Native American Teepees Bordering the Mission Grounds
Dublin Core
Title
Native American Teepees Bordering the Mission Grounds
Subject
These images capture a common gathering of Native Americans that happened on various holidays throughout the year.
Description
A close up view of the St. Ignatius Church and its interior walls. Brother Joseph Carignano painted all 58 art pieces covering the inside of the chapel.
The text on the back of the second photo reads: “At Xmas, Easter, and on St. Ignatius day, the [Native Americans] return from their hunts and gather here from all parts of the reservation. They place their tepees any and everywhere, but especially along the roadsides or on the creeks. The white tents, the gaily caparisoned horses, the thousands of scampering cars, the 3000 [Native Americans] (Flatheads, Kootenai, Crees, Blackfeet, Spokane's) in new blankets and trappings revealing the splendors of the rainbow—the olden in groups laughing and chatting, or, weather permitting, playing a kind of checkers or dominoes; the young men playing a kind of lacrosse or baseball, or showing off their horsemanship before the schoolgirls; the women wandering from tent to tent with presents, tales of the hunt, or gossip; the youngsters everywhere— made a picture that Buffalo Bill could not equal, and that alas is fast disappearing forever.” This reveals that the rhetoric referring to Native lifestyle would vary depending upon the Jesuit who wrote the note or took the picture. In this text, the tone is much less colonial, and much more expressive of Native culture.
The text on the back of the second photo reads: “At Xmas, Easter, and on St. Ignatius day, the [Native Americans] return from their hunts and gather here from all parts of the reservation. They place their tepees any and everywhere, but especially along the roadsides or on the creeks. The white tents, the gaily caparisoned horses, the thousands of scampering cars, the 3000 [Native Americans] (Flatheads, Kootenai, Crees, Blackfeet, Spokane's) in new blankets and trappings revealing the splendors of the rainbow—the olden in groups laughing and chatting, or, weather permitting, playing a kind of checkers or dominoes; the young men playing a kind of lacrosse or baseball, or showing off their horsemanship before the schoolgirls; the women wandering from tent to tent with presents, tales of the hunt, or gossip; the youngsters everywhere— made a picture that Buffalo Bill could not equal, and that alas is fast disappearing forever.” This reveals that the rhetoric referring to Native lifestyle would vary depending upon the Jesuit who wrote the note or took the picture. In this text, the tone is much less colonial, and much more expressive of Native culture.
Source
St. Ignatius Mission Collection, Jesuit Oregon Province Archives
Rights
Contact the Jesuit Oregon Province Archives, at Gonzaga University, for permission to copy or publish this image.
Format
JPG.
Type
Still Image.
Files
Collection
Citation
“Native American Teepees Bordering the Mission Grounds,” Digital Jesuits, accessed April 9, 2025, http://dhi.gonzaga.edu/omeka/items/show/106.