GUIDE TO CATHOLIC RECORDS ABOUT NATIVE AMERICANS IN THE U.S.
Volume 2: Midwest United States
North Dakota: ND-7

Our Lady of Seven Dolors Mission
213 Dakotah Road
P.O. Box 299
Fort Totten, ND 58335

Phone: 701-766-4314
Email: See Diocese of Fargo website (parish clergy locator)

 

History: Our Lady of Seven Dolors Mission, Fort Totten, Spirit Lake Reservation, North Dakota, has beenb a predominantly Native American (Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota) parish in the Diocese of Fargo (Archives: Fargo, North Dakota).

1872	Rev. Jean Baptiste M. Genin, O.M.I. [Oblates of Mary Immaculate] established a school at Fort Totten
1874-1878	Rev. Louis Bonin established and administered Our Lady of Sorrows Chapel and School (Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota) near the present-day St. Michael Mission, St. Michael
1874-1883	The Soeurs grises (Archives: Montreal, Quebec, Canada) staffed Our Lady of Sorrows School
1878-1883 (closed)	Benedictines (St. Meinrad Archabbey) (Archives: St. Meinrad, Indiana) administered Our Lady of Sorrows, which was destroyed by fire
1885-1926, 1927-1980s (transferred to Fargo Diocese)	Benedictines established and administered Our Lady of Seven Dolors Church (Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota), which was destroyed by fire and rebuilt
1886-1926 (closed)	The Soeurs grises staffed the Fort Totten Indian Industrial School, which was destroyed by fire and rebuilt
1886-1926 (closed)	The Soeurs grises staffed the Fort Totten Government Indian School
1980s-present	Rev. Charles J. Leute, O.P. [Dominicans] (Sac & Fox) has administered Our Lady of Seven Dolors under special agreement with the Fargo Bishop and the Dominicans, St. Albert the Great Province (Archives: Chicago, Illinois)

Seven Dolors was the center of evangelization on the Spirit Lake/ Fort Totten Reservation, 1884-1929. With the opening of Little Flower School, 1929, the center shifted to St. Michael's with Benedictines residing at both St. Michael's and Seven Dolors, 1949-1980s. The Benedictines at Seven Dolors, and Father Leute who followed them, has attended to these Native American (Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota) missions on the Spirit Lake Reservation, North Dakota.

1885-1929 (became a parish)	St. Michael Mission, St. Michael
1892-1929 (transferred to St. Michael's, St. Michael)	St. Jerome Mission, Crow Hill
1916-1929 (transferred to St. Michael's, St. Michael)	St. James Mission, Warwick
1949-present	St. Jerome Mission, Crow Hill

 

Holdings of Catholic records about Native Americans:

Inclusive dates: 1918-ongoing, undated

Volume: At least .6 cubic foot

Description: The records at Seven Dolors Mission were not organized according to a classification scheme when reviewed by a Marquette University archivist, 1980. Consequently, this description is by record type.

 

/1 Sacramental records

Inclusive dates: 1918-ongoing

Volume: At least 4 volumes

Description: Although Seven Dolors Church was the mission center until 1929, the early records for the reservation were kept at St. Michael Mission:

A. Baptisms, 1918-ongoing

B. Marriages, 1940-ongoing

C. Deaths, 1938-ongoing

D. First communions and confirmations, 1942-ongoing

 

/2 Audio recordings

Inclusive dates: Undated

Volume: 10-20 tapes:

Description: By Rev. Timothy Sexton, O.S.B.; includes his reminiscences and interviews with Sisseton and Wahpeton Dakota Indians; in 2007, it was reported that these recordings were no longer at Seven Dolors Mission.

 

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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