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Pierre-Jean De Smet

Father Pierre-Jean De Smet, (30 January 1801 at Dendermonde, Belgium – 23 May 1873 at St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.), also known as Pierre DeSmet and Peter DeSmet, a Roman Catholic priest and member of the Society of Jesus, was a native Belgian who became the most trusted of the white men among the Native Americans of the Western United States in the mid-1800s.

He first came to America in 1821 to begin his novitiate at White Marsh, Maryland, a Jesuit estate near Baltimore. Later he was moved to Florissant, Missouri, where he was ordained on Sept. 23, 1827. From 1824-1830, he learned about Indian customs and other useful information as a prefect at St. Regis Seminary.

From 1833-1837 he was in Belgium due to health problems. When he returned, he was engaged as a recruiter of men, supplies, and money for the Missouri mission. His travels west allowed him to spend a large period of his life exploring and organizing missions. He was involved in extensive missionary work, especially among the Flatheads. He was sent by Bishop Joseph Rosati after several pleas from the Nez Perce and Flathead Indians to receive a 'Blackrobe' (the name by which the Catholic missionnaries were known, as they were wearing the traditional long black cassock).

One of DeSmet's longest explorations began in August 1845 when he began a huge trek. He started from Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho and crossed country into the Kootenay River valley. From there he followed the valley, eventually crossing over to the source of the Columbia river. He then traversed a portion of that valley, followed Sinclair Pass, recrossed the Kootenay and using White Man’s Pass reached the Bow River valley. He would have been near the site of present-day Canmore, Alberta. From there he headed north to Rocky Mountain House. By this time it was October and he fulfilled one of his goals; to meet with the Crees, Chippewas, and Blackfeet of the area. At the end of the month, De Smet traveled to the east to search for more Natives. He was fortunate to find his way back to Rocky Mountain House and was guided from there to Fort Edmonton where he spent the winter of 1845-1846.

The spring saw DeSmet's return trip carrying him to Jasper House and, with terrible suffering, reaching the Columbia river and Fort Vancouver. He returned to his mission at Sainte-Marie on the Bitterroot River and then returned to St. Louis. His time as a missionary in the Rockies was over.

In his remaining years, he was active in work regarding the missions he helped establish and fund. Perhaps his finest hour was in 1868 when he entered the camp of Sitting Bull with a small party and persuaded him to accept the subsequent treaty of Fort Rice.

He is buried at Florissant, Missouri. The towns of DeSmet, South Dakota, DeSmet, Montana and DeSmet, Idaho are named in honor of him.

In 1967, the Jesuits of the Missouri Province established DeSmet Jesuit High School in Creve Coeur, Missouri (a municipality within suburban St. Louis County, Missouri).

• Biography from 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia
• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• Biography at Biographies and other publications of Father De Smet