'Come into the habits of civilized life': Nineteenth century Catholic and Protestant missionaries in Upper Michigan

This dissertation is, in part, a study of the missionary mind-set. I study three missionaries of different denominations, Frederic Baraga, Abel Bingham, and John Pitezel, who worked with the Ojibwa of Upper Michigan during the Nineteenth Century. I am interested in what they said their goals as missionaries were -- just why did they conduct missionary work? What drove these men to spend time as missionaries? Furthermore, how much did they matter? What impact and what ongoing influence did they ultimately have upon the Ojibwa of Michigan's Upper Peninsula?;It is sometimes believed that missionaries wished to save Native Americans from their own darkness by transforming them into whites culturally and spiritually. Others felt that they needed to be saved from white influences. Moreover, some missionaries felt that Native Americans had to be saved not only from paganism, but from other Christian denominations. This was particularly true in encounters between Catholics and Protestants, and this fact will become clear as you read on. While Protestants were sometimes willing to work with each other -- Bingham and Pitezel preached together on occasion -- Protestants and Catholics generally loathed and distrusted one another. I will also analyze various ways missionaries differed in their theology. The final piece of the puzzle concerns missionary hagiography. Most writings about missionaries glorify missionaries while they vilify Native Americans. The reality of the situation was far more complex than this simple dichotomy allows. Only by carefully examining the sources and creating a balanced narrative can we hope to fully understand the relationships between Native Americans and missionaries.