Samson Occom: Radical Hospitality in the Native Northeast

Samson Occom, a Mohegan-Brothertown minister, was a prominent political and religious leader of the Indigenous peoples of New York and New England. He was the first Native person to be ordained a minister in the New England colonies and helped found the nation of Brothertown. Ryan Carr's book argues that Occom's writings were deeply rooted in Indigenous traditions of hospitality, diplomacy, and openness to strangers and that evangelical Christianity was a new opportunity to practice his peoples ancestral customs.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 352 pages
Publication date: 14 November 2023
Publisher: Columbia University Press

Samson Occom, a prominent political and religious figure among the Indigenous peoples of present-day New York and New England, holds a revered status even today. During his lifetime, Occom achieved international acclaim as the first Native person to be ordained as a minister in the New England colonies. In the 1770s, he played a pivotal role in establishing the nation of Brothertown, where Coastal Algonquian families seeking respite from colonialism found a new home on land granted to them by the Oneida Nation. Occom was a prolific author, considered one of the most prolific Native American writers before the late 19th century. However, many of his writings have been overlooked, partly due to their focus on Christian themes that may seem disconnected from Native life.

In his groundbreaking work, Ryan Carr challenges this notion by asserting that Occom's writings were deeply rooted in Indigenous traditions of hospitality, diplomacy, and openness to strangers. From Occom's perspective, evangelical Christianity was not a foreign culture but rather a new opportunity to practice his people's ancestral customs. Carr showcases Occom's originality as a religious thinker, demonstrating how his commitment to Native sovereignty shaped his interpretation of the Bible. By emphasizing the Native sources of Occom's evangelicalism, this book offers fresh perspectives on the complex relations between Northeast Native traditions, Christianity, colonialism, and Indigenous self-determination.

Weight: 512g
Dimension: 153 x 230 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780231210331