De Smet << duh SMEHT >>, Pierre Jean (1801-1873), was a Roman Catholic missionary who worked in the American West. His success as a missionary and as a peacemaker between Native Americans and white settlers became legendary. De Smet argued that just and honest treatment of Native Americans was the surest way to keep peace with them.
De Smet was born on Jan. 30, 1801, in Termonde, also called Dendermonde, Belgium. He came to the United States in 1821 and began Jesuit studies in Maryland. He continued his studies in St. Louis, where he was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1827. There he began a lifelong association with St. Louis University. In 1841, he founded St. Mary’s Mission among the Flathead tribe near present-day Missoula, Montana. De Smet later started other Native American missions in the Rocky Mountains and in Oregon. He also worked to gain support for missions.
The United States government often used De Smet to negotiate with Native Americans angered by the coming of white settlers. In 1851, he took part in a treaty council at Fort Laramie, Wyoming. This council agreed to reserve lands for the Plains tribes. In 1868, he negotiated a temporary peace with Chief Sitting Bull, whose Sioux warriors had vowed to kill the next white person they saw. De Smet wrote several books about Indigenous (native) life and mission work. These books are important sources for historians. De Smet died in St. Louis on May 23, 1873.
