St. Michael's Mission
N of Window Rock off AZ 264, Window Rock, AZThe St. Michael's Mission, established in 1898, was the first permanent Catholic Mission to the Navajo.
During the Spanish period, the Navajo were never brought under the mission system nor were they subjugated by the military. They did, however, readily incorporate sheep and horses into their culture and eventually became a wide-ranging, nomadic people who regarded raiding as an important part of their lives.
Depredations reached a peak in the first years of the American Civil War when the federal troops were withdrawn but in 1863 a vigorous campaign under Kit Carson forced most of the Navajo into. temporary captivity. On their return they scattered into the remote areas of their reservation, avoiding contact with Anglos and resisting Anglo education. The mission at St. Michael's contributed somewhat to the gradual breakdown of that resistance. The Franciscan Mission of St. Michael was the first permanent Catholic mission to the Navajo. The first mass in the chapel was said in October 1898. The following spring a log cabin was converted into a boarding school with two boy students. Through the years additional land was acquired, and an attempt was made to train Indians in farming and irrigation.
In 1902 a school was opened for 56 students. This ended the first phase of the mission. The second phase was planned as a period in which satellite missions would be established in areas where irrigated agriculture was possible. The original mission and school continued to grow and prosper.
The historical importance of St. Michael's to the Navajo people lies primarily in the numerous publications in and about the Navajo language and in the assistance rendered to the tribe in its successful attempts to acquire more land. Most active in these matters were Father Anselm Weber and Father Berard Haile. The Navajo dictionaries and grammars written by the missionaries were a notable contribution to scholarship.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.