Chinook Jargon in the news: So 2 chiefs and a priest go to Europe in 1904…
I posted about the Kamloops residential school yesterday — now here’s something about a well-remembered figure connected with that.
The Catholic Register, among other outlets, has published a report on a historic covenant being signed between Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation and the Roman Catholic mucky-mucks of British Columbia.
I urge you to click & read the entire article.
Here, I just want to excerpt some informative paragraphs about Father JMR Le Jeune, who introduced the extremely successful Chinook Jargon writing of BC that you often see here on my site:
The parties also discovered they had mutual respect for Oblate missionary priests like Fr. Jean-Marie-Raphael Le Jeune, who supported B.C. First Nations in the 19th century.
“We see in those early missionary priests a faithful implementation of Catholic teaching, which supported the rights and freedoms of Indigenous people,” said Miller.
There is no question, he said, that the Church’s role in the residential school system “did great damage to the First Nations’ ability to pass on their language, customs and traditions. At the same time, we have an opportunity to build on the respect that, to this day, First Nations have for Fr. Le Jeune.”
The Oblate priest went to Rome in 1904 with Chief Johnny Chillihetza of the Douglas Lake Indian Band and Chief Louis Clexlixqen of the Kamloops Indian Band to petition for Pope Pius X’s support for their jurisdiction and title over Indigenous lands.
“That historical relationship between the First Nations and Fr. Le Jeune will be acknowledged at the Easter Sunday event,” said Miller.
You can read lots more about Chief Chiliheetza, Chief Clexlixqen, and Le Jeune on their 1904 trip in my 64-part mini-series.
