cover image Come, Blackrobe: de Smet and the Indian Tragedy

Come, Blackrobe: de Smet and the Indian Tragedy

John J. Killoren. University of Oklahoma Press, $29.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-8061-2615-9

In May 1823, 12 Jesuit priests arrived in St. Louis on a mission to Western Indian tribes to set up a Native Christian Empire, as developed by their order in Paraguay. One of the priests was a Belgian, Peter John DeSmet, who would become the beloved ``Blackrobe'' to two generations of Indian leaders. Killoran, a Jesuit who is now retired from the Indian Mission on the Wind River reservation in Wyoming, traces DeSmet's work and gives us a fresh perspective on the Western expansion and Indian-U.S. relations during the mid-19th century when the Jesuits built several missions across the Northern Great Plains. For nearly 50 years DeSmet divided his time between raising funds for Indian aid in Europe and the Eastern U.S. with visits to various Indian tribes. He remained their strong advocate in an era when official policy pointed toward extermination. This is a worthy contribution to Western history. Illustrated. (May)