The Church Missionary Society among the Blackfoot Indians of Southern Alberta, 1880-1895

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1971
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Abstract
The role of British missionary organizations and their missionary representatives in the history of western Canada has not been closely examined by Canadian historians. The historiography of church expansion and missionary activity has been dominated by sympathetic observers representing a particular denomination, while the importance of cultural contact and the impact of christianity upon the Indians' social and religious institutions have been documented by the anthropologist. All writers, however, have ignored the voluminous primary material found in the archives of the missionary societies that played a significant role in "christianizing" and "civilizing" the Indian tribes of western Canada. The Protestant organization that dominated evangelical work among the natives of North West Canada was the Church Missionary Society of the Church of England. The propagation of the Christian Gospel was the fundamental purpose of the Church Missionary Society, and the missionary's task was to "christianize" the native population. Native customs, beliefs and social mores were defined in terms of the European view of society. The missionary hoped to raise up an economically viable native community of God-fearing, hard-working lay Christians. In fulfilling this objective the missionary was inevitably an agent of European ideas, values and social norms. He played a significant role in erecting schools, building hospitals, and tending to the social welfare of the Indian. He prepared the younger generation to appreciate the advantages of European civilization, and sought to plant God's Word among the adult population. The mission stations, although generally unsuccessful, were more influential as centres of acculturation than at converting the "heathen" and raising up a Christian community among the Blackfoot people. The Anglican missionaries were faced with the "irreligious" work of Catholic priests, a shortage of funds, and the reticent character of the Indian people. After many setbacks, the missionaries' persistent evangelization, combined with increasing aid from the federal government, finally began to yield results by 1895.
Description
Bibliography: p. 130-141.
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Citation
Getty, I. A. (1971). The Church Missionary Society among the Blackfoot Indians of Southern Alberta, 1880-1895 (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/11117