Read about the latest updates to the www.FatherBaraga.org website
A picture of myself at Pipestone, MN with Bud and Rona Johnston who started the Keepers of the Sacred Tradition of Pipemakers 25+ years ago. I had the privilege of working with Bud and Rona in their Pipestone store with the Native pipes in the year 2020-2021. During that time I researched Father Baraga and the Ojibwe histories in the morning and then shared my research with the customers in the afternoon. During that time I found out that Bud Johnston was a direct descendent of many of the people that I was researching who Father Baraga knew! Bud and Rona since then have agreed to be fiscal sponsors for Healing Wounds, an organization created to make amends for the harms that have transpired in the boarding schools.
All About Baraga
This episode and introduction was created so that others understand a little bit more about myself and why I feel it is a calling to do this work for Father Baraga. It also teaches about the reason that I am creating the All About Baraga videos and what to expect next! Don't miss this moment in meeting the person who is going to be speaking to you over these next several episodes!
I am in the middle of creating a new Plan Your Pilgrimage page that will allow for multiple pages to be created for each site. As I take you on the All About Baraga video learning series I will also be creating these pages side by side so that you have the ability to see first hand accounts of places today that Father Baraga stepped in the 1800's. You then will learn the backgrounds and histories of these places and be able to go there and visit them yourself knowing that you are stepping on ground where Father Baraga walked.
This blog takes you in a moment in time in sitting with Baraga at the Grand River in Michigan as he contemplated how he was going to participate in his work with the Ottawa and Ojibwe Nation who are Anishinaabe. Spend some time with Baraga facing this moment of choice and wondering what you would do in that situation. Would you follow in his footsteps?
I remember sitting across from Bud in the Pipestone store and sharing with him about reading some of this book. I said, "I'm reading the History of the Ojibway People by William Warren." He said, "Yeah, I know him." I responded, "Wait...how do you know him?" He said casually, "He's my relative..." I was startled and looked at him and said, "How many of your relatives am I researching about?" He chuckled and then went through the list of the people who Father Baraga knew and had met during his time in working with the Ojibwe.
William Whipple Warren, author of the History of the Ojibway People, was ten years old when he would have met Father Baraga who arrived on Madeline Island in year 1835. One year later William Warren would go to New York to obtain an education and become fluent in the English language and come back to La Pointe, Madeline Island in the year 1840, three years before Father Baraga moved to L'Anse. Williams mother (daughter of Michel Cadotte who was a well known fur trader) was Catholic and father (descendant of a Mayflower pilgrim) was Protestant. William was born four years after their marriage.
William became a prominent figure in translating and participating in the treaty agreements. He was later selected as a Legislator in the Minnesota Territory. William Warren was granted permission by Chief Buffalo in 1847 (a chief who worked with Father Baraga on Madeline Island) to write down the oral histories of the Ojibway. This became known at the History of the Ojibway People. In these records one learns about the Ojibway histories just up to the time of Father Baraga's arrival in 1835. This book includes their struggles with the Dakota and their first connection with the Jesuit missionaries who preceded Father Baraga (Warren, 1984).
Warren, W. W. (1984). History of the Ojibway People. Minnesota Historical Society. (Original work published in 1885)
Healing Wounds has made a momentous leap forward in obtaining a fiscal sponsorship made with the Keepers of the Sacred Tradition of Pipemakers! All donations then made to Healing Wounds also have the ability to help support this Native organization that has been in service to its community in Pipestone for 25+ years. Their agreement to be a fiscal sponsor allows for your donations to be tax-deductible. Members of the Keepers have taught throughout the world about the Native cultures, traditions and histories. Learn more about Healing Wounds and the Keepers of the Sacred Tradition of Pipemakers below.
I am always a fan of the Bishop Baraga Association and the endless work that they do on behalf of Father Baraga. If you wish to help Father Baraga's canonization (steps to becoming a Saint) and their other work on behalf of Father Baraga move forward please go to their site and donate! They also have a quarterly newsletter that they publish for a small cost that will allow you to read about upcoming events that they are holding as well as learning about the research for Father Baraga who became Bishop in the year 1853.
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