La historia del viaje del padre Baraga con los nativos ojibwe y ottawa

Nothing reminds me more of the histories that I am learning about in which Father Baraga was a part than these times in the United States.  Fort Wilkins was a military fort created specifically to allow for the European miners to come to the region after the 1842 treaty was passed.  Father Baraga walked back and forth between that Fort and the mission he established in L'Anse in 1843 in order to send his mail and also to give mass with the settlers of that region.  The military was used frequently against the Native populations which was what was seen in the Black Hawk wars of 1832 when Father Baraga was working on Beaver Island where the ships would have passed.

 

In 1862 there was a Dakota uprising and six years before Father Baraga's passing.  Father Pierz, Father Baraga's constituent, at that time worked with the Ojibwe chiefs to ensure that Ojibwe would not participate in that uprising.  A military fort was even added next to Father Baraga's church in Sault Ste Marie.  So it is hard for me, as a person that researches these histories, to not see the parallels of what is happening now to what happened during that timeframe and to not think about Baraga and what he would have done to calm the Ojibwe during that timeframe.

 

It is important to note that the Native populations were able to remain on their lands because they acted wisely in working with the United States government at that time.  The government wanted them to move west.  They wanted to stay and the government was more than willing to create of show of force' against any uprising.  In fact, the Potawatomi near the southern end of Lake Michigan were forcefully removed from that region in the year 1838, just five years after Father Baraga worked near them in that region.  They were shackled moved west during the same timeframe as the Trail of Tears.  So the Native populations...and Father Baraga...learned early on that the situation, in order for the Natives to remain on their land, it would have to be done in a peaceful and yet strategic manner.  They did so....and they were able to remain on their lands.    ​

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As much as we would like to believe that this is the first time our country has seen violence and inhumane treatment against those within our countries walls, this in fact is not the case.  Father Baraga seen this frequently when it came to the treatment against the Native populations...and it's one of the reasons the Catholic faith was so warmly welcomed by the Native populations.  He worked with them to ensure that they would be cared for.  He saw it and he worked with them to ensure that they would remain peaceful during that timeframe.  Please note that the famous Chief...Chief Buffalo of Madeline Island...became a Catholic near the end of his life.  This confirmation took place after the Ojibwe had signed the 1854 Treaty of La Pointe, which officially granted them the ability to stay on their land.  He chose this because of Baraga's example.  This act of recognition shows the lengths that Baraga would go through to ensure that the issues that were important to them also became important to him.  

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To learn more about some of these histories, please feel free to go to my Youtube Channel.  Please note that I am not a public speaker. I was chosen to do this work and have these histories explored after being on a life journey that has helped me see the parallels in these histories between the different people.  Each video is about 5-10 minutes long and helps a person to see what all transpired during that timeframe.  It gives glimpses into the Ojibwe life.  It gives glimpses into Baraga's work.  It gives glimpses into the events that transpired at that time with the government.  It also gives glimpses into the differences between Baraga and the boarding schools, and the level of trust that the Native populations gave to the Catholic populations at that time. 

 

Please forgive any stumbling you may hear.  I am working to provide everyone with an understanding of these histories while simultaneously working with my own misgivings in speech.  Pretend I'm like Moses...called to the work, but crying to God that I do not feel capable of such a call.  But that's what it is to say 'yes' to what God has called you to do.  Sometimes I believe He doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.  In this way I am doing all that I can do to work past my own inadequacies in order to have these histories reach a broader audience.  Thank you for providing the much needed grace.  I do these walk and talks mostly during my morning walk with my pups on my 22 acres.  It's some of the little time that I have, but also gives a glimpse into Baraga's work.  Walking was not unfamiliar for him...neither was the snow or the woods.