Christianization of the Indians

St. Francis monks converted  Indians to Roman Catholics. Later, this order established the St. Francis Mission school in northern Wisconsin. Let's visit the school and cemetery and look at the altar in the church. Many churches in the USA and Canada operated residential schools, which originally (at least) were designed to transform these "savages" into "civilized" people, i.e., make Indians white! Examine the photo links and then, come back to this page. What distinctively Indian evidence did you see in the photos you just examined?

Read about the recent legal successes by Indians againist the Canadian government and the Roman Catholic, Anglican, United, and Presbyterian churches for various abuses in these residential schools.

Answers:

• cemetery: white, wooden crosses
• Indian cultural items at the altar: birch-bark shelter, deerskin, and glass-bead work