Reviewed Book: Bowden, Henry Warner. American Indians and Christian Missions: Studies in Cultural Conflict. [S.l.]: Univ of Chicago Press, 1981. Chicago History of American Religion

Temme, Jon M.

English

Scholars Commons

Consensus
Volume 8 | Issue 4 Article 4
10-1-1982
American Indians and Christian Missions: Studies
in Cultural Conflict
Jon M. Temme
Follow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus
This Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by an
authorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.
Recommended Citation
Temme, Jon M. (1982) "American Indians and Christian Missions: Studies in Cultural Conflict," Consensus: Vol. 8 : Iss. 4 , Article 4.
Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol8/iss4/4
29
BOOKS IN REVIEW
THE SACRED. WAYS OF KNOWLEDGE, SOURCES OF LIFE
PEGGY V. BECK AND ANNA L. WALTERS
Tsaile, Arizona; Navajo Community
College Press, 1977.
xiii + 369 pp. $9.00
AMERICAN INDIANS AND CHRISTIAN MISSIONS.
STUDIES IN CULTURAL CONFLICT
HENRY WARNER BOWDEN
Foreword by Martin E. Marty
Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1981.
xix + 255 pp. $14.95
Many well-intentioned and concerned people have, no doubt, set out to in-
vestigate North American Native religions only to be quickly frustrated in the process.
This is understandable given the nature of the majority of sources available concern-
ing Native religious experience. On the one hand, there are those works which
generalize so freely and so often that little meaningful or accurate information is
presented. Books such as these are often easily identified by a title which lumps all
tribal beliefs and expressions together under the false rubric of “Indian Religion” (in
the singular!). On the other hand, there are countless books, reports and studies
which tend to the opposite extreme. Arising from the disciplines of anthropology or
comparative religions, these so atomize and individualize Native religious experiences
that one is left with the impression that to speak of fundamental concepts among
Native religions in general is all but impossible.
Fortunately two books have recently appeared which fall into neither of the
categories above. Instead, these books offer both accurate and beneficial introduc-
tions to the Native religious experience.
The Sacred is described by its authors as being a textbook “emphasizing the tradi-
tional characteristics of sacred ways in North America.” Beck and Walters are quick
to point out, however, that “traditional sacred ways were and are never unchanging”
(p. xii) . The body of the book expands upon six central concepts of the sacred shared
by Native peoples. These are:
1. A belief in or knowledge of unseen powers, or what some people call The
Great Mystery.
2. Knowledge that all things in the universe are dependent on each other.
3. Personal worship reinforces the bond between the individual, the community,
and the great powers.
4. Sacred traditions and persons knowledgeable in them are responsible for
30 Consensus
teaching morals and ethics.
5. Trained practitioners who have been given names such as medicinemen,
priests, shamans, caciques . . . are responsible for specialized, perhaps secret
knowledge.
6. A belief that humor is a necessary part of the sacred. And a belief that human
beings are often weak—we are not gods—and our weaknesses lead us to do
foolish things, (p. 8f.)
In terms of specific tribes and activities these elements of the sacred in Native ex-
perience are further developed in terms of: ritual drama and prayer (ch. 2), tradi-
tional education (ch. 3), cosmology (ch. 4), shamanism (ch. 5), Native religious
movements (ch. 7), anthropology (ch. 8), puberty rites (ch. 9), the peyote road (ch.
10), and sacred clowns and fools (ch. 13).
In addition. Beck and Walters offer more detailed analysis of: the impact of col-
onization and Christianization upon Native religions (ch. 6 & 11), contemporary
religious issues for Native peoples (ch. 14), and Navajo religious experience (ch. 12).
The separate chapter on the Navajo experience is indicative of the book’s source
and primary orientation, although care is taken to be inclusive of many tribal tradi-
tions.
The Sacred is packed with information, myths and descriptions, the majority of
which are further elaborated via photos, illustrations and maps. What particularly
commends this book though is the almost exclusive use of primary sources. A glance
at the notes and bibliography reveals few of the standard anthropological studies on
Native religions. In other words, the “non-Native middle man” in the interpretation of
Native beliefs has been eliminated. Thus one senses that The Sacred offers the reader
a better feel for what the Native religious experience entails. It is not here treated and
analyzed as a bit of datum for a comparative religions course, but it is put forth as a
living faith that has power and meaning for Native peoples still today. The authors are
to be commended for taking this approach. It is rarely found in other works concern-
ing Native religions.
Only two problems detract from the value of this book. The first is simply the enor-
mous number of typographical errors. One hopes that in subsequent printings (if this
should be the case) such mistakes will be corrected. More disconcerting is the pro-
blem of the book’s genre, i.e. textbook. Often the flow of the book bogs down as the
authors “stop” every now and then to define terms for an audience not accustomed
to the jargon of religious studies (e.g.
,
myth, cosmology, shaman, etc.).
Yet despite these two aggravating traits. Beck and Walters have made an impor-
tant contribution to the literature concerning Native religions. They have fulfilled the
task which they set for themselves, namely: “To describe, not intrude by analysis, the
meaning, role and function of sacred traditional practices and observances in the lives
of The People, individually and collectively” (p.3). The Sacred might be tough to
track down in a bookstore; it may be orderd directly from the Navajo Community
College Press in Tsaile, Arizona, 86556.
American Indians and Christian Missions offers far more and less than its title in-
dicates; both the additional and missing elements contribute to the value of the book.
First of all, contrary to the title, not just tribes within American borders are dealt with.
Bowden focuses upon key Native peoples, even those whose traditional lands also
Books in Review 31
extended into present-day Canada (the Hurons) or Mexico (the Pueblo). The title
should really read North American Indians and Christian Missions or, even more ac-
curately, Selected North American Indians. That is, Bowden does not offer an ex-
haustive “blow-by-blow” account of Christian mission work among Native peoples,
an impossibility in only 221 pages of text. Rather, he has wisely chosen to focus
primarily upon several paradigmatic encounters between Native peoples and the
Christian faith, as presented by various mission organizations.
Bowden examines three such encounters in particular: the Pueblo encounter with
Christianity via Spanish missions (ch. 1), the Hurons encounter with Christianity via
French missions (ch. 2), and the Massachusets encounter with Christianity via
English {viz. Puritan) missions (ch. 3). In subsequent chapters Bowden goes on to
survey further Native-Christian encounters in the 18th through 20th centuries
(ch.4-6).
Because the author has been selective, and limited his in-depth study to three tribal
situations, he allows himself the opportunity to discuss these tribes’ religious ex-
periences in some detail. For the Christian audience especially American Indians and
Christian Missions is helpful in that it emphasizes those aspects of Native belief that
impact upon or effect most immediately the encounter with the Christian faith. Fur-
thermore Bowden’s choice of tribes also helps to point out differences in religious
beliefs among various tribes. The Pueblo, with their fairly formal religious structure,
and the Hurons and Massachusets, with their more personal faith, highlight well the
fact that it is impossible to speak of an “Indian Religion” in the final analysis.
Bowden has also been careful to avoid the trap of “bad guys vs. good guys” in his
description of the Native-Christian encounter. He neither glorifies Native, precontact
faith (e.g.
,
his forthright discussion of the significance of cannibalism for Huron
religion, pp. 70f.) nor does he unduly defend the all-too unholy alliance of Chris-
tianization and colonization (e.g.
,
his discussion of the government “use” of Christian
missions, and vice-versa).
One wishes that Bowden would have offered more detailed analysis of the faiths of
the Natives encountered by missionaries as colonization spilled forth in the middle-
west and beyond. The religious experience of the Great Plains tribes receives only a
few pages of treatment (pp. 178-185), even though it is upon the Great Plains Native
experience that most generalizations are made. All in all, however, Bowden offers
much in this book. As Martin Marty suggests in the foreword, we have really three
books here: “a short history of Christian missions among the natives; an overview of
American Indian religion of a sort that has textbook values of its own; and, most of
all, the story of intergroup conflicts in a religious context” (p.xii). Extensive notes and
a concluding bibliographic essay add value to this work.
The history of the Native religious experiences, especially after its encounter with
Christianity, is a history involving faith, courage, tragedy, and many examples of
both far-sighted ecumenicity and short-sighted religious exclusivity. The Sacred and
American Indians and Christian Missions are good places in which to begin an ac-
quaintance with the Native religious experience and its meaning for, and over
against, the Christian faith.
Jon M. Temme


American Indians and Christian Missions: Studies in Cultural Conflict

Wilfrid Laurier University

ConsensusVolume 8 | Issue 4 Article 410-1-1982American Indians and Christian Missions: Studiesin Cultural ConflictJon M. TemmeFollow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensusThis Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationTemme, Jon M. (1982) "American Indians and Christian Missions: Studies in Cultural Conflict," Consensus: Vol. 8 : Iss. 4 , Article 4.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol8/iss4/429BOOKS IN REVIEWTHE SACRED. WAYS OF KNOWLEDGE, SOURCES OF LIFEPEGGY V. BECK AND ANNA L. WALTERSTsaile, Arizona; Navajo CommunityCollege Press, 1977.xiii + 369 pp. $9.00AMERICAN INDIANS AND CHRISTIAN MISSIONS.STUDIES IN CULTURAL CONFLICTHENRY WARNER BOWDENForeword by Martin E. MartyChicago: University ofChicago Press, 1981.xix + 255 pp. $14.95Many well-intentioned and concerned people have, no doubt, set out to in-vestigate North American Native religions only to be quickly frustrated in the process.This is understandable given the nature of the majority of sources available concern-ing Native religious experience. On the one hand, there are those works whichgeneralize so freely and so often that little meaningful or accurate information ispresented. Books such as these are often easily identified by a title which lumps alltribal beliefs and expressions together under the false rubric of “Indian Religion” (inthe singular!). On the other hand, there are countless books, reports and studieswhich tend to the opposite extreme. Arising from the disciplines of anthropology orcomparative religions, these so atomize and individualize Native religious experiencesthat one is left with the impression that to speak of fundamental concepts amongNative religions in general is all but impossible.Fortunately two books have recently appeared which fall into neither of thecategories above. Instead, these books offer both accurate and beneficial introduc-tions to the Native religious experience.The Sacred is described by its authors as being a textbook “emphasizing the tradi-tional characteristics of sacred ways in North America.” Beck and Walters are quickto point out, however, that “traditional sacred ways were and are never unchanging”(p. xii) . The body of the book expands upon six central concepts of the sacred sharedby Native peoples. These are:1. A belief in or knowledge of unseen powers, or what some people call TheGreat Mystery.2. Knowledge that all things in the universe are dependent on each other.3. Personal worship reinforces the bond between the individual, the community,and the great powers.4. Sacred traditions and persons knowledgeable in them are responsible for30 Consensusteaching morals and ethics.5. Trained practitioners who have been given names such as medicinemen,priests, shamans, caciques . . . are responsible for specialized, perhaps secretknowledge.6. A belief that humor is a necessary part of the sacred. And a belief that humanbeings are often weak—we are not gods—and our weaknesses lead us to dofoolish things, (p. 8f.)In terms of specific tribes and activities these elements of the sacred in Native ex-perience are further developed in terms of: ritual drama and prayer (ch. 2), tradi-tional education (ch. 3), cosmology (ch. 4), shamanism (ch. 5), Native religiousmovements (ch. 7), anthropology (ch. 8), puberty rites (ch. 9), the peyote road (ch.10), and sacred clowns and fools (ch. 13).In addition. Beck and Walters offer more detailed analysis of: the impact of col-onization and Christianization upon Native religions (ch. 6 & 11), contemporaryreligious issues for Native peoples (ch. 14), and Navajo religious experience (ch. 12).The separate chapter on the Navajo experience is indicative of the book’s sourceand primary orientation, although care is taken to be inclusive of many tribal tradi-tions.The Sacred is packed with information, myths and descriptions, the majority ofwhich are further elaborated via photos, illustrations and maps. What particularlycommends this book though is the almost exclusive use of primary sources. A glanceat the notes and bibliography reveals few of the standard anthropological studies onNative religions. In other words, the “non-Native middle man” in the interpretation ofNative beliefs has been eliminated. Thus one senses that The Sacred offers the readera better feel for what the Native religious experience entails. It is not here treated andanalyzed as a bit of datum for a comparative religions course, but it is put forth as aliving faith that has power and meaning for Native peoples still today. The authors areto be commended for taking this approach. It is rarely found in other works concern-ing Native religions.Only two problems detract from the value of this book. The first is simply the enor-mous number of typographical errors. One hopes that in subsequent printings (if thisshould be the case) such mistakes will be corrected. More disconcerting is the pro-blem of the book’s genre, i.e. textbook. Often the flow of the book bogs down as theauthors “stop” every now and then to define terms for an audience not accustomedto the jargon of religious studies (e.g.,myth, cosmology, shaman, etc.).Yet despite these two aggravating traits. Beck and Walters have made an impor-tant contribution to the literature concerning Native religions. They have fulfilled thetask which they set for themselves, namely: “To describe, not intrude by analysis, themeaning, role and function of sacred traditional practices and observances in the livesof The People, individually and collectively” (p.3). The Sacred might be tough totrack down in a bookstore; it may be orderd directly from the Navajo CommunityCollege Press in Tsaile, Arizona, 86556.American Indians and Christian Missions offers far more and less than its title in-dicates; both the additional and missing elements contribute to the value of the book.First of all, contrary to the title, not just tribes within American borders are dealt with.Bowden focuses upon key Native peoples, even those whose traditional lands alsoBooks in Review 31extended into present-day Canada (the Hurons) or Mexico (the Pueblo). The titleshould really read North American Indians and Christian Missions or, even more ac-curately, Selected North American Indians. That is, Bowden does not offer an ex-haustive “blow-by-blow” account of Christian mission work among Native peoples,an impossibility in only 221 pages of text. Rather, he has wisely chosen to focusprimarily upon several paradigmatic encounters between Native peoples and theChristian faith, as presented by various mission organizations.Bowden examines three such encounters in particular: the Pueblo encounter withChristianity via Spanish missions (ch. 1), the Hurons encounter with Christianity viaFrench missions (ch. 2), and the Massachusets encounter with Christianity viaEnglish {viz. Puritan) missions (ch. 3). In subsequent chapters Bowden goes on tosurvey further Native-Christian encounters in the 18th through 20th centuries(ch.4-6).Because the author has been selective, and limited his in-depth study to three tribalsituations, he allows himself the opportunity to discuss these tribes’ religious ex-periences in some detail. For the Christian audience especially American Indians andChristian Missions is helpful in that it emphasizes those aspects of Native belief thatimpact upon or effect most immediately the encounter with the Christian faith. Fur-thermore Bowden’s choice of tribes also helps to point out differences in religiousbeliefs among various tribes. The Pueblo, with their fairly formal religious structure,and the Hurons and Massachusets, with their more personal faith, highlight well thefact that it is impossible to speak of an “Indian Religion” in the final analysis.Bowden has also been careful to avoid the trap of “bad guys vs. good guys” in hisdescription of the Native-Christian encounter. He neither glorifies Native, precontactfaith (e.g.,his forthright discussion of the significance of cannibalism for Huronreligion, pp. 70f.) nor does he unduly defend the all-too unholy alliance of Chris-tianization and colonization (e.g.,his discussion of the government “use” of Christianmissions, and vice-versa).One wishes that Bowden would have offered more detailed analysis of the faiths ofthe Natives encountered by missionaries as colonization spilled forth in the middle-west and beyond. The religious experience of the Great Plains tribes receives only afew pages of treatment (pp. 178-185), even though it is upon the Great Plains Nativeexperience that most generalizations are made. All in all, however, Bowden offersmuch in this book. As Martin Marty suggests in the foreword, we have really threebooks here: “a short history of Christian missions among the natives; an overview ofAmerican Indian religion of a sort that has textbook values of its own; and, most ofall, the story of intergroup conflicts in a religious context” (p.xii). Extensive notes anda concluding bibliographic essay add value to this work.The history of the Native religious experiences, especially after its encounter withChristianity, is a history involving faith, courage, tragedy, and many examples ofboth far-sighted ecumenicity and short-sighted religious exclusivity. The Sacred andAmerican Indians and Christian Missions are good places in which to begin an ac-quaintance with the Native religious experience and its meaning for, and overagainst, the Christian faith.Jon M. Temme

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