Leon Fouquet and the Kootenay Indians, 1874-1887"

Leon Fouquet, OM1 (1831 - 1912) (Oblate Archives : Vancouver) Thomas A. Lascelles L.Ph., Gregorian University, 1957 S.T.L., Gregorian University, 1961 A THESIS SURMITI'ED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of History @ Thomas A. Lascelles 1986 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY DECEMBER 1986 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name : Thomas Anthony Lascelles Degree : M. A. Title of thesis: Leon Fouquet and the Kootenay Indians, Examining Committee: Edward Ingram, Chairman Robin Fpk&!r, Senjlor Supervisor - J./I.'Little, SupGrvisory Committee LP - Dougldls Cole, Supervisory Committee Noel E. Dyck, Extetnal Examiner Professor, Sociology G Anthropology Dept. Simon Fraser University Date Approved: I PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENSE I hereby grant to Simon Fraser University the right to lend my thesis, project or extended essay (the title of which is shown below) to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Title of Thes i s/Project/Extended Essay "Leon Fouquet and the Kootenay Indians, 1874-1887" Author: (signature) Thomas Anthony Lascelles ( name L&,P, :y /,WL (date) iii Tquetwas a nineteenth century missionary who spent decades ministering to the Indians of British Columbia. Born and raised in a working-class family in northeastern France in the aftermath of the French Revolution, at twenty joined the Oblate mission_ary Conmegation. After his ordination in 1854, he spent several years teaching theology, before moving to the Pacific Coast's frontier society when the gold rush was in full swing. Fouquet evangelized Indians and whites on Vancouver Island and the Mainland for the next fifteen years, and was then posted to the Kootenays in 1874. There he took over the work that had previously been carried out by Jesuits travelling from Montana and Idaho. This study focuses chiefly on th late's years of ministry in the -. Kootenays, 3- assessing his work in comparison with that in thc-povw . It examines the . m-iwsumarv' s and the Indian ities and attitudes within the framework L of their cultural and religi . Account is likewise taken of the socio-economic, political, and personal factors which had a bearing on Fouquet's ministry, and on the Indians1 and differences between this mission and others are noted, as part of the evaluative process. There were numerous resemblances between Fouquet and other missionaries, particularly his fellow Oblates, in their general outlook and iv. methods. The ___conclusion this -tMsreaches,- however, is that the missionary was distinguishable from many of his missionary confreres in both subtle and overt ways. These differences can be detected in his educational and teaching background, in the amount of time he was obliged to devote to physical labor, in his constantly miserable health, in-h&~.conserv@ive juridicism-;-i~~-ahe controversies he had with superiors and othe~rintherqa&-he had for -~/-- okxkencc, is-kk-i-nflllence on--tkD-dkns and in the uniquenessgf -the Ko~t~nayregion and people. *- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many persons have rendered assistance with the research and writing of this thesis, particularly staff members of the various archives that were consulted. Although they are too numerous to mention individually, I thank them collectively here for their generous cooperation. Without their aid much of the data on which this study is based would be lacking. Several individuals, however, should be mentioned by name for the quality and extent of their help, and I therefore express my gratitude to them now. Oblate Archivists Gaston Carriere, Romuald Roucher, and Yvon Reaudoin unhesitatingly supplied primary documents which were relevant to my research. Jacqueline Gresko offered valuable comments on a first draft of the thesis, as did Oblates Allan Noonan and Gerald Kelly. Discussions with Patricia Meyer proved beneficial as well. Robin Fisher, my senior supervisor, was consistently helpful, offering observations and advice throughout various stages of the work. I am thankful likewise to other members of my thesis committee for their worthy assistance. Mary Reilly gave much aid over many months by graciously typing several versions of this work, and Oblate John Fitzgerald facilitated its material production in various ways. TABLE OF CONI'EWTS APPROVAL PAGE ...............................................ii TABLE OF COmNTS...........................................vi LIST OF FIGURES .............................................vii ABBREVIATIONS ...............................................viii PREFACE.....................................................ix CHAPTER ONE: Background and Early Ministry ...............1 Notes to Chapter One........................lg CHAPTER TWO: The Kootenay Indians ........................24 Notes to Chapter TWO........................^^ CHAPTER THREE~~M~SS~O~~~~Policies and ..........43 Notes to Chapter 'Yhree ......................63 CHAPTER FOUR: Special Conditions of Ministry ..............69 Notes to Chapter Four....................... 90 CHAPTER FIvonflict and Opposition. .LA............... .94 c, Notes to Chapter Five.......................I14 CHAPTER SIX ...........................120 Notes to Chapter Six........................ 137 CONCLUSION: .................................................141 APPENDIX 1..................................................145 APPENDIX I1 .................................................146 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................147 vii . LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: The Kutenai Range ................................. 25 Figure 2: Home of the Kootenay Indians...................... 26 Figure 3: Village of St . Eugene Mission in Early Days .......50 Figure 4: Fouquet's Sketch of Mission Property ..............71 Figure 5: Mission Property: Lots 1. 2. and 3 ................73 Figure 6: Louis DIHerbomezOM1 (1822 .1890) ................ 95 Figure 7: Paul Durieu OM1 (1830 .1899) ..................... 95 viii. ABBREVIATIONS AD - Archives Deschatelets, Ottawa ADD. MS. - Additional Manuscript ADM Archives Departmentales de la Mayenne, France AEL Archives de 1'Eveche de Laval, France AEM Archives de 1'Eveche du Mans, France AGR Archives Generales des Oblats, Rome FCSP Filles de Charite, Servantes des Pauvres (Sisters of Charity of providence) MOM1 Missions des Oblats de Marie Imrnaculee OAV Oblate Archives, Vancouver OM1 Oblates of Mary Immaculate OP Order of Preachers (Dominicans) OSB Order of St. Benedict ( Renedictines ) PAX Provincial Archives of British Columbia PAC Public Archives of Canada SJ Society of Jesus (~esuits) SP Sisters of Providence SSA Sisters of St. Ann ms Transcript TS Typescript URCL University of British Columbia Libraries Only a few historians have studied British Columbia missionaries. Jean Usher's book on William Duncan, Anglican evangelist at Metlakatla, and David Mulhall's thesis on Adrien Morice, Catholic missionary in New Caledonia, are two instances of recent scholarly writing on the subject. Yet these works and similar studies - examples are Barry Gough's research on A. J. Hall, Charles Lillard's editions on A. J. Rrabant and W. H. Collison, Clarence Bolt's work on Thomas Crosby, and Margaret Whitehead's book on the Cariboo mission - clearly indicate a burgeoning interest in the role that gospel emissaries played in the history of the province. In recent decades Canadian religious historiography has been generally more prolific. To some extent it has provided an impetus to the growing interest by historians in this province. In any event, national concerns and standards concerning religious history are reflected in modern western Canadian studies. Bfuce Trigger's ample study of early Jesuit missionaries to the Hurons, for instance, or John Grant's publication on Indians and Christianity, have raised a multiplicity of new questions. Investigations of this kind render a service to students of religious history. By extending the parameters of inquiry to include a wide spectrum of social factors, they shed much new light on the activities and outlook of missionaries, and uncover a host of elements which circumscribed the churches' ministry. These studies both enrich and challenge conventional interpretations. In short, they broaden our understanding of missionaries. And yet much remains to be done. Many missionaries are still virtually unknown to researchers. Fortunately, numerous primary documents on their lives have been preserved in church archives and are available to x* researchers. This study draws largely on some of these records, and is presented as a contribution to our knowledge of the province's early missionaries. Leon Fouquet was a Roman Catholic missionary belonging to the Oblate Congregation. He spent over half a century ministering to native peoples on both sides of the Rockies. A decade of that time was passed in Alberta, and the rest in British Columbia. Of the long years he spent on the Pacific, thirteen were devoted to the Kootenay Indians in the southeastern

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