LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Archbishop Chaput not simply ‘Native American’

Posted

To the Editor:

I read the story of Archbishop Chaput's visit (May 1, 2008 edition: “Archbishop: Be the leaven of the world”) with great interest and was especially delighted to learn that he is Native American. But when I couldn't find a reference to his tribe in the article, I was puzzled. It is protocol to specify a person's tribe when noting that he/she is Native American.

I went to the Archbishop's website and was again surprised to see an absence to any reference that he is Native American. So I boldly e-mailed the Archbishop and was delighted to receive a reply from him within an hour!

The Archbishop told me he is a member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribe. He also said he will speak to his webmaster about including a reference to it on the Archbishop's web biography.

The Archbishop also wrote that "I’m really not the first Native American bishop. The first was Bishop Donald Pelotte, who until recently was the Bishop of Gallup, New Mexico. He resigned recently. I’m the first Native American archbishop, but Bishop Pelotte’s ordination preceded mine by a couple of years."

I asked His Excellency's permission to write to about this and he said he didn't mind one way or another.

Donna L. DiMichele

Cranston