GUIDE TO CATHOLIC RECORDS ABOUT NATIVE AMERICANS IN THE U.S.
Volume 4: Outside United States
Manitoba, Canada: MB-1

Catholic Church. Archdiocese of Saint Boniface. Chancery
l'Église catholique. Archidiocèse de Sainte-Boniface. Chancellerie
151 de la Cathédrale Avenue
Saint Boniface, MB R2H 0H6 Canada

Phone: 204-237-9851
Email: See website (Discover Us: Chancery)

 

History: In 1844, Sainte-Boniface was erected as the Vicariate Apostolic of Nord-Ouest (North-West) from portions of the Archdiocese of Quebec. In 1847 and 1871 respectively, Nord-Ouest was elevated to the Diocese and Archdiocese of Sainte-Boniface. Nord-Ouest and Quebec administered the following Native American missions in North Dakota:

1818-1823 (closed) (Nord-Ouest, 1844)	St. Francis Xavier School (Ojibwa, Métis), Pembina, North Dakota/ Dakota Territory/ Manitoba Territory
1821-1823 (closed) (Nord-Ouest, 1844)	St. Francis Xavier Church (Ojibwa, Métis), Pembina, North Dakota/ Dakota Territory/ Manitoba Territory
1834-1870s (no longer Native) (Nord-Ouest, 1844-1846)	Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church (Ojibwa, Métis), Pembina, North Dakota/ Dakota Territory/ Manitoba Territory

 

Holding of Catholic records about Native Americans in the United States:

Inclusive dates: 1815-1880, 1908, undated 

Volume: Possibly 1 cubic foot or more 

Description: Overall holdings of Catholic records about Native Americans in the United States are unknown. However, U.S. repositories cite record copies of the following five record types from the Sainte-Boniface Archdiocesan Archives:  

 

/1 Bishop’s Papers

Inclusive dates: 1861-1868 

Volume: 1 folder?  

Description: Bishop Alexander-Antonine Taché (1823-1894), O.M.I. [Oblates of Mary Immaculate]: correspondence from Rev. Jean Baptiste Genin and other missionaries, re: Métis and Ojibwa Indians in Pembina and the Red River Valley, Dakota Territory; majority in French. 

 

/2 Correspondence

Inclusive dates: Between 1815-1880

Volume: Possibly 1,000 pages

Description: re: Métis and Ojibwa Indians in Pembina and the Red River Valley, Manitoba-North Dakota; majority in French; major correspondents include Archbishop Joseph-Octave Plessis of Québec, Bishop Alexander-Antonine  Taché, O.M.I. [Oblates of Mary Immaculate] of Sainte-Boniface, Father Severe Joseph Nicholas Dumoulin, Father Joseph Norbert Provencher, Father Georges Antoine Belcourt, Father Joseph Goiffon, Father J. Lafleche, Father Lawrence Simonet, Father Jean Baptiste M. Genin, O.M.I. [Oblates of Mary Immaculate], and Joseph Rolette. Also includes historical notes by Father Julius Belleau and biographies of Father Joseph Goiffon and Father Georges Belcourt; from the Archdiocesan Archives of Saint-Boniface and/or Québec.

 

/3 Sacramental Records

Inclusive dates: 1858-1862 

Volume: 1 register  

Description: Sacramental (baptismal) records for Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Mission, Pembina, North Dakota by Rev. Joseph Goiffon; from the Archdiocesan Archives of either Québec or Saint-Boniface.     

 

/4 Linguistic Records

Inclusive dates: undated 

Volume: 1 folder? 

Description: French-Ojibwa dictionary compiled by Rev. Georges Antoine Belcourt; arranged alphabetically by words in French followed by Ojibwa equivalents. 

 

/5 Biographical Records

Inclusive dates: 1908, undated

Volume: 1 folder? (31 pages)

Description: Autobiography by Rev. Joseph Goiffon.  

                                

 

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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