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Father Berard Haile collection, 1929-1934

MS-063

Biographical Note

Father Berard Haile (pronounced high-lee) (1 June 1874 – 1961) was born Jacob Haile in Canton, Ohio. His parents died when he was very young so he grew up in St. Anthony Orphanage in Bond Hill. As a teenager, he attended the Franciscan High School Seminary and at age 17, he entered religious life and took the name Berard. In 1898, Haile became an ordained priest.

He spent 2 years as an assistant pastor in Illinois before being appointed Father Superior’s (Anselm Weber) assistant at St. Michael’s Mission in Cienega, Arizona. He became what the Navajo called an “Ednishodi” or long-robed one. And with the exception of brief interludes, Haile spent the rest of his life on the Navajo Reservation. St. Michael’s Mission was the first successful Franciscan mission on the Navajo Reservation. Spanish Franciscans had been trying to establish a mission on the Reservation since 1539. It was not until Haile and 2 other monks began St. Michael’s in an abandoned trading post that the Franciscans were able to maintain a lasting presence.

Haile, also referred to as "Yazzie" (Shortie), was considered an enlightened missionary because he believed immersing oneself into an indigenous culture before preaching, therefore, he quickly learned the Navajo language to better serve. He traveled around the reservation helping to set up a network of schools, clinics and churches. He developed a deep interest in Native American culture and wrote dozens of books and articles on the Navajo language, ethnology, and ceremonialism.

In the 1920s, Haile enrolled in the Catholic University of America and earned a Master of Arts. He then went on to Bonaventure College in New York and received his doctorate. From 1930 to 1933, He served as Definitor of the Province of St. John the Baptist in Detroit. In 1930, the University of Chicago appointed Haile a research associate in the Department of Anthropology. His scholarship laid the foundation for the study of the Navajo language and culture.

In 1935, the federal Indian Service hired Haile to teach Native Americans to read and write their own language in New Mexico and Arizona, and the following year he was asked by the Navajo to survey their tribal lands.

Haile suffered a stroke in 1954 and was incapacitated for the last 7 years of his life. During that time the Navajo Council voted to allow him to publish his most praised work, “Blessingway.” Unfortunately, due to opposition from other groups, “Blessingway” was published posthumously in 1970 by editor, L.C. Wyman, without Haile’s original Navajo text. Haile passed away in a Santa Fe hospital in 1961 and was buried at St. Michael’s Mission.

Scope and Content

This collection consists of English and Navajo manuscripts about Navajo myths and ceremonies written by Haile as well as a large number of sandpainting reproductions recorded by Haile and Franc J. Newcomb.

Arrangement

Restrictions

Conditions Governing Access

This collection contains culturally sensitive material (Navajo sandpaintings). Therefore, this collection has been restricted. The restriction was placed in 2004 by staff at the Navajo Nation Historic Preservation Department. Contact the Museum of Northern Arizona Archivist for more information.

Conditions Governing Use

Unpublished and published manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Related Material

The Museum of Northern Arizona has related archival collections that contain sandpainting images; these have been collected, researched, and cross-indexed by Wyman with material in his sandpainting file:

The University of Arizona has a Berard Haile (AZ 132) manuscript collection. Harvard University has the same typed manuscripts as those in Series 1; the collections are listed as “Navajo Stories and Legends” and “Navajo Texts.” The Wheelwright Museum in Santa Fe also has Berard Haile manuscript material.

Controlled Access Terms

Administrative Information

Custodial History

After Haile suffered a stroke on 31 March 1954, he gave Leland C. Wyman his sandpainting collection to use for study or publication. The records remained with Wyman at Boston University until 1964 when he gifted them to the Museum of Northern Arizona.

Preferred Citation

Father Berard Haile collection, MS-063 [Box Number]. Museum of Northern Arizona. Flagstaff, Arizona.

Acquisition Information

The sandpaintings portion of the collection was gifted to MNA by Leland Wyman in 1964. The manuscript portion of the collection has been on permanent loan since 1964 from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Chicago.

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