I believe the common theme in Chapter two centralized on clarifying the historical resources of Indigenous peoples that existed prior to newcomers in the Americas and that they efficiently documented these stories. Ronda’s article and Chapter two in Belshaw importantly emphasise the fact that the efficacy of the Aboriginal way of documenting was alive and well. They had a way of documenting history that was different to Europeans. Their history was rich and passed along through generations, not in writing but orally and through paintings and sculptures. The history of the Aboriginal’s has long been documented most notably through time-biased media.[1] Ronda’s article discusses the idea of the Europeans feeling the need to change the belief system of the Aboriginal’s because it differed to theirs. The theme of the Europeans believing in the Aboriginal inadequacy resonates in both literature pieces.
Belshaw reiterates the following, “But the important point is that they did have media; they had a written record, which the Europeans chose to ignore or attempt to destroy where it challenged their own media.”[2] Ronda further describes how the speeches of Indians were all subject to the white man’s interpretation and how this is devastating to the accurate recording of the Indians History.[3] In “We Are Well As We Are” Ronda illustrates an argument of ignorance personified by the White man missionaries. This is noted when Ronda describes the theological debates between missionary and Indian and how each of their religious views were ultimately quite similar.[4] What I really enjoyed was how Ronda was able to show how the Indians accepted these missionaries into their homes they were open to discourse and community but they were ultimately satisfied with their way of life and their creator. “We are well as we are, and desire not to be troubled with these new wise sayings.”[5] I simply love this sentence.
The article by Ronda really moved me. My ex-boyfriend grew up in the “Bible-Belt” in West Virginia. We often discussed what it would be like for him to not have his faith and the end result is that he would feel completely lost. His entire world would literally cease to make any sense. The Indians were faced with an even greater challenge. They had Christian missionaries entering their lives with the purpose of converting them to Christianity.
[1] John Douglas Belshaw, Canadian History: Pre-Confederation (Vancouver: BC Campus, 2015), 28-33.
[2] John Douglas Belshaw, Canadian History: Pre-Confederation (Vancouver: BC Campus, 2015), 28.
[3] James P. Ronda, “’We Are Well As We Are’: An Indian Critique of Seventeenth-Century Christian Missions,” The William and Mary Quarterly 34, no. 1 (1977): 67.
[4] James P. Ronda, “’We Are Well As We Are’: An Indian Critique of Seventeenth-Century Christian Missions,” The William and Mary Quarterly 34, no. 1 (1977): 77.
[5] James P. Ronda, “’We Are Well As We Are’: An Indian Critique of Seventeenth-Century Christian Missions,” The William and Mary Quarterly 34, no. 1 (1977): 81.