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American Indians Encounter the BibleReception, Resistance, and Reinterpretation

American Indians Encounter the BibleReception, Resistance, and Reinterpretation This article explores how Native Americans have received the Bible. Over the centuries some Indians have been inspired by the Bible, and some have been repelled by its long-standing place in colonization. The Christian invaders in the New World carried the Bible in their minds. It served as their inspiration, their justification, and their frame of reference as they encountered Indigenous peoples. In effect, the Bible was the template for exploration, conquest, identification of selves and others. The Christian invaders brought along or produced physical Bibles, which served their catechetical purposes, and in time they began to translate the Bible—in whole and in part—into American Indian languages. Therefore this article illustrates that to the present day Native Americans continue to receive the Bible actively and variously, attempting to fit it to their unfolding cultural stories. Ultimately, it has not lost its potency, nor have they lost their power to consider it on their own terms. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png English Language Notes Duke University Press

American Indians Encounter the BibleReception, Resistance, and Reinterpretation

Vecsey, Christopher; Gómez, Leila
English Language Notes , Volume 58 (1) – Apr 1, 2020
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13 pages

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Copyright
Copyright © 2020 Regents of the University of Colorado
ISSN
0013-8282
eISSN
2573-3575
DOI
10.1215/00138282-8237476
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This article explores how Native Americans have received the Bible. Over the centuries some Indians have been inspired by the Bible, and some have been repelled by its long-standing place in colonization. The Christian invaders in the New World carried the Bible in their minds. It served as their inspiration, their justification, and their frame of reference as they encountered Indigenous peoples. In effect, the Bible was the template for exploration, conquest, identification of selves and others. The Christian invaders brought along or produced physical Bibles, which served their catechetical purposes, and in time they began to translate the Bible—in whole and in part—into American Indian languages. Therefore this article illustrates that to the present day Native Americans continue to receive the Bible actively and variously, attempting to fit it to their unfolding cultural stories. Ultimately, it has not lost its potency, nor have they lost their power to consider it on their own terms.

Journal

English Language Notes – Duke University Press

Published: Apr 1, 2020

References

  • Native Americans and Evangelization
    Archambault, Marie Therese Treat, James
  • Pagans Rewriting the Bible: Heterodoxy and the Representation of Spirituality in Native American Literature
    Blaeser, Kimberly M.
  • Native Women’s Double Cross: Christology from the Contact Zone
    Donaldson, Laura E.
  • Noah Meets Old Coyote, or Singing in the Rain: Intertextuality in Thomas King’s Green Grass, Running Water.
    Donaldson, Laura E.
  • Postcolonialism and Biblical Reading: An Introduction
    Donaldson, Laura E.
  • Response: ‘When Jesus Rewrote the Corn Mothers: Intertextuality as Transnational Critical Practice.’
    Donaldson, Laura E.
  • The Sign of Orpah: Reading Ruth through Native Eyes
    Donaldson, Laura E. Sugirtharajah, R. S.
  • Print Culture and the Power of Native Literacy in California and New England Missions
    Hackel, Steven W. Wyss, Hilary E. Martin, Joel W. Nicholas, Mark A.
  • Tink
    Kidwell, Clara Sue Noley, Homer
  • Religion: American Indian and Christian Beliefs Blend at Michigan Church
    Kopenkoskey, Paul R.
  • Spreading the Word: Missionaries, Conversion, and Circulation in the Northeast
    Murray, David Griffiths, Nicholas Cervantes, Fernando
  • Statement on Native Spirituality.
  • Christian Devils: How the Bible Was Used to Mobilize Oppression of Native Americans
    Pardue, Crystal
  • A ‘Circle in a Rectangle’: Native Evangelicals, Trans-Indigenous Networks, and the Negotiation between Legitimation and Evasion
    Purvis, Jason E.
  • The Bible in Western Indian Mythology
    Ramsey, Jarold
  • The Bible and Early American Indian Missions
    Ronda, James P. Sandeen, Ernest R.
  • My Story: How My Life Changed; Can I Be Native American and Christian?,
    Ross-Dick, Nicholas Atkinson, Rich
  • Mission and Core Values.
  • Native American Christians—Surviving Christianity.
    Schenk, Edwin
  • Native Evangelicals and Scriptural Ethnologies
    Smith, Andrea Wimbush, Vincent L.
  • Canaanites, Cowboys, and Indians
    Warrior, Robert Allen Sugirtharajah, R. S.
  • Native Americans and Evangelization
    Archambault, Marie Therese Treat, James
  • Pagans Rewriting the Bible: Heterodoxy and the Representation of Spirituality in Native American Literature
    Blaeser, Kimberly M.
  • Native Women’s Double Cross: Christology from the Contact Zone
    Donaldson, Laura E.
  • Noah Meets Old Coyote, or Singing in the Rain: Intertextuality in Thomas King’s Green Grass, Running Water.
    Donaldson, Laura E.
  • Postcolonialism and Biblical Reading: An Introduction
    Donaldson, Laura E.
  • Response: ‘When Jesus Rewrote the Corn Mothers: Intertextuality as Transnational Critical Practice.’
    Donaldson, Laura E.
  • The Sign of Orpah: Reading Ruth through Native Eyes
    Donaldson, Laura E. Sugirtharajah, R. S.
  • Print Culture and the Power of Native Literacy in California and New England Missions
    Hackel, Steven W. Wyss, Hilary E. Martin, Joel W. Nicholas, Mark A.
  • Tink
    Kidwell, Clara Sue Noley, Homer
  • Religion: American Indian and Christian Beliefs Blend at Michigan Church
    Kopenkoskey, Paul R.
  • Spreading the Word: Missionaries, Conversion, and Circulation in the Northeast
    Murray, David Griffiths, Nicholas Cervantes, Fernando
  • Statement on Native Spirituality.
  • Christian Devils: How the Bible Was Used to Mobilize Oppression of Native Americans
    Pardue, Crystal
  • A ‘Circle in a Rectangle’: Native Evangelicals, Trans-Indigenous Networks, and the Negotiation between Legitimation and Evasion
    Purvis, Jason E.
  • The Bible in Western Indian Mythology
    Ramsey, Jarold
  • The Bible and Early American Indian Missions
    Ronda, James P. Sandeen, Ernest R.
  • My Story: How My Life Changed; Can I Be Native American and Christian?,
    Ross-Dick, Nicholas Atkinson, Rich
  • Mission and Core Values.
  • Native American Christians—Surviving Christianity.
    Schenk, Edwin
  • Native Evangelicals and Scriptural Ethnologies
    Smith, Andrea Wimbush, Vincent L.
  • Canaanites, Cowboys, and Indians
    Warrior, Robert Allen Sugirtharajah, R. S.