WitnessingthesecasesandalsotheoneofthefirstChiefwhoprofessedfore'timetobeaProtestantChristian,butwithinayearturnedagainasthe"Dogtohisvomit"theIndianssuspectthehis—sionariesofsinistermotivesinattemptingtoconvertthemtothe_whitemansreligion,whichtheyimagineismadeupofforms
Ayer says the Natives are skeptical of Christianity
hehostilityandindifferenceoftheIndianstotheGospe
Ayer is losing hope
changetheirmodeoflifewouldbevirtuallytochangetheirreligion.T
that is literally what it is
Ihavegivenmyselftotheheathen.Iam.willingtostaywiththemifIcandothemanygo
Hall claims to have "given" himself "to the heathen"
wouldprobablyoccasionsometalk,perhapsunfavorabletotheinterestsoftheBoard,ifyoushouldbeseentravellingacrossthecountrywithanIndi
this is so hypocritical - "civilize" them, but don't let them be seen with you because they will always be inferior
Wefeelmorethaneverthewantofanordainedmini
Ayer wants Pokegoma to have an ordained minister
3darenotcommitourselves,inmakingSpecialpremisestoassistthem.Todarenotturnthemawa
Ayer is conflicted because he doesn't want to turn any natives away, but he hasn't the resources to help them
herselfwithherchildrenamongthosewhowereseekingafterGod".Shedesiredthepardonofhersine,andtheoins¢ofherchildrenmorethananythingelse.Inaccordancewithouradviceonherreturnhomesherearedthefamilyaltar,andeversincemorning&eveninghasbeenheardthevoiceofprayer&praiseinherdwelling.SheappearsverydesirousthatherPaganrelativesshouldcomeandlistentothewordofGo
one Native mother wants to convert herself and her children
versincethelittlerevivalweenjoyedlastwintertherehasbeenmarkedatientiontoinstructionandtheseriousimpressionsthanmadeonsomeminds.hsvsneveraltogethersubsided—«butwehopein2or3oaseshaveresultedinconversio
Ayer says Pokegoma is enjoying some conversion "success"
hestateofreligionherethepastyearhasbeenlow.
Low religious prosperity at La Pointe
Determinedthatthebestandmostefficientwayformetodogoodamongthispeoplewasbyitineratingamongthem,asIhavedonefor4weekspast,enteringintotheirhuts,sittingdownamongthem,instructingtheirchildren,andendeavouringtoimparttothemthewordofLife,asGodshallenable
best mode of Christianization for Sproat is to visit all the Natives as individuals, rather than calling them together
Weverymeshneedheiean-erdainedministertobreakthebreadoflife,andadministertne.ozdinanoeetothispeople
while things are going very well at Pokegoma, Ayer still desires a preacher
Hehasabandonedeveryheathenishpracticeisbecomingmoreandmoreassimilatedin_custometousisindustriousandthriveing.ThegradeofGodhasmadehimaltogetheraneg
the new chief of the Natives surrounding Pokegoma has converted to Christianity
aosit——ChiefofthisBand,agedabout50yrs,&WilliamTalcott(namedfromW.H.TalcottofAlbany)agedabout21
Masosit and William Talcott were Christianized
hereseemstobeamovementonthemindsoftheOjibsssgenerallyinfavourofbeinginstructed
Ojibwe appear as desiring Christianization
hilenreA.etaid.a£ln£d.bake.heheldmeetingsseveraltimes.with.the‘indianeghfwhichtimeehepreachedtoaaeheidereblenumberofattentiveligfenene.~IheIndianatherewerewillingtoallowmisaaionarieeasmuehlandaseeuldbenecesearyfez~thehto
Red Lake Band was receptive to the mission and the gospel
ButIwouldsayinreplythatIregardthemasmuchobjectsofmissionaryeffort,astheIndian
Hall states that he views his efforts towards mixed race individuals the same as toward the Natives - heathens needing conversion
etitinalaboriousanddiscourag-ingworktogivetnamnire'gétspahTheyareignorant,degraded,anddepzxav54.Ithinktheirgreatestobgtahiontochristianitywillbefoundinitsoppeaingtheirdepraveddoairaéanapraen
Hall finds the process of conversion tiresome because of the depravity of the Natives
hitemen,eepeoia11ytraders,have.muchinfluencewiththem.Itisvery.-jmp'oaétamthattheyshouldexertareligiouginf
Hall mentions the influence of Whites, especially traders, on the Natives and mentions they should be pious and "exert a religious influence"
Wethinkitexpedientonthewholethatthe"praying‘lndiansushoulddependonusasformerlyforaid,asthePaganpartyseekeverypossibleoccasiontoSpeakevilofthemandaccusethefarnerandBlacksmithofpartialitytowardthem[1j
There is a pagan person at Pokegoma who is helping with agriculture. This makes Ayer uncomfortable because he believes the pagans will use any opportunity to "un-christianize" the Natives
wecannotreportasinglecaseofwhatwesupposetobegenuineconvers
Now Ayer is saying that Pokegoma is not doing well as far as the actual mission of conversion goes
whenGodconvertsthemtheywillflocktotheirfarms&houaes,butifwearetowaituntilnocanassembleacongregationbytheprocessofcolonization,I.feartheOjibuenationwillfallintotheglove&hellbeforetheyheartheSoape
Ely seems to be saying that God should just convert the Ojibwe, because if the missionaries try to do it, it will never happen
IneversawtheseInds.halfsogivenuptoeveryspeciesofwicked-nes
According to Boutwell, the Ojibwe at Leech Lake are spiritually and moral less than any other he has seen
Chiefgavemehismedisinba
a chief at La Pointe gives his medicine bag to Joseph Town, except it's actually at Fond du Lac?
IammytimeathomewhichIoughttospendabroadotemanyhourstodomesticdutieswhichoug
Hall almost seems upset that he has to be at home caring for his children instead of travelling and christianizing the Natives
reachin
Preaching at La Pointe is the best it's ever been in 1836
AndsothetotalnumberofthenEwly-convertedIndiansinthismission,sinceth
213 new converts since August (1835?) at Fond du Lac (?)
PierreCotté
Baraga mentions the fur trader again (Pierre Cotte) who sings and reads to the Natives
Largeandshowyplatesanswerthemostvaluablepurpos
the fact that the missionaries need colorful plates to get the Natives attention suggests that the Natives are not truly interested in being converted
TwonativeyoungmenoftheMethodistconnexionarespendingthewinteratthisplace.Theyareinvaluableassistantsninourwork.TheyweresentoutbytheMethodistEpiscopalSocietyasnativemissionariesorexhorte
two Native missionaries sent out by the Methodist Episcopal Society
SheisconvincedthatBaptism&Absolutioncanneversaveher.Shewasbredecatholic.Shelistenedwithdeepattention&sometimeswithtears,lestsumner,atLePoi
some of the Natives want to be converted, but don't think they can be
precedenthasbeenestablished,&theScripturesarebeingdailyreadtot
precedent of reading scripture to Natives every night
thankedthegoodma
a pious fur-trader at Fond du Lac is the reason so many Ojibwe wanted to be converted (Pierre Cotte)
ndiansinFondduLac
According to Baraga, the Natives at Fond du Lac want a priest
heconversionofasingleheathe
according to Baraga, "the conversion of a single heathen" provides enough joy to forget all the hardships of the land
Theirerrorsaremoreformidabletothemissionarythantheheathenismit
The Catholic influence in the area is deemed as worse than the Native religious influences
NinetymilesfromhereisantherIndianvillagecalledFondduLac,wheretherearemanyIndianswhowishtoaccepttheCatholicreligion
Fond du Lac is 90 miles from La Pointe, and according to Baraga has many Ojibwe who want to be converted
Trulythelackofpriestsintheirregionislamentabl
The area around La Pointe is low on priests
ThismanandhisWifearethenrstfruitsuntilChristamongthpoorIndians,whohavecomeandunitedwithhisChurch.Theyappeartruly0lovetheSaviourandhisword
Christianized 4 of the Ojibwe
atient,affeotionato,peraovcringlaboristheonlythingthatwill3370theIndia
"the only thing that will save the Indians" is "patient, affectionate, persavering labor"
houldyougotothisstationyouwouldbeexpectedtoteachtosomeextent,todidintakingcareofthesecularaffeirsofthefamily,andtobewiththeIndiana,asmuchascircumotencsewouldpermit,aidingthemcomeintheirattemptstobecomesettled&cul—tivatetheground,persuadingthemtoattendmeetingt,andsendtheirchildrentoschool,impartingreligiousinstructionasforasyoucould,bymeansofinterpretersorotherwise.Youmightalsodidsomeinprovidingcomfortablebuildingsforthefamily,iftheyshouldnotyetbefurniehod,andperhapsituiohtbeadvisableforyoutoaidoccasionallyatoneortwooftheotherattioneinthatvicinity,inthesamen
What Mr. Town would be expected to do at Yellow Lake
urruilty,ruinedstatebynatureIendoau-ouredtosetbeforehim,andtoTh0?hintheabsolutenecessityofrepentance&theinfinito14:0rtnnooofit
insight into what Missionaries tell the Natives about God
neanydevoteconaid-arableof113timetoscatteringabnnndtheaecddnflir
wants two males missionaries so that one can be a traveling preacher essentially
h1hk"that“about"soormoreiramnegmightbeErGngnéGitnlnnfnény4eremf‘tnéinflucnoomoreorlessdir-aot3faimiséi‘szhéz-éfg
Ayer anticipates at least 60 families can be converted by a Mission at Yellow Lake
Thereisbutlittleprospectthatmanyofthemwillbebenefit—todmuchbyvhattheyheariftheycannotbeinducedtosettledown&cultivatethegroun
Ayer doesn't think Christianization will work unless the bands settle down and cultivate land rather than roaming for most of the year
heywouldretaintheircustoms&habitsIftheGreatSpirithaddeaignadtheyshouldbeinstructedtheywouldhavehadhiawordcommunicatedtothanbefore.."TheGreatSpiritdesignedtheyahouldhaveadifforentreligion"nmofromnhoWhites
This is how Ayers describes the decision of the Ojibwe band to not listen to Christian teachings
thereforemucheasiertoproducesuchaconversionastheCatholicsaimtoeffect,thantoconvertthemtrulytothegosp
it will be easier for the missionaries to convert just the image of the Native to Christian, rather than to convert their actual faith
eathensuperstitions,towhichtheyarestronglyattached,andwhihhisagreathindrancetotheirreceivingthegosp
The religion of the Natives gets in the way of the Christianizing process
Religiousinstructionmustbegivenwheretheycanbefound,ifat
because the Ojibwe don't settle in one place, Christianization is difficult
wecouldgaintheiru..‘confidenceenoughtosecuretheirchildrentobetaught,manywouldundoubtedlybeinducedtolisten.tothegos
Hall and Boutwell think that securing the education of mixed children will solidify the christian gospel in the region
hiscircum—stanceisfavourabletochristianeffortinthiscount
anticipated influx of people into the Great Lakes region is expected to be good for Christianization efforts
ehavefoundthemosteffectualwayofpreachingtotheIn-dianstobefromhousetohous
visiting houses is the most effective way for the missionaries to Christianize
eligiousexerciseontheSabbathfortheIndians
Sabbath exercise for the Natives at La Pointe