Indigenous Engagement with Christianity: A Review Essay

Authors

  • Rachel R Luckenbill Southeastern University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22024/UniKent/03/tm.515

Keywords:

Native American, First Nations, Indigenous, Christianity, Religion, Indigenous Agency, Protestantism, Catholicism, Antebellum America

Abstract

Mixed Blessings, Defining Métis, and Perishing Heathens all move scholarly dialogue past mere indictment of the colonizer’s religion toward the possibilities of Indigenous refusal, acceptance, adaptation, and politically motivated use of Christianity. Read together, these three books function like a primer on the possibilities and pitfalls involved in studying often tense and ambiguous moments of interreligious and cross-cultural encounter. This review offers an overview of each text and then highlights ways in which all three situate themselves in relation to Indigenous perspectives, address the difficulty of accessing Indigenous history through archival sources, and contribute something significant to the field of Indigenous studies.

Author Biography

Rachel R Luckenbill, Southeastern University

Rachel Luckenbill is an Assistant Professor of English in the Humanities Department at Southeastern University in Lakeland,  FL. She teaches courses in Native American, African American, and Women's Literature. Her research focuses on fiction and poetry's role in cross-cultural reconciliation and on Native American responses to Christianity in contemporary literature.

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Published

2018-04-25

How to Cite

Luckenbill, R. R. (2018). Indigenous Engagement with Christianity: A Review Essay. Transmotion, 4(1), 114–120. https://doi.org/10.22024/UniKent/03/tm.515