Creating Christian Indians: Native Clergy in the Presbyterian Church

Histories of missions to American Indian communities often tell a sad and predictable story about the destructive impact of missionary work. In Creating Christian Indians, Bonnie Sue Lewis relates how the Nez Perce and the Dakota Indians became Presbyterians while incorporating Native culture and tradition into their new Christian identities. Native pastors saw in Christianity a universal message of hope and empowerment and were able to preach in their own languages. By 1930, nearly forty Dakotas, sixteen Nez Perces, a Spokane, and a Makah had been ordained, leaving a heritage of committed Presbyterian congregations and a vibrant spiritual legacy among their descendants.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 302 pages
Publication date: 30 March 2022
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press

Histories of missions to American Indian communities often convey a sorrowful and predictable narrative concerning the detrimental effects of missionary work on Native culture and religion. Numerous historians have reached the conclusion that American Indian tribes that have retained a cultural identity have achieved this feat solely due to the inability of missionaries to dismantle it. In her book, Creating Christian Indians, Bonnie Sue Lewis explores the transformation of the Nez Perce and Dakota Indians into Presbyterians while seamlessly incorporating Native culture and traditions into their newfound Christian identities. Lewis' primary focus lies in the emergence of Native clergy and their establishment of Christian communities grounded in American Indian values, such as kinship and leadership. Initially, missionary efforts among the Nez Perces and Dakotas were primarily led by white missionaries. However, it was in the nineteenth century that Christianity truly took hold within American Indian communities, with the ordination of Indian clergy. Native pastors viewed Christianity as a universal message of hope and empowerment. Educated and trained within their own communities, Native ministers were able to deliver sermons in their native languages. They frequently served as cultural intermediaries, bridging Indian and white societies, thereby shaping Native Presbyterianism and attaining recognition as leaders within both tribal and Presbyterian circles. In 1865, the Presbyterian Church ordained John B. Renville as the first Dakota Indian minister, and in 1879, Robert Williams became the first ordained Nez Perce. By 1930, nearly forty Dakotas, sixteen Nez Perces, a Spokane, and a Makah had been ordained. Lewis has extensively researched church and archival records, including letters from Native ministers, to uncover the ways in which early Indian pastors bequeathed a legacy of committed Presbyterian congregations and a vibrant spiritual heritage among their descendants.

Weight: 333g
Dimension: 216 x 140 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780806190013