Final answer:
Catholic orders, including Franciscans, Jesuits, and Dominicans, established churches and focused on education and health care among the native populations as part of their mission to convert and support the indigenous people.
Step-by-step explanation:
Catholic Groups Among the Natives/Indigenous
Catholic religious orders such as the Franciscans, Jesuits, and Dominicans played significant roles in the New World, particularly in their interactions with the native/indigenous populations. These groups founded various institutions among the natives. For instance, the Jesuits, also known as the Society of Jesus, were a group of missionaries dedicated to spreading Catholicism and opposing Protestantism. They engaged with Native Americans, mainly aiming to convert them to Catholicism without necessarily forcing them to adopt all aspects of European culture. Jesuits, like other Catholic missionaries, established churches to facilitate their religious work. Additionally, Dominicans and Franciscans worked on building trust and providing education to the natives, such as Dominican friar Bartolome de las Casas, who praised the natives and supported their right treatment.
The Jesuits' approach to cultural accommodation allowed Native Americans to become Catholics while maintaining aspects of their own culture. Reports such as the Jesuit Relations provide detailed insights into the interactions between Jesuits and the indigenous populations as well as the Jesuits' evangelization efforts.
Other Catholic orders also contributed to the social fabric of the indigenous communities by building hospitals and offering various services, aiming to improve the treatment and health conditions of the indigenous people.