CATALDO, Idaho — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Idaho is returning the property around the historic Cataldo Mission to the Coeur d'Alene Tribe.
Bishop Michael Driscoll's announcement on Wednesday came during the tribe's annual pilgrimage to the mission to honor ancestors who built the church that was completed in 1853 and is the oldest building in Idaho.
It was the second time in three months that the Coeur d'Alenes were formally given jurisdiction over lands they hold sacred. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court found that the tribe was the rightful owner of the lower third of Lake Coeur d'Alene.
Under the new agreement on the Cataldo Mission, negotiated over several years, the tribe will take over the church's position in a lease with the state Department of Parks and Recreation. The agency manages Old Mission State Park and maintains the church.
The lease will remain in effect at least until 2015, when it is due to expire, tribal Chairman Ernie Stensgar said.
Discussions are continuing over turning Old Mission State Park into Idaho's first state-tribal park, which would indefinitely extend the existing management agreement, Park Manager Bill Scudder said on Wednesday.
The land around the mission has been held in trust for the tribe by the U.S. Department of the Interior, but the Catholic diocese held veto power over management decisions.
"Now, the tribe itself has sole right to make a decision about the mission's future as a state park," said the Rev. Thomas Connolly, a Jesuit priest who ministers to the tribe.
Driscoll's announcement was greeted with whoops of joy, the day's loudest drum banging and a teary-eyed Stensgar.
"This is our place," he told the crowd. "Our spirit is here."