Alumnus Presents 'Bishop Baraga's Indians'

James Seelye, a 2003 NMU graduate, will present “Bishop Baraga’s Indians” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19, in Mead Auditorium. Seelye is pursuing his master’s degree at the University of Toledo. He wrote “Bishop Baraga’s Indians” as his thesis. It focuses on the written record left behind by Frederic Baraga, the first Bishop of the Diocese of the area that is now Marquette. 

Baraga was a missionary to the Native Americans in this area for nearly 40 years. He wrote several records and two books during that time. Seelye is attempting to discover not only what Baraga said about the Native Americans he came into daily contact with, but why this has been ignored by most historians. His research has been aided by the Grace H. Magnaghi Visiting Research Fellowship Grant from NMU and a grant from the Ohio Humanities Council.

The public is invited to attend free of charge.