisters of Providence] (Seattle, Washington) have also served the parish

1990s-present

Fairbanks diocesan priests at St. Joseph Church, Nome, have attended to St. Francis Xavier Church

St. Ann Church, Teller, Seward Peninsula, Nome Census Area, Alaska:

1902-1910

Jesuits visited Teller station (Inupiat)

1909-

Jesuits at St. Joseph’s, Nome, established and attended St. Ann/St. Emma Mission

1918-1920

The “Spanish Flu” influenza epidemic ravaged Teller (Inupiat)

1962-1960s

Fairbanks diocesan priests administered St. Ann Church, Teller

1962

Fire destroyed St. Ann’s, which was rebuilt

1960s-present

Fairbanks diocesan priests at St. Joseph’s, Nome, attended to St. Ann’s, Teller

 

Holdings of Catholic records about Native Americans: 

Inclusive dates: 1901-ongoing

Volume: Several volumes 

Description: Sacramental records (e.g. baptisms, marriages, burials) for St. Joseph Church, Nome, St. Jude Mission, Diomede, St. Francis Xavier Church, Kotzebue, St. Ann Mission, Teller, and other attended missions and stations.

 

For more information on the Marquette League for Catholic Indian Missions and its magazine, The Calumet -- see -- Marquette League for Catholic Indian Mission Records. Marquette University. Special Collections and Archives, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Calumet featured articles about the gifting and demise of the “Marquette Missionary” airplane near Kotzebue, Alaska, February 1930-February 1931.

 

Unless otherwise noted, the repository on this page holds (or held) the records described here and they are not held at the Marquette University Archives.

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