One of the most intriguing documents is a letter written on birch bark in 1887 by the Ojibwe tribe of Native Americans from Grassy Lake, Ontario, to Pope Leo XIII.
The letter was written in May but is datelined “where there is much grass, in the month of the flowers” and addresses the pope as “the Great Master of Prayer, he who holds the place of Jesus.” It was written in the Ojibwe language, with a translation in French given by a Catholic missionary.
The letter thanks God and the Pope for sending a bishop to work among the Ojibwe.
