Nicholas Point; (10 April 1799 – 4 July 1868), was a
French Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
priest, artist, and member of the
Society of Jesus
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
(Jesuits). He is known primarily for the drawings and watercolors he created during his
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
work in the mid-19th century among the
Native American peoples in the
northwestern United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
Early life
Nicholas Point was born 10 April 1799 in
Rocroi
Rocroi () is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France.
The central area is a notable surviving example of a bastion fort.
Population
History
Rocroi was fortified by Francis I of France and expanded by Henry II of France. Becau ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, to François and Marie-Nicole Point.
The
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
caused instability in Point's childhood, and his education was unconventional. Although the
revolutionary government suppressed Catholicism, Point's devout mother sent him to a school in the home of a local
curate
A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...
. When Point was thirteen, his father's death forced him to take work at a lawyer's office. After reading a biography about
Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December 1 ...
, Point entered the order of the
Society of Jesus
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
on 28 June 1819 and was ordained a priest on 20 March 1831.
Missionary career
In 1835, Point sailed to America. He arrived at
St. Mary's College in
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
in June 1836. In 1837, he founded
St. Charles College in
Grand Coteau, Louisiana
Grand Coteau is a town in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 947 at the 2010 census. Grand Coteau is on Interstate 49 south of Opelousas and is part of the Opelousas– Eunice Micropolitan Statistical Area. Th ...
. He served as the college's first
rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
until 1840.
Point was chosen by his superiors to join an expedition to found a mission among the
Bitterroot Salish
The Bitterroot Salish (or Flathead, Salish, Selish) are a Salish-speaking group of Native Americans, and one of three tribes of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation in Montana. The Flathead Reservation is home to th ...
people in what is now
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
. In June 1840 he joined
Pierre-Jean De Smet
Pierre-Jean De Smet, SJ ( ; 30 January 1801 – 23 May 1873), also known as Pieter-Jan De Smet, was a Flemish Catholic priest and member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). He is known primarily for his widespread missionary work in the mid-19th ...
,
Gregorio Mengarini
Gregorio or Gregory Mengarini (21 July 181123 September 1886) was an Italian Jesuit priest and missionary and linguist. He worked as a pioneer missionary in the northwest of the United States to the Flathead Nation, and became the philologist o ...
, and three Jesuit lay brothers in
Westport, Missouri
Westport is a historic neighborhood in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. Originally an independent town, it was annexed by Kansas City in 1897. It is one of Kansas City's main entertainment districts.
Westport has a lending library, a branch of the Kans ...
to prepare for the overland journey. The group departed from Westport 10 May 1841 traveling with the
Bartleson–Bidwell Party In 1841, the Bartleson–Bidwell Party, led by Captain John Bartleson and John Bidwell, became the first American emigrants to attempt a wagon crossing from Missouri to California.
Beginnings
In the winter of 1840, the Western Emigration Society wa ...
. They arrived in the
Bitterroot Valley
The Bitterroot Valley is located in southwestern Montana, along the Bitterroot River between the Bitterroot Range and Sapphire Mountains, in the Northwestern United States.
Geography
The valley extends approximately from Lost Trail Pass in Id ...
24 September 1841 and built a church. Point designed the settlement,
St. Mary's Mission, after the pattern of
Jesuit missions in Paraguay. With houses fifty feet apart and lawns sixty feet square, the design failed to take into account Salish concerns for defense against enemy attacks. Although St. Mary's Mission prospered at first, tensions soon rose between the priests and Salish. Many Salish people were baptized and adopted some aspects of Catholicism, but they had no wish to practice
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
as the priests urged them to do. When the priests began to discuss founding a mission for the
Blackfeet
The Blackfeet Nation ( bla, Aamsskáápipikani, script=Latn, ), officially named the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana, is a federally recognized tribe of Siksikaitsitapi people with an Indian reservation in Monta ...
, traditional enemies of the Salish, it created a breach of trust.
[In 1850, Blackfeet raids forced the mission to close. ]
Point traveled extensively among the
Plateau tribes
Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau, also referred to by the phrase Indigenous peoples of the Plateau, and historically called the Plateau Indians (though comprising many groups) are indigenous peoples of the Interior of British Columbia ...
in the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
. In 1842, he helped establish the
Mission of the Sacred Heart along the
Saint Joe River
The Saint Joe River (sometimes abbreviated St. Joe River) is a long tributary of Coeur d'Alene Lake in northern Idaho. Beginning at an elevation of in the Northern Bitterroot Range of eastern Shoshone County, it flows generally west through t ...
in present-day
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
for the
Nez Perce
The Nez Percé (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning "we, the people") are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who are presumed to have lived on the Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest region for at least 11,500 years.Ames, K ...
and
Coeur d'Alene people. In 1846, he traveled among the Blackfeet, although he did not establish a mission. During his time as a missionary, Point kept a sketchbook and made hundreds of drawings of the missions and the people they served. Although Point's skill was limited by his lack of formal art training, his work is considered valuable by historians and
anthropologists
An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and v ...
because it offers one of the earliest visual records of Pacific Northwest tribes.
Later years and death
In 1847, Point left the Pacific Northwest region and traveled to the
Jesuit mission
The phrase Jesuit missions usually refers to a Jesuit missionary enterprise in a particular area, involving a large number of Jesuit priests and brothers, and lasting over a long period of time.
List of some Jesuit missions
* Circular Mission ...
at
Sandwich
A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...
in the
Province of Canada
The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British North America, British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham ...
, where his brother Pierre was the
prior
Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...
. In 1848 Point became the prior of the
Holy Cross mission on
Manitoulin Island
Manitoulin Island is an island in Lake Huron, located within the borders of the Canadian province of Ontario, in the bioregion known as Laurentia. With an area of , it is the largest lake island in the world, large enough that it has over 100 ...
. He designed the church there. In 1855, his health deteriorated, and he was recalled to the Jesuit house in
Sault-au-Récollet
Sault-au-Récollet (English: Recollet Rapids) is a neighbourhood in Montreal. It is located in the eastern edge of the borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville, bordering the Rivière des Prairies. Autoroute 19 connects Sault-au-Récollet to Laval. The ...
. He spent his last years organizing his writings and artworks into a memoir, ''Recollections of the Rocky Mountains.'' In 1865, his superiors sent him to
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
. He died there on 3 July 1868, and was buried in the crypt of the
Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec
The Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec ("Our Lady of Quebec City"), located at 16, rue de Buade, Quebec City, Quebec, is the primatial church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec. It is the oldest church in Canada and was the fi ...
.
External links
Nicolas Point missionary drawings collection at the Jesuit ArchivesNicolas Point Exhibit, Crossings and Dwellings Exhibition, Loyola University, ChicagoRecollections of the Rocky Mountains
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Point, Nicolas
1799 births
1868 deaths
People from Ardennes (department)
French Jesuits
French missionaries