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The Navajo as Seen by the Franciscans, 1898-1921

A Sourcebook

Howard M Bahr editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Scarecrow Press

Published:24th Jun '04

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The Navajo as Seen by the Franciscans, 1898-1921 cover

The Navajo as Seen by the Franciscans is the story of one of the great cultural confluences in American history, the coming of Franciscan missionaries to the Navajo people. Here, in the words of the friars who lived it, is part of that remarkable story. Utilizing both primary and secondary materials, this sourcebook aims to make more readily accessible the views of the Franciscans, both in their personal writings and in national publications and mission magazines addressing the Catholic laity and potential donors. Selections include internal reports and position papers not intended for publication, diaries and personal correspondence, and notes and unfinished drafts. Each text is introduced by the editor and has been carefully selected for inclusion to provide a comprehensive view of the Navajo of the late 19th and early 20th century, as well as insights into those that served them as teachers, advocates, counselors, and medical missionaries. Because most Franciscan missionaries came to live among the Navajo for their entire lives, their primary commitment was neither to "science" nor to publication for their academic peers, but to the welfare, both here and in the hereafter, of those among whom they served, allowing for a complex and mutually beneficial relationship between the two. This volume covers the remarkably productive first decades of the Franciscan missions to the Navajo, during the ministry of Father Anselm Weber, from the arrival of the first missionaries in 1898 to Fr. Anselm's passing in 1921. Its 43 chapters are divided into six parts: Beginnings, Indian Policy, Early Ministry 1901-1910, Navajo Land, Among the People 1911-1920, and Navajo Customs and Character. Supplemented by 16 rare black and white photographs, this reference work is a fascinating glance into the lives of two cultures forever changed by each other.

This volume succeeds brilliantly in bringing to life the writings of first-generation Franciscans who worked among the Navajo. With meticulous archival work as well as careful editing and juxtaposition of texts, Bahr (Brigham Young Univ.) provides an in-depth introduction to the mission and the Franciscans' multifaceted work as pastors, preachers, ethnologists, legal advocates, peacemakers, and linguists....Highly recommended. All readers. * CHOICE *
Howard Bahr's The Navajo as Seen by the Franciscans, 1898-1921, is an invaluable sourcebook for the extraordinary confluence between the Dine and the early Franciscans...Many of these writings are difficult to access, and their being assembled in one book is a great contribution to the study of the Franciscan view of the Navajo during the pivotal years, 1898-1921....Bahr's book, with its brilliant introduction detailing the friars' contribution to the mutually enriching Franciscan/Navajo confluence, is an illuminating account of the sensitivity of the early Franciscans to the Navajo. * The Catholic Historical Review *
These records provide absolutely engrossing reading and make a significant historical contribution. * American Reference Books Annual *
In their efforts to convert the Navajo to Catholicism, the Franciscans at the St. Michael mission in Arizona, lived among the Navajo to study their language and culture. This sourcebook collects the friars' observations from the early period of the mission, 1898 to 1921, as recorded in their correspondence, journal entries and administrative reports. Bahr...uses primary and secondary material and provides biographical and historical background for his selections. * Reference and Research Book News *

ISBN: 9780810849624

Dimensions: 231mm x 164mm x 40mm

Weight: 1030g

656 pages