Historical monument

Circling Raven is a name that sounds familiar. It’s a name of a Coeur d’Alene Indian Chief – a leader whose name will forever be associated with the golf course at the Coeur d’Alene Casino near Worley and at the Mission near Cataldo.

Historians claim that before the whites arrived, this area was inhabited by a tribe called Schee-Chut-Umsh (say that five times fast), whose homeland spread over 5 million acres in what is now North Idaho, Eastern Washington and Western Montana. Because the Indians had great skills in trading, the white explorers and trappers gave them the French name for “heart of awl,” or Coeur d’Alene.

Circling Raven was the leader of the Indians about that time. He had a vision of men wearing black robes bringing a great spiritual truth to his people. Needless to say, after the Jesuits arrived in the early 1840s, many in this Indian tribe embraced Catholicism, and many are Catholics still. An annual Feast of the Assumption event held on Aug. 15 at the Mission is open to the public.

The Mission was built between 1848 and 1853, making it the oldest standing building in Idaho. Father Ravalli modeled the 90-foot-long, 40-foot-high, 40-foot-wide building after the cathedrals of his homeland. It was built by two missionaries and about 300 Coeur d’Alene Indians who used a broad ax and auger, ropes and pulleys, whipsaw and a penknife. No nails were used – the large timbers were joined with wooden pegs. The chandeliers were constructed from old tin cans. The altar was painted to resemble marble. The walls were built using the wattle and daub technique – straw and grass woven over a framework and river mud daubed on. The side walls are a foot thick and hollow inside. In a back room, behind the altar, fingerprints from the workers can still be seen in the mud.

There are no pews in the Mission because the Indians preferred sitting on the floor. Look up to the ceiling, where hand-carved panels can be seen. On either side of the altar there are two paintings that Ravalli painted. The more you look at the building and its details, the more incredible it seems that this was built in such a very remote, primitive area of the country.

Anyone traveling by horse or wagon must have been surprised to find this elegant building on a small hill near the banks of the Coeur d’Alene River. Indians who had seen and lived only in tepees and lodges had to be pleased with the building they had made. They were taught to farm by their new acquaintances and early photos and drawings of the Mission often include tepees.

There is more than just the Mission at Old Mission State Park. The building that housed the missionaries has been renovated and moved farther away from the Mission for fire prevention. The visitor center, which is being expanded but is still open features some traditional clothing used by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and offers a video describing the history of the buildings in detail.

There are two cemeteries in which some of the earliest Indians that lived at the Mission are buried. A winding path takes visitors down to the river, where steamboats once dropped off passengers and freight. A walking audio tour is available.

Park Manager Bill Scudder is in the process of developing an exhibit called “Sacred Encounters,” which will recount the invasion of Coeur d’Alene tribal lands by white settlers – missionaries, miners, farmers and soldiers – resulting in the displacement of the Indians and the near loss of a culture.

The Mission does stand as a monument for two separate and different cultures working together to build a spectacular building. After visiting Old Mission State Park, the name Circling Raven will also forever have new meaning.