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PAGE 8 ALL ABOUT IDAHO IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT • FEBRUARY // MARCH 2019
The Cataldo Mission. PHOTO BY JACKIE MCNEEL.
OLD MISSION STATE PARK / CONT’D FROM PAGE 7 dating to the mid 1700s and a baroque alter from that era. Numerous
church items are on display, including a letter from Father DeSmet
A local non-profit organization formed in 1998 to enhance the and a Bible from that era. Items from his home in Belgium and scenes
mission and provide a facility as a permanent home for the exhibit. from his life with Indian people add insight to his life.
The Sacred Encounters display fills 5,000 square feet of the visitor Other exhibits reveal the early history of the Salish people and the
center. At its opening, the Director of Idaho Parks commented, “this transition as horses first arrived and trappers came. Such tribal objects
display will rival any Smithsonian display in Washington D.C. You will as a buckskin dress, a large root bag, moccasins, a fringed medicine
have a sacred encounter when you walk through these doors.” case, and others are on exhibit.
Visitors walk from area to area, covering nine rooms. Some rooms Another exhibit area holds a primitive church, a reconstruction of
contain static displays, while others are videos with music and voice. the first mission in 1842, made of poles, with sounds of singing from
The intent is to show early encounters between native people of the the altar. Musical instruments are on display, including a clarinet that
region and Christian missionaries. likely belonged to Father DeSmet.
The brochure states, “in the beginning we were very different Various other artifacts are exhibited throughout the museum.
peoples. We came from totally separate worlds. But we were also alike. A quote by Peter Campbell, of Spokane/Coeur d’Alene, sums up the
We also shared a belief in a mysterious power beyond ourselves that museum. “It’s a beautiful testament to American Indians and the
made all life possible.” Coeur d’Alene Tribe specifically.
The first area contains an audiovisual with tribal elders talking The Sacred Heart Mission is the most visited heritage park in
of their spiritual world before missionaries arrived. The second area Idaho. ISI
has a huge photo of Father DeSmet’s home in Belgium plus a chalice
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