The policies of the United States government regarding American Indians were founded on the belief that, as a Christian nation, the United States has the right to govern the sovereign non-Christian Indian nations and, furthermore, it has an obligation to support the conversion of Indians to Christianity. Not only did the United States financially and militarily support missionary activities on reservations, in addition the government also attempted to suppress all activities relating to aboriginal traditional spiritual practices.
Following the Civil War, it was generally acknowledged that the Indian Office (later known as the Bureau of Indian Affairs), a part of the Department of the Interior, was the most corrupt branch of the government. While many argued that the solution was to place Indian reservations under military control, the administration of President Ulysses Grant decided to turn the reservation administration over to Christian missionary groups, giving each group exclusive rights to converting the Indians on their reservations. In his 1870 message to Congress, President Ulysses Grant explained that he had determined to give all the Indian agencies (i.e., reservations) to religious denominations to undertake missionary work on the reservations. This became known as Grant’s Peace Policy.
In accordance with President Ulysses Grant’s Peace Policy, the Secretary of the Interior allocated 80 reservations among 13 Christian denominations. Catholic historian James White, in an article in the Chronicles of Oklahoma, reports:
“By the terms stated in Grant’s policy, namely that missions should be allocated among the missionaries already at work there, Catholic officials expected to receive thirty-eight missions; instead they were accorded only eight, all of them in either the Rio Grande valley or the Pacific Northwest.”
Subsequently, Catholic missionaries begin to be ordered off certain reservations. According to James White:
“Under the terms of the Peace Policy, a single religious group had a franchise over the evangelizing efforts on each reservation.”
In 1883, Secretary of the Interior Henry M. Teller directed the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to formulate rules to abolish Indian religions. A group of Methodist ministers then put together the Indian Religious Crimes Code. Under this Code, a Court of Indian Offenses was created. This Code would not be repealed by Congress until 1978.
Briefly described below are some of the government’s efforts to suppress American Indian religions in Montana during the nineteenth century.
State Actions
In 1895, the Montana Governor proclaimed that landless Indians, such as the Cree, Chippewa, and Métis were a threat to property. He also said that
“…it is universally understood that the practices and ceremonials of the tribe are foreign to civilization and repulsive to our people.”
He asked the Montana Congressional delegation to make sure that the state was no longer a place for nomadic Indians.
Reservations
Under President Grant’s Peace Policy, the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in 1876 was given to the Methodists even though the Catholics had been previously invited by the government to establish missions on the reservation. According to R. Pierce Beaver, in his chapter in the Handbook of North American Indians:
“The Methodists also tried to turn the Blackfeet into farmers on their individual plots, and they had no regard to Blackfeet culture. Both missions used the coercive power of government to bend the Indians to their will.”
In 1883, the Gros Ventres on what is now the Fort Belknap Reservation held their Sacrifice Lodge ceremony despite protests by federal officials and missionaries.
On the Crow reservation in 1889, Grey Blanket and another man were arrested and confined to jail for several days because they had gone to the mountains to “dream and make medicine” (i.e., a vision quest).
In 1891, a Court of Indian Offenses was established on the Fort Peck Reservation (Assiniboine and Sioux). The enforcement of Indian Offenses was intended to foster assimilation by banning traditional ceremonies.
Also, in 1891, 160 acres of land on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation was given to the Woman’s National Indian Association to be used as a mission. Three years later, this mission was transferred from the Woman’s National Indian Association to the Methodist church. The new missionary began work to civilize the Blackfoot which meant the acquisition of the Protestant work ethic through agriculture. A demonstration farm was established to show the superiority of Christian ways.
In 1897, the Jesuits on the Flathead Reservation sought to destroy native religious practices and gambling. They forced the destruction of Kootenai medicine bundles and gambling equipment. According to anthropologist Bill Brunton, in his chapter on the Kootenai in the Handbook of North American Indians:
“The religion went underground as a result, as the bundles destroyed were fake.”
In his 1935 report to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, An Acculturation Study of the Indians of the Flathead Reservation of Western Montana, C. E. Schaeffer writes:
“Following this act of destruction the older Kootenai are said to have lost all interest in living.”
Schools
Education of Indian children was seen as vital in converting Indians to Christianity and destroying Native religious practices. The government encouraged missionary schools and government schools required Christian education and religious practices. In 1887, for example, one Indian agent summarizes the education of Indians this way:
“Education cuts the cord which binds them to a pagan life, places the Bible in their hands, and substitutes the true God for the false one, Christianity in place of idolatry, civilization in place of superstition, morality in place of vice, cleanliness in place of filth, industry in place of idleness, self-respect in place of servility, and, in a word, an elevated humanity in place of abject degradation”
In 1887, a Catholic school was opened for the Crow by the Jesuits and the Ursuline Nuns. Wraps-Up-His-Tail opposed the school and a hostile demonstration against the school ensued.
That same year, Blackfoot chief White Calf contributed land to the Jesuits for the building of a small school.
Also in 1887, the Catholics established Saint Paul’s Mission School on the Fort Belknap Reservation for the Gros Ventre. Students started each day by reciting:
“I pledge to be a zealous Christian…to be faithful to God, to my country, to my school and its ideals.”
In her University of Montana M.S. thesis Return of the Native: Buffalo Restoration at the Fort Belknap Reservation, Minette Johnson reports:
“According to the accounts of the Gros Ventre people who attended Saint Paul’s Mission School, the nuns often beat them and they were poorly fed.”
In 1890, the Jesuits opened the Holy Family mission on land given to them by Blackfoot chief White Calf. About the function of the mission, Howard Harrod, in his book Mission Among the Blackfeet, reports:
“Holy Family Mission was designed to displace and replace the functions performed by the traditional home. The children were taken from their families and lived at the mission most of the year, except for a brief vacation.”
The mission school took over the parents’ role in teaching their children.
In 1892, several Blackfoot students at the Jesuit Holy Family Mission were taken from the school by their parents. The priest complained to the Indian agent who sent Indian police to retrieve the children. In addition, the agent withheld rations from the parents as punishment for their actions.
Ghost Dance
In 1889, a Nevada Paiute known as Wovoka died during an eclipse. He then returned to life with a message and a dance for his people. The message called for peace and promised an exclusively Indian world. The new religion incorporated both traditional Paiute practices and beliefs with Christian concepts. This new religious movement, called the Ghost Dance religion by non-Indians, soon spread to tribes throughout the west. The new religion, however, was an Indian religion and therefore unacceptable to non-Indians, particularly missionaries and government officials. Many stories about the new religion were written in the newspapers by people who had never actually talked to an Indian who was familiar with the religion. In the vivid imaginations of these newspaper writers, the Ghost Dance called for the extermination of non-Indians and therefore had to be stopped. The fear of the Ghost Dance climaxed with the slaughter of a starving Sioux band led by Lean Elk (also known as Big Foot) at Wounded Knee in South Dakota in 1890. According to today’s popular histories, this ended the Ghost Dance movement. Like the stories written about the Ghost Dance in the nineteenth century, this claim is false, as can be clearly seen in the history of Montana Indians.
In 1889, three Northern Cheyenne men– Porcupine, Big Beaver, and Ridge Walker – traveled to Nevada to meet with Wovoka. At this same time in Montana, the Gros Ventre (Aaniih) on the Fort Belknap Reservation learned of Wovoka’s message from Gros Ventres who had visited the Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho. In his book Montana 1889, Ken Egan reports:
“The Ghost Dance reaches Fort Belknap at a moment of cultural and spiritual demoralization, for the Aaniiih and Assiniboine have been confined to a small reservation in accord with the 1888 Sweetgrass Treaty. The bison are gone, the sacred ceremonies are banned, and the ways to honor—acquiring wealth through horses, giving away to those in need, and war deeds—have evaporated.”
Also, in 1889, Wovoka’s Ghost Dance reached the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. Porcupine, White, and Magpie were among the Cheyenne leaders of the new dance.
In 1890, Porcupine, Big Beaver, and Ridge Walker called together the Northern Cheyenne so that they could explain Wovoka’s message. The Indian agent saw the encampment and feared that there was imminent danger. He asked for troops to maintain order. Major Carroll arrived with the cavalry. The Major met in council with the Cheyenne leaders who then agreed to disperse the meetings, return to their homes, and resume their work.
In 1891, the Northern Arapahos brought to the Gros Ventres their interpretation of the Ghost Dance ceremony. The Northern Arapahos are culturally and linguistically related to the Gros Ventres. The Arapahos also transferred the associated hand game bundle ritual to several Gros Ventre men.
Peyote
Peyote is a small, spineless, turnip-shaped cactus (Lophophora williamsii) which grows in Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico. Peyote contains nine alkaloid substances, including mescaline, which are hallucinogenic; that is, they can induce dreams or visions. While peyote has often been confused with the mescal bean and with mescaline, it is the combination of alkaloids within peyote which contribute to the effects of eating it.
During the 1880s, the ceremonial use of peyote spread from the Oklahoma Indian reservations to other reservations. The new peyote ceremonialism was carried by religious leaders known as roadmen. The opposition to Indian use of peyote was based on religion: Native ceremonies are pagan and are, therefore, considered Satanic and must be prohibited in order to force Indians to become Christian.
In 1889, Cheyenne roadman Leonard Tyler from Oklahoma brought the peyote religion to the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. Nancy Pahr writes:
“The doctrine of peyotism taught acceptance and accommodation to the new conditions the Northern Cheyenne were experiencing.” She goes on to say: “It reinforced many traditional religious acts and beliefs that were outlawed in other Cheyenne ceremonies. Peyotism represented a way to endure the current conditions on the reservation.”
Sun Dance
In 1894, the Montana governor issued a proclamation forbidding the Cree to conduct their Sun Dance. The Cree were landless Indians with no reservation. He wrote
“…it is not only inhuman and brutalizing, unnatural and indecent, and therefore abhorrent to Christian civilization, but that its aims and purposes are a menace to the peace and welfare of communities.”
He went on to say that he regarded “the proposed exhibition as wholly inconsistent with Christian civilization.” The governor’s action was in response to complaints by Christian ministers.
The Cree held their Sun Dance near Havre. According to Cree leader Little Bear: “We are here today to worship the Great Spirit.” He went on to say:
“Ever since I was born, I have worshipped my God at this season of the year. I do not think it right for the white people to stop me from holding the Sun Dance. It is my method of devotion and my people want it. We mean no harm to anyone, but want to save our souls.”
The Cree also staged events for audiences in Great Falls, Helena, and Butte which were billed as “The Last of the Sun Dances.” An admission was charged, and the audiences saw sham battles, horse racing, and dancing.
In 1894, the Indian agent for the Blackfeet Indian Reservation ordered that all Sun Dance structures be torn down and that the poles were to be used for building corrals.
The State of Montana prohibited the Sun Dance from being celebrated within the state in 1896. Landless Cree under the leadership of Little Bear held a Sun Dance near the state capital of Helena in defiance of laws outlawing the dance.
In 1898, about 250 lodges of Piegan, Blood, and Blackfoot gathered for their annual Sun Dance. Seattle photographer Edward Curtis was present at this event and as a result he dedicated himself to photographing Indians (taking more than 40,000 pictures) and writing a comprehensive ethnographic description of the tribes.
Indians 101
Twice each week this series looks at various American Indian topics. More about Indian religions from this series:
Indians 101: Outlawing Indian Religions
Indians 101: American Indian religions 150 years ago, 1870
Indians 101: Forced Christianity 150 Years Ago, 1869
Indians 101: California Missions 200 Years Ago, 1819
Indians 101: Religion and Indians in 1816
Indians 101: Christians and Indians in 1818
Indians 101: A brief introduction to tribal religious traditions
Indians 101: Jesuit Missionaries in Arizona
