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Social Science Sociology Of Religion

I Will Fear No Evil

Ojibwa-Missionary Encounters Along the Berens River, 1875-1940

by (author) Susan Elaine Gray

Publisher
University of Calgary Press
Initial publish date
Oct 2006
Category
Sociology of Religion, Native American Studies, Folklore & Mythology
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781552381984
    Publish Date
    Oct 2006
    List Price
    $29.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781552383698
    Publish Date
    Oct 2006
    List Price
    $29.95

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Description

The history of Christian missions in Canada has traditionally been told only from the point of view of the missionaries, and not those they were attempting to convert. In "I Will Fear No Evil", Susan Gray offers a new perspective on missionary-aboriginal encounters between the Berens River Ojibwa and Methodist and Catholic missionaries between 1875 and 1940. Supplementing her historical research with conversations and interviews with Berens River elders, Gray explores the ways in which Christian beliefs have become incorporated into the traditional Ojibwa worldview.

The Ojibwa were active participants in these missionary encounters. They accepted those missionaries who treated them with sensitivity and respect and integrated Christian beliefs and practices into their established belief system. Today, a blend of Christian and Ojibwa ideas is still interwoven in the lives of Berens River residents, with both traditions holding meaning and sincerity. Their uniquely adaptive religion sheds new light on our understanding of cultural contact and conversion, placing the indigenous experience of these events at centre stage.

About the author

Susan Elaine Gray is a Research Associate to the Canada Research Chair in Aboriginal Peoples in an Urban and Regional Context at the University of Winnipeg.

Susan Elaine Gray's profile page

Awards

  • Winner, Margaret McWilliams Awards (Manitoba Historical Society) - Scholarly History category

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