Pierre-Jean de Smet

Born in Dendermonde, Belgium, in 1801, he entered the Jesuits and sailed to the United States as a young man. He spent much of his life in the expanding American frontier, especially in the Rocky Mountain region, where he became known for missionary work among Native communities and for long, demanding journeys across the continent.

He is especially associated with missions among the Salish and other Indigenous peoples of the West, and he also served at times as a go-between in conflicts involving Native nations and the U.S. government. His letters and travel narratives helped build his reputation in Europe and America, giving readers dramatic descriptions of landscapes, travel, and encounters on the frontier.

He died in 1873. Today he is remembered as an important and controversial figure in the history of western missions: admired by some for endurance and diplomacy, and viewed by others through the harder history of colonial expansion and religious conversion.