Going back in time

An Indian Prayer

O’ Great Spirit,

Whose voice I hear in the winds,

And whose breath gives life to all the world, Hear me! I am small and weak, I need your Strength and wisdom …

Entering through the double front doors of St. Ignatius Mission in Montana is like walking 100 years back in time. It’s hard to imagine the effect the construction and use of this building had on the local Native Americans. But it did, both in good and bad ways.

Outside is a picture of a massive brick exterior with a backdrop of the snow-capped Mission Mountains steeply rising behind the building.

Completed in 1891, St. Ignatius was an impressive building located in a remote area. The brick, the clay of which was dug and molded locally by the clergy and the Indians, was a task of biblical proportions with more than a million handmade bricks. The building was completed in two years. This was not labor forced on the Indians The local tribes asked the priests or “black robes” to come and establish a mission.

The interior is what will shock the first-time visitor climbing the brick stairs and going through the large door into the church. Even though the structure is very old, the inside is completely finished in a soothing blue color lit by sunlight coming through 20 simple colored-glass windows. But what really set this sanctuary apart are 61 murals behind the altar, on the walls and ceiling 100 feet above. The paintings represent scenes from the Old and New Testaments, as well as pictures of some saints, all in vivid color.

Perhaps the most amazing part of this story is that the murals were not commissioned by the church to be completed by some famous artist of the day. Rather, an Italian Jesuit who was the cook and handyman at the mission was the artist. With no professional training in art, he completed this massive project on his own time after his regular work responsibilities were finished. This man, Brother Joseph Carignano, was dedicated to his faith.

Visitors who pass through those main front doors are surrounded by beautiful murals depicting the Bible’s account of history and salvation. On the right side of the altar and below a painted wall is a small replica of a teepee. One of the paintings depicts Mother Mary with traditional Native American clothes, moccasins and braided hair, a reminder of the influence the Catholic Church had and still holds on many of the native people found living on reservation land surrounding the mission.

Young Indian boys schooled on the mission grounds were confused by the depiction of Jesus and the saints with long hair, painted on the walls. They wondered why their own hair had to be cut short as part of being civilized. This is an example of a small but common conflict between two cultures living together.

The mission at one time included a flower mill, printing press, hospital and sawmill. A girls boarding school was established and later a boys school. But the insufficient funding and several severe fires caused the schools to close.

The mission is in the center of what is now the Flathead Indian Reservation and is home to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes.

The tribes are a combination of the Salish, the Pend Oreille and the Kootenai. Just a few miles to the southwest is the National Bison Range. The bison range is good side trip with the mission being the final weekend destination.