THE INDIAN SUNDAY
The Redman's religion is not a matter of certain days and set observances, but is apart of his every thought and his daily life.
Many years ago in Montana, I heard a missionary severely rebuke an Indian for driving his team on Sunday.
The Indian looked puzzled, as he was merely minding his business and caring for his family. The missionary reiterated that this was the Lord's Day. At last a light dawned on the Indian. He glanced up with a gleam in his eye and answered, "Oh, I see. Your God comes only one day a week; my God is with me every day and all the time." (10)
Later I heard the same missionary denouncing an Indian dance, although it was beautiful, clean, athletic, and manly - much akin to the dance with which Miriam celebrated the defeat of Pharaoh, also the dance that King David did to express his joy when the Ark came back to Israel.
The missionary used violent language, and threatened jail and soldiers if the Indians did not cut off their long hair.
I defended the Indians and pointed out that not only Benjamin Franklin and George Washington wore their hair long, but the Lord Jesus Himself did - and finally, that Samson made the ruinous mistake of his life when he allowed them to cut off his long hair.
THE CHIEF AND THE MISSIONARY
A recent book by Long Lance gives some helpful light on Indian thought and worship. (11) The authenticity of the book has been challenged, but the incident here set forth has happened many times, and is incontrovertible in its fundamental truth.
". . . The next morning the White minister at the Hudson's Bay Post sent word to the Indians that he was coming over to visit them. The Suksiseoketuk told us that he was going to tell us about the Whiteman's Wakantonka, his Great Spirit.
"When they received this news of the coming of the minister, all of the Indians painted their faces and put on all of their best medicine clothes. The medicine man got out his drum, and soon we were ready to receive him.
"When we saw the minister coming, the medicine man started to beat his tomtom and sing one of his medicine songs; for he thought that would please the visitor who represented the Whiteman's 'medicine' and Great Spirit. Our Chief went out and met the minister and shook his hand, and then took him over to meet our minister, the medicine man.
"After they shook hands, the minister made a speech. He told our medicine man that he was preaching something not worth while. He said:
" 'I didn't mean for you people to fix up like this; I meant for you to wash the paint off your faces and put your medicine drums away. There is only one God in Heaven, and I am here to tell you about Him.'
"Indians never interrupt anyone when he is talking, even if he should talk all day - that is an ancient courtesy among Indians - so everyone stood and listened to the minister while he told us of the Whiteman's God. He made a long speech. He said that the Indians must lay down their arms and live peacefully alongside the Whiteman who was coming into his country.
"When the missionary finished his speech, our Chief arose and addressed him. He said:
" 'Why do you tell us to be good? We Indians are not bad; you White people may be, but we are not. We do not steal, except when our horses have been raided; we do not tell lies; we take care of our old and our poor when they are helpless. We do not need that which you tell us about.'
" 'But,' said the missionary, 'there is only one God, and you most worship Him.'
" 'Then if that is true,' said our Chief, 'we Indians are worshipping the same God that you are - only in a different way. When the Great Spirit, God, made the world, He gave the Indians one way to worship Him and He gave the Whitemen another way, because we are different people and our lives are different. The Indian should keep to his way and the Whiteman to his, and we should all work with one another for God and not against one another. The Indian does not try to tell you how you should worship God. We like to see you worship Him in your own way, because we know you understand that way.'
" 'But the Great Spirit you speak of is not the same one that we worship,' said the missionary.
" 'Then there must be two Gods,' said the Chief. 'Your God made a land for you far across the "big
water". He gave you houses to live in, good things to eat and fast things to travel in. He gave the Indian the tepees to live in and the buffalo to feed on. But you White people did not like the land that your God gave you, and you came over here to take the Indians' land. If you did that, how do we know, if we should accept your God, that He won't take everything from us, too, when we die and go to your hunting grounds?'
" 'But the Indians must learn how to pray,' said the minister.
" 'We do pray,' replied our Chief. 'This is the prayer that we pray at our Sun Dance (Thanksgiving):
" 'Great Spirit, Out Father, help us and teach us in the way of the truth; and keep me and my family and my tribe on our true Father's path, so that we may be in good condition in our minds and in our bodies. Teach all of the little ones in Your way. Make peace on all the world. We thank You for the sun and the good summer weather again; and we hope they will bring good crops of grass for the animals and things to eat for all peoples.' " ~ native american history
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