"Leon Fouquet and the Kootenay Indians, 1874-1887"

[Dave Robertson]

ir.lib.sfu.ca/bitstream/1892/7592/1/b16478691.pdf

Sorry for the crazy un-formatting due to copying & pasting from a scanned
document!  --  Dave R



"[Fouquet]'s f i r s t year i n B r i t i s h Columbia [1859] w a s devoted t o
learning t h e Chinook jargon, acquiring rudiments of native languages and
                                                                        -
one an exploratory
c u l t u r e , and t o some exhausting missionary excursions
two-month t r i p t o Millbank Sound. During t h i s t i m e , and then a t New
Westminster, t h e Oblate w a s introduced t o t h e novelty and turbulence of
colonial gold rush society. A t Esquimalt, he likewise received h i s f i r s t
                                                                           
   29
exposure t o Indians and ministered t o settlers and s a i l o r s ."

"                  Apparently, n a t i v e c a t e c h i s t s were not
employed a t St. Eugene
during t h e f i r s t half of Fouquet's d i r e c t o r s h i p , although
p a r t of Oblate
policy. The p r i e s t s i n s t r u c t e d t h e Indians themselves i n
preparation f o r t h e
sacraments with t h e a i d of native i n t e r p r e t e r s . The Oblate
was not opposed t o
using native c a t e c h i s t s , b u t h i s imperfect mastery of t h e
Kootenay language,
t h e people's limited usage of t h e Chinook jargon, and h i s physical
workload
                                                     The Directory of
Missions i n s i s t e d on
prevented him from t r a i n i n g them.
s t r i n g e n t t e s t i n g of a d u l t candidates f o r baptism, and
required t h a t they be
                                               36
w e l l instructed i n t h e f a i t h . The missionaries undertook t h i s
catechesis,
building upon t h e foundation l a i d by t h e i r J e s u i t
predecessors. I n some c a s e s
Fouquet was obliged t o c o r r e c t misunderstandings of t h e f a i t h t
h e Indians had
acquired, a phenomenon a l l missionaries had t o cope with when dealing with
new converts. It was a matter t h a t could have c o s t l y consequences, a
s t h e
J e s u i t s i n New France discovered when working with the Iroquois.
There they
were accused of w i t c h c r a f t and incurred t h e Huron's h o s t i l i
t y because baptism
                                                                 37
was thought t o be t h e cause of some deaths.                       A t
Fouquet's outlying mission s t a t i o n s it d i d not cause s e r i o u s
problems. I n those places t h e
Oblate possibly had c a t e c h i s t s and prayer leaders t o s u s t a i n
t h e people's
f a i t h i n h i s absence. H e and h i s companions had used them a t
other mission
s t a t i o n s on Vancouver Island and i n t h e lower mainland. There,
they l e d
morning and evening prayer i n t h e v i l l a g e s when t h e missionary w
a s away.
                                                                           
              38
Others rang t h e b e l l f o r services and l e d t h e chanting of n a t i
v e hymns."

"                                                                          
                   274,
Fouquet reported only one person spoke t h e Chinook jargon w e l l i n
1875, and i n t h e 1880s William Baillie-Grohman maintained t h a t they
w e r e " p e r f e c t l y unacquainted with any language b u t t h e i r
own, n o t even
Chinook". Cf. Thrupp, "A History of t h e Cranbrook D i s t r i c t i n E a s t
Kootenay," p. 58 ; on t h e important r o l e exercised by Indian
c a t e c h i s t s see Margaret Whitehead, " C h r i s t i a n i t y , a
Matter of Choice:
t h e H i s t o r i c a l Role of Indian C a t e c h i s t s i n Oregon T e
r r i t o r y and
B r i t i s h Columbia," P a c i f i c North W s Quarterly 72 (1981) : 98-106.
                                                  et
See a l s o Fouquet t o DIHerbomez, 29 March 1875, AD, 111-G39,
                                      -
P-2690-P-2693, photocopy; MOMI 1 8 (1880): 277-278; D i r e c t o i r e d e s
Missions, Registre d e l a Mission d e S t . Charles                    New
Westminster,
arts. 2, 9, 22, 24, AD."

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