Who s the American Indian on the MU Flag? A Timeline about Native Americans and Marquette University. Mark G. Thiel, CA (Certified Archivist)

Transcription

1 RAYNOR MEMORIAL LIBRARIES Summarized from presentations by the same name from November 3 and 9, 2011 Who s the American Indian on the MU Flag? A Timeline about Native Americans and Marquette University Mark G. Thiel, CA (Certified Archivist) Marquette University Logo and Flag Pere Marquette and the Indians, Wilhelm Lamprecht, 1869 In 1869, Wilhelm Lamprecht painted this fanciful scene, Father Marquette and the Indians, more than a decade before the University s founding in It depicts Jacques Marquette ( ), S.J., during his epic exploration of the Mississippi River in Here he is on the lower Wisconsin River near its mouth where it empties into the Mississippi. In so doing, he is seeking guidance from a Native man with his family while two Native voyageurs steady the canoe. Modern scholars have identified the Native voyageurs as Metis, or men of mixed French and Indian ancestry, and Marquette s journals identify meeting villages of Mascoutin or Illinois and Miami Indians in present- 1

2 day Wisconsin. See Exploration and Discovery: A Distinct Collection of Stamps for more information on the Lamprecht painting and commemorations of Marquette in U.S. postage stamps. Marquette University adopted its circular logo in 1907, which is comprised of its name, motto and founding year around the edge and images relating to its namesake in the center. The lower half includes Lamprecht s image of Marquette, the canoe and the voyageur in the bow; and the upper half includes the coat of arms of St. Ignatius of Loyola with symbols from his family. Numen Flumenique is the University s motto, which means God and the River. The blue edge and gold lettering derive from the French field flag used during the 17 th century. Today, Marquette s legacy is reflected in Midwest place names from Marquette, Michigan, to Milwaukee with Marquette University, Marquette University High School, and Marquette Park. Preliminary Work in the founding of Marquette University John Martin Henni, the first Catholic Bishop of Milwaukee, had a vision of a Jesuit university in Milwaukee, which would be named in honor of Jacques Marquette. In 1855, Pierre De Smet, S.J., who is best known in United States history for his work in promoting peace between the United States and the Northern Plains Indian tribes, spent several months in Wisconsin. In collaboration with Bishop Henni, De Smet helped to lay the groundwork for the future Marquette College by establishing Milwaukee s Jesuit community and securing the charter for Marquette College from the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature. 2

3 First Marquette Native American Alumni Hiding in Plain Sight Waukesha, 1907 Josiah A. Powless Marquette s 1 st Indian alumni, 1904 Josiah A. Powless, an Oneida Indian, was Marquette s first American Indian alumni. In 1904, he graduated from the Milwaukee Medical College, which later became the Marquette Medical College and retroactively made its graduates Marquette alumni. Dr. Powless served as the director of the Oneida Hospital on the Oneida Reservation near Green Bay, where he was also known as an outstanding lacrosse player. During World War I, he served as a medic in the American Expeditionary Force in France where he died rescuing wounded soldiers. Indian Images and Milwaukee/Marquette Mascots Throughout the 20 th century, stereotypical Indian images were prevalent in Hollywood films and professional sports. In 1953, the Braves professional baseball team moved from Boston to Milwaukee and had a very successful first year with 92 wins and 62 losses that drew a then-national League record of 1.8 million fans to Milwaukee County Stadium. Tom Kitchkume (Potawatomi-Ho Chunk), their young Indian mascot Chief Noc-A-Homa, added to the festivities. While dressed in regalia, he came out of a tipi and danced whenever one of the Braves hit a homerun. From Marquette University had a series of three Indian Images associated with its sport teams. On the heals of the Braves, Patrick Buckett, a non-indian Marquette student and Ben Hunt protégé, invented Chief White Buck in Buckett had a diverse wardrobe of Indian regalia and created a sophisticated Indian image whose name came from the then popular footwear known as white buck shoes. He portrayed White Buck at Marquette games and homecoming events well as on a local Saturday morning television show he hosted for children. After Buckett s departure, Marquette 3

4 students reinvented generic Indian image as Willie Wampum a buffoonish character with a paper maché head that was devoid of true cultural characteristics. Because playing Willie required no Native American cultural expertise, his antics comprised whatever stereotypical maneuvers would please Marquette fans. Consequently, Willie enjoyed popularity during the 1960s and into the 1970s, when some Native students began to raise concerns. 4

5 In 1979, Native American students at Marquette were permitted to invent a new image called First Warrior. In collaboration with local Native artisans and an advisory committee, First Warrior served as a culturally correct warrior image filled by a qualified Native American student. But First Warrior was culturally foreign to most sports fans, the vast majority of who knew nothing about Native culture and apparently were unwilling and/or incapable to get sufficiently fired up by this specialized cheerleader. The role was demanding, the expectations were high, and adequate financial support was lacking. Furthermore, Marquette s Native student population had always been small and the pool of qualified and interested Native students was smaller still. In the fall of 1986, no qualified student was willing to take on the responsibilities, the position languished for another year, and First Warrior was then retired two years later. More Native American Students at Marquette University Native American students at Marquette seem to have had positive experiences, even during the era of protest marches on civil rights and the Vietnam War, which initially dwarfed the concerns Willie s appropriateness. One such student then was Ro Chabot, a Passamaquoddy Indian from Maine, who majored in business administration and enrolled in ROTC. When searching for a college, he had acceptance letters from many institutions But he chose Marquette, because unlike the others, Marquette s letter wasn t a form letter. It was personalized, welcoming and handwritten, which set it apart and he never regretted that he selected Marquette. He found that Marquette prepared him well in a supportive and caring way, and given the prevailing social concerns, Indian mascots was not an issue. Today, Ro Chabot is a Chicago area businessman and president of the Mascoutin Society, a volunteer service organization that promotes Native heritage and aids young Native college students. 5

6 Archival Records about Native Americans in the Marquette Archives In 1973, the Midwest celebrated the 300th anniversary of Marquette s epic voyage as shown by this picture of two priests involved in Chicago s commemoration. Fr. Raphael Hamilton, S.J. (right, above), was a Marquette University Professor of History, the founder of the Department of Special Collections and University Archives and Marquette s first University Archivist, and a biographer of Jacques Marquette. Fr. Georges Mathieu (left, above) wearing the eagle feather headdress was a priest of the Diocese of La Crosse and a Potawatomi Indian originally from Chicago. The documentation about Jacques Marquette and the commemorations of his epic voyage compiled by Fr. Hamilton became Marquette s first two archival collections pertaining to Native Americans. Meanwhile, F. Paul Prucha, S.J., another Marquette University Professor of History (above, left), was conducting research for his book, The Churches and the Indian Schools: , which was published in It details a confrontation between the United States and the Protestant establishment verses the Catholic Church with respect to the management of government and church-run boarding schools for Indian students. Studying the many facets of the key players, their allies, and the events required extensive research in the U.S. National Archives and at the office of the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions (above, right), both of which are in Washington, D.C. At the Catholic Bureau s office, Fr. Prucha learned that its holdings of archival records were an extensive treasure-trove of documentation. Housed in numerous file cabinets, were thousands of original letters, photographs, and reports, plus rare publications about Catholic relationships with Native Americans. He also noted that these materials were endangered, as most were stored in an unheated attic that leaked when it rained. Fr. Prucha then conceived a plan to preserve the Catholic Bureau records at Marquette University, which included financial support from Harry John, head of the 6

7 Milwaukee-based De Rance Foundation and a past president of Miller Brewing, and an important endorsement from Herman Viola, a prominent Smithsonian Institution director and Marquette alumni in History. Following extensive negotiations, the new Catholic Bureau director and his board of directors agreed, and soon two semi-trucks with filing cabinets full of records then made their way to Marquette University. The records of the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions have served as a magnet, which has enabled Marquette to attract many related collections, some local such as the records of Congregation of the Great Spirit and its predecessor urban ministry and many collections from elsewhere in the United States and beyond. While most collections focus on Native-Catholic relationships, many materials pertain to other concerns as well in history, cultural and religious studies, and linguistics. Shown here are three pictures of Native Americans in Milwaukee a Native Catholic religious ceremony at Marquette University, two girls dancing as men s fancy dancers at a Waukesha powwow, and a Native American family in a Milwaukee Catholic cemetery. The milky white streak shown with the family is believed to be the spirits of their deceased loved ones, which includes Jerry Starr, one of three ironworkers killed in 1999 during the construction of Miller Park. 7