Nulato - Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church
Nulato is a Koyukon Athapaskan Village on the right bank of the Yukon River. It owes its name to the Nulato River which flows into the Yukon two miles below the village.
Nulato started as a trading post established early in Alaska's history by the Russians at the mouth of the Nulato River around 1838. In 1873 the Oblate Bishop Clut and Fr. Lecorre stopped at Nulato on their way down river to Saint Michael. On July 31, 1877 pioneer Archbishop Charles Seghers and Fr. Mandart wintered in the village. They founded the first church in Alaska at Nulato and dedicated it to Our Lady of the Snows. With this gesture, Nulato is able to claim primacy among all Alaska's Catholic Missions.
In 1887 men of the Society of Jesus arrived and changed the name of the church and placed the mission under the patronage of Saint Peter Claver. The year 1887 marks the beginning of an uninterrupted Catholic missionary presence in Nulato with the arrival of Fr. Paschal Tosi, S.J. He made Nulato his headquarters while visiting other villages nearby during the year 1887-1888. He, and other first missionaries, began educating the local people in a contract school. In 1899 the Sisters of Saint Ann arrived to assist the missionaries and to open a Catholic day school. "Unquestionably much of the success enjoyed by the Jesuits at Nulato is attributable to the fact that from the onset they regarded communication as the most crucial point in their program."
The Sisters taught English to the local people so successfully that subsequent pastors, unable to speak the Koyukon tongue, could easily communicate with the Native villagers. In time, later missionaries learned to speak the Koyukon language. One is Fr. Aloysius Ragaru, S.J., who began speaking Kuyukon well enough to better minister to the people in Nulato and outlying villages. Fr. Ragaru served long and well at Nulato from 1888 until 1904 with some interruptions in between. It is said that Jesuit Brother Carmelo Giordano, who served in Nulato for 22 years, also learned the native language so well, it could not be distinguished from native speak. In 1935, Fr.John Baud, S.J., arrived in Nulato and served 27 years of uninterrupted work with the Nulato Koyukons. During Fr. Baud's and other Jesuits' tenure, the main point of conflict between them and villagers was the traditional native "Stickdance." The 1960's Vatican Council directives, and Anthropologist, Fr. William Loyens', S.J., thesis on Athapaskan culture, initiated reconciliation and better understanding between church and villagers regarding this traditional Athapaskan ritual. The original 1888 church at Nulato was eventually replaced in 1916. Several other new church buildings eventually replaced the older houses of worship.
The Sisters of Saint Ann worked in the village for many years up until the mid 1990's. Two of these Sisters are Jeanette LaRose and Anne Eveline Paquette. The Franciscan Order took over the spiritual direction of the community in 1986. Fr. William Cardy, O.F.M., served the Nulato community. Later, diocesan priests, Fr. John Martinek and Fr. James Falsey took over parish duties from the Jesuits and Franciscans during the latter part of the l990's.