INDIANS OBSERVED: MORAVIAN MISSIONARY JOHN HECKEWELDER’S ACCOUNT OF THE HISTORY, MANNERS, AND CUSTOMS OF THE INDIAN NATIONS (1819)
In: Migration and ReligionSearch for other papers by Pia Schmid in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Abstract
The experiences of missionaries are experiences of otherness. Missionaries can only be successful in their main enterprise if they perceive and understand these others in their otherness, or at least if they try to do so. Moravian missionary John Heckewelder (1743–1823) was an expert, profoundly knowledgeable about the ways of the Indians of the Eastern Woodlands, especially the Delaware tribe, towards whom he was well disposed. After a brief summary of Heckewelder’s life and his Moravian mission, this essay addresses questions of authorship, structure, and composition in Heckewelder’s Account of the History, Manners, and Customs of the Indian Nations (1819). It analyzes Heckewelder’s experience with Indians as others: how he described, presented, and interpreted them. Special attention is devoted to Heckewelder’s presentation of the Indian concept of property and to his description of the Indians’ treatment of captives.