This site is dedicated to Father De Smet (1801-1873).
As a young boy Pieter Johannes or Peter John De Smet left his native country in 1821 to become a Jesuit priest in the U.S. As a missionary to the natives of the northwest Father De Smet started a number of "reductions" in the Rockies. He travelled the frontier with his message of peace and religion. Until his death in 1873 Father De Smet tried to help the unfortunate native people of the West. Read his extraordinary story on this site.
(© Victor Driessens)