The Gods of Indian Country

Abstract

During the nineteenth century, Americans sought the cultural transformation and the physical displacement of American Indian nations. Native people resisted these efforts. Though this process is often understood as a clash of rival economic systems or racial ideologies, it was also a profound spiritual struggle. The conflict over Indian Country sparked crises for both Natives and Americans. In the end, the experience of intercultural encounter and conflict over land produced religious transformations on both sides. This book focuses on Kiowa Indians during Americans’ hundred-year effort to acquire, explore, and seize their homeland between 1803 and 1903. Kiowas had known struggle and dislocation before. But the forces bearing down on them in the form of soldiers, missionaries, and government representatives were unrelenting. Under increasing pressure, Kiowas adapted their rituals in the hopes of using sacred power more effectively. They drew on a wide range of sources and shifted significantly as circumstances demanded. With Indian Country under assault, Kiowas exercised creative improvisation to sustain their lands and people. Against Kiowas stood Protestants and Catholics who hoped to remake Indian Country. These activists asserted the primacy of white Christian civilization and the need to transform the lives of Native peoples. They also saw themselves as the Indian’s friend, teacher, and protector. But as Kiowas resisted their plans, these Christian representatives supported policies that broke treaties and appropriated Native lands. They argued that the benefits of Christianity and civilization outweighed the costs. In order to secure Indian Country and control indigenous populations, they sanctified the economic and racial hierarchies of their day.