Book
John Slocum and the Indian Shaker Church / by Robert H. Ruby and John A. Brown ; foreword by Richard A. Gould.
This richly detailed, well-documented history describes the life of the Squaxin spiritual leader John Slocum and the growth in the Pacific Northwest of his Indian Shaker Church (not to be confused with eastern Shakerism). Students of Native American religion and Christianity will find this a moving story both of assimilation and of the curing that is the Shaker Church's reason for being.
The Indian Shaker movement began in 1882 when the charismatic but dissolute Slocum had a vision after a near-death experience. Later his church was led by his wife, Mary Thompson, and early-day leaders such as Mud Bay Louis and Mud Bay Sam. Today church members continue to combine Native American styles of singing, body movement, and verbal declarations with bell ringing, songs, burning candles, and shaking in a unique curing tradition that is honored outside the church particularly for its success in teaching against the use of alcohol. Intense community support, for both healer and patient, is a focal point in the lives of Shaker Church members. Their tradition has endured despite the important differences in members' tribal backgrounds and religious viewpoints chronicled in this up-to-date account by veteran scholars Robert H. Ruby and John A. Brown, the first outsiders to have access to church records.
Record details
- ISBN: 0806128658
- ISBN: 9780806128658
- Physical Description: xx, 300 pages : illustrations, map ; 24 cm
- Publisher: Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, ©1996.
Content descriptions
- Bibliography, etc. Note:
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 279-287) and index.
- Formatted Contents Note:
- Foreword / Richard A. Gould -- 1. John Slocum and the Beginnings of the Indian Shaker Church -- 2. Pacific Northwest Native Religion and Early Christian Missionaries -- 3. The World of John Slocum -- 4. Reviving a Struggling Church -- 5. The Formative Years of the Church -- 6. Healing the Sick -- 7. Worship and Ritual -- 8. A Mantle of Formality -- 9. A New Era -- 10. Extending the Boundaries -- 11. The Klamath Connection -- 12. Schism within the Indian Shaker Church -- 13. Schismatic Fallout -- 14. Ashes, Activists, and Attrition.
Search for related items by subject
- Subject:
- Slocum, John, 1841-1897.
Indian Shaker Church > History.
Indian Shaker Church.
Indians of North America > Missions > Northwest, Pacific.
Missionaries > Northwest, Pacific > Biography.
Indians of North America > Northwest, Pacific > Religion.
Nativistic movements > Northwest, Pacific > History.
Indians of North America > Missions.
Indians of North America > Religion.
Missionaries.
Nativistic movements.
Pacific Northwest. - Genre:
- Biography.
History.
Available copies
- 1 of 2 copies available at Northwest Indian College.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 2 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lummi Library | BIO SLOC RUBY 1996 | 247677 | Biography | Missing | - |
| Lummi Library | BIO Sloc Ruby 1996 | 288915 | Biography | Reshelving | - |