Marquette Mission Site - St. Ignace, Michigan

Jesuits

Father Jacques Marquette, a French Jesuit missionary who had worked among various
Native groups since his arrival in New France in 1666, established the Mission de St. Ignace.
Marquette arrived in Michilimackinac with the Huron and Ottawa he had been traveling with
from Esprit at Chequamegon (Wisconsin). The original plan was to inhabit Mackinac Island
as Father Claude Dablon, Marquette’s superior, was familiar with this location. Although the 
island provided access to abundant fish resources, the island’s soil is not well suited for 
corn agriculture and the game limited. In 1671 Marquette and the two Native American 
groups moved to the mainland. Marquette and Dablon both indicate the location of the 
community in their writings.

During his time at the Mission de St. Ignace, Marquette worked among the Tionontate Huron 
and Ottawa carrying out his missionary duties to convert the Native Americans to 
Chrisitianity. The Jesuits met with mixed success their conversion of the Huron and Ottawa. 
In 1673 Marquette joined Louis Joliet on his expedition to explore the Mississippi River and 
minister to the Illinois. Marquette perished on the return trip in 1675. In 1677 a group of 
Kiskakon Ottawa retrieved Father Marquette’s remains from his original burial place and 
brought them back to Mission de St. Ignace for reburial.

While Father Marquette is the most famous of the 
Jesuit priests who served at the mission, others 
came after him and also contributed to the 
historical material that we now have access to in 
the Jesuit Relations. Other Jesuits serving at the 
mission included Fathers Philippe Pierson and 
Henri Nouvel. Pierson remained with the Huron 
at the original mission while Nouvel moved with 
the Ottawa to a new location some distance 
away. The writings of other Jesuit priests such 
as Fathers Jean Enjalran, Thierry Beschefer, and 
Nicolas Potier are also available.

Some of the most telling texts regarding the relationship of the French military with the 
Jesuits and Native American groups comes from the letters of Fathers Carheil and Marest. 
The Jesuits found the influence of the French military and traders to be detrimental to the 
morals of the Native peoples. In 1705 Father Marest burned the Mission de St. Ignace and 
retreated to Quebec, only to be persuaded to return again the following year.

Of interest here are entries in volumes 55, 56, 57, 59, 60, 61, 62. An excellent background reading regarding the context and content of the Jesuit Relations is The Jesuit Relations: Natives and Missionaries in Seventeenth-Century North America edited by Allan Greer.