Longhouses, Schoolrooms, and Workers’ Cottages: Nineteenth-Century Protestant Missions to the Tsimshian and the Transformation of Class Through Religion
This paper explores the blurring of boundaries among class identities in nineteenth-century Protestant missions to the Tsimshian, Aboriginal people of the northwest British Columbia coast. Through an exploration of the nature of Christian chiefs, Tsimshian demand for literacy and schooling, and fina...
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fterudit:oai:erudit.org:031131ar 2023-05-15T18:39:24+02:00 Longhouses, Schoolrooms, and Workers’ Cottages: Nineteenth-Century Protestant Missions to the Tsimshian and the Transformation of Class Through Religion Neylan, Susan 2000 http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/031131ar https://doi.org/10.7202/031131ar en eng The Canadian Historical Association/La Société historique du Canada Érudit Journal of the Canadian Historical Association vol. 11 no. 1 (2000) http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/031131ar doi:10.7202/031131ar All rights reserved © The Canadian Historical Association/La Société historique du Canada, 2000 text 2000 fterudit https://doi.org/10.7202/031131ar 2021-09-18T23:22:29Z This paper explores the blurring of boundaries among class identities in nineteenth-century Protestant missions to the Tsimshian, Aboriginal people of the northwest British Columbia coast. Through an exploration of the nature of Christian chiefs, Tsimshian demand for literacy and schooling, and finally mission housing, this paper highlights ways in which the class implications of religious association had profoundly different meanings in Native and non-Native milieus. Scholars must take into account historical Aboriginal perspectives not only on conversion, but on their class positions in mission Christianity and more precisely, how their roles within the mission sphere were informed by their own notions of class. While some Native converts undoubtedly utilized conversion to Christianity to circumvent usual social conventions surrounding rank, privilege, and access to spiritual power, other Tsimshian sought transformation by using these new forms of spirituality to bolster their existing social positions. Le présent article explore la mouvance des frontières des identités de classe au XIXe siècle dans les missions protestantes chez les Tsimshian, un peuple autochtone de la côte Nord-ouest du Pacifique en Colombie-Britannique. En analysant tour à tour la nature des chefs chrétiens, le désir des Tsimshian d'être alphabétisés et scolarisés, et le logement dans les missions, l'auteure démontre comment les notions de classe véhiculées par la religion ont pris des significations fort différentes dans les milieux autochtones et non autochtones. Pour traiter d'un tel sujet, les chercheurs doivent tenir compte des perspectives historiques des Autochtones non seulement sur la conversion, mais aussi sur leur hiérarchie sociale dans les missions chrétiennes il s'agit plus précisément de voir comment le rôle des Autochtones au sein même de la mission était déterminé par leur propre notion de classe. Si quelques Autochtones avaient indéniablement utilisé la conversion à la chrétienté comme un moyen de contourner les conventions sociales réglementant le rang, les privilèges et l'accès au pouvoir spirituel, d'autres Tsimshian avaient cherché le changement en se servant de ces nouvelles formes de spiritualité pour solidifier leur position sociale existante. Text Tsimshian Tsimshian* Érudit.org (Université Montréal) Journal of the Canadian Historical Association 11 1 51 86 |
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Érudit.org (Université Montréal) |
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English |
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This paper explores the blurring of boundaries among class identities in nineteenth-century Protestant missions to the Tsimshian, Aboriginal people of the northwest British Columbia coast. Through an exploration of the nature of Christian chiefs, Tsimshian demand for literacy and schooling, and finally mission housing, this paper highlights ways in which the class implications of religious association had profoundly different meanings in Native and non-Native milieus. Scholars must take into account historical Aboriginal perspectives not only on conversion, but on their class positions in mission Christianity and more precisely, how their roles within the mission sphere were informed by their own notions of class. While some Native converts undoubtedly utilized conversion to Christianity to circumvent usual social conventions surrounding rank, privilege, and access to spiritual power, other Tsimshian sought transformation by using these new forms of spirituality to bolster their existing social positions. Le présent article explore la mouvance des frontières des identités de classe au XIXe siècle dans les missions protestantes chez les Tsimshian, un peuple autochtone de la côte Nord-ouest du Pacifique en Colombie-Britannique. En analysant tour à tour la nature des chefs chrétiens, le désir des Tsimshian d'être alphabétisés et scolarisés, et le logement dans les missions, l'auteure démontre comment les notions de classe véhiculées par la religion ont pris des significations fort différentes dans les milieux autochtones et non autochtones. Pour traiter d'un tel sujet, les chercheurs doivent tenir compte des perspectives historiques des Autochtones non seulement sur la conversion, mais aussi sur leur hiérarchie sociale dans les missions chrétiennes il s'agit plus précisément de voir comment le rôle des Autochtones au sein même de la mission était déterminé par leur propre notion de classe. Si quelques Autochtones avaient indéniablement utilisé la conversion à la chrétienté comme un moyen de contourner les conventions sociales réglementant le rang, les privilèges et l'accès au pouvoir spirituel, d'autres Tsimshian avaient cherché le changement en se servant de ces nouvelles formes de spiritualité pour solidifier leur position sociale existante. |
format |
Text |
author |
Neylan, Susan |
spellingShingle |
Neylan, Susan Longhouses, Schoolrooms, and Workers’ Cottages: Nineteenth-Century Protestant Missions to the Tsimshian and the Transformation of Class Through Religion |
author_facet |
Neylan, Susan |
author_sort |
Neylan, Susan |
title |
Longhouses, Schoolrooms, and Workers’ Cottages: Nineteenth-Century Protestant Missions to the Tsimshian and the Transformation of Class Through Religion |
title_short |
Longhouses, Schoolrooms, and Workers’ Cottages: Nineteenth-Century Protestant Missions to the Tsimshian and the Transformation of Class Through Religion |
title_full |
Longhouses, Schoolrooms, and Workers’ Cottages: Nineteenth-Century Protestant Missions to the Tsimshian and the Transformation of Class Through Religion |
title_fullStr |
Longhouses, Schoolrooms, and Workers’ Cottages: Nineteenth-Century Protestant Missions to the Tsimshian and the Transformation of Class Through Religion |
title_full_unstemmed |
Longhouses, Schoolrooms, and Workers’ Cottages: Nineteenth-Century Protestant Missions to the Tsimshian and the Transformation of Class Through Religion |
title_sort |
longhouses, schoolrooms, and workers’ cottages: nineteenth-century protestant missions to the tsimshian and the transformation of class through religion |
publisher |
The Canadian Historical Association/La Société historique du Canada |
publishDate |
2000 |
url |
http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/031131ar https://doi.org/10.7202/031131ar |
genre |
Tsimshian Tsimshian* |
genre_facet |
Tsimshian Tsimshian* |
op_relation |
Journal of the Canadian Historical Association vol. 11 no. 1 (2000) http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/031131ar doi:10.7202/031131ar |
op_rights |
All rights reserved © The Canadian Historical Association/La Société historique du Canada, 2000 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7202/031131ar |
container_title |
Journal of the Canadian Historical Association |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
51 |
op_container_end_page |
86 |
_version_ |
1766228243099156480 |