“The Jesuit mission proves we were here”: The Case of Eighteenth-Century Jesuit Missions Aiding Twenty-First Century Tribal Recognition

Abstract Records indicate that during the French colonial period, Jesuits established four mission congregations within the territory now known as Vermont. These missions were established to preach to both French colonists and Native converts on Isle La Motte, on the Missisquoi River in Swanton, at...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Beaupré, Andrew R. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2021
In: Journal of Jesuit studies
Year: 2021, Volume: 8, Issue: 3, Pages: 454-473
IxTheo Classification:CH Christianity and Society
KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history
KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history
KBQ North America
KCA Monasticism; religious orders
KDB Roman Catholic Church
RJ Mission; missiology
Further subjects:B Cowasuck
B Vermont
B Archeology
B Jesuit missions
B Koasek
B Western Abenaki
B Cowass
B tribal recognition
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Summary:Abstract Records indicate that during the French colonial period, Jesuits established four mission congregations within the territory now known as Vermont. These missions were established to preach to both French colonists and Native converts on Isle La Motte, on the Missisquoi River in Swanton, at Fort Saint-Frédéric on Lake Champlain, and in the area known as the Koas on the Connecticut River. In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the Abenaki peoples of Vermont have had a long and difficult road to gain state and federal recognition. These descendant communities have invoked the existence of Jesuit missions to the Abenaki as proof of the current tribal governments’ legitimacy. This is intriguing considering the blame for cultural destruction is often laid at the feet of Jesuit missionaries. This paper examines the relationship between historical and archaeological evidence of French Jesuits and the legal legitimization of the Abenaki of Vermont.
ISSN:2214-1332
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of Jesuit studies
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/22141332-0803P006