Did Native Americans have access to the Bible?

i dont know about in the USA but up here in Canada they did, however the natives were herded into "residential schools" where they were subjected to horrific abuse.

here is our gov't "apology" letter for what they endured.

[link to www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca]

all in the name of religion.

- - - - -

< 50%

The treatment of children in Indian Residential Schools is a sad chapter in our history.

For more than a century, Indian Residential Schools separated over 150,000 Aboriginal children from their families and communities. In the 1870's, the federal government, partly in order to meet its obligation to educate Aboriginal children, began to play a role in the development and administration of these schools. Two primary objectives of the Residential Schools system were to remove and isolate children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate them into the dominant culture. These objectives were based on the assumption Aboriginal cultures and spiritual beliefs were inferior and unequal. Indeed, some sought, as it was infamously said, "to kill the Indian in the child". Today, we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country.

One hundred and thirty-two federally-supported schools were located in every province and territory, except Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Most schools were operated as "joint ventures" with Anglican, Catholic, Presbyterian or United Churches. The Government of Canada built an educational system in which very young children were often forcibly removed from their homes, often taken far from their communities. Many were inadequately fed, clothed and housed. All were deprived of the care and nurturing of their parents, grandparents and communities. First Nations, Inuit and Métis languages and cultural practices were prohibited in these schools. Tragically, some of these children died while attending residential schools and others never returned home.

The government now recognizes that the consequences of the Indian Residential Schools policy were profoundly negative and that this policy has had a lasting and damaging impact on Aboriginal culture, heritage and language. While some former students have spoken positively about their experiences at residential schools, these stories are far overshadowed by tragic accounts of the emotional, physical and sexual abuse and neglect of helpless children, and their separation from powerless families and communities.

click above link for more.

Last Edited by Anubis on 02/21/2013 01:07 PM

Well the bible was one of the tools used by the whites to justify the genocide on the Indians.

I guess "bible+genocide+Indians" will give you plenty or reading material.

Leave out the word "Indians" and I'm sure you will find plenty of other nasty stuff done in the name of the bible...

So to answer your question.. yes they did get/have access and it was the start of their demise.

It seems a Canadian friend has already supplied their side of this grim history of mankind.

Tnx Canuck :D

major flaw in the christian myth

great spirit trumps anything religion has to sell. That's why they burned us, killed us and marched us until we just said OK you win.

I'm a descendant of the famous disappeared Roanoke colony...

that hits close to home.

you should start a thread about it

I did...
Thread: some of my family history... I'm not new to the whole Bullying thing

How. Incredibly. Depressing. :( I've heard bits here and there about this.. I'm going to read it and learn more though.. Thanks for this information .. I spend all my time as a mother trying to raise my kids to be activists of their world .. I just want to make sure I send them out into life with the same passion for what's right as I do.. Thanks for taking the time to answer :)

I don't know if they had access to the Bible but more importantly did they access to the:
Vedas
Bhagavad Gita
The Noble Koran

I don't know if they had access to the Bible but more importantly did they access to the:
Vedas
Bhagavad Gita
The Noble Koran

It would've been the icing on the cake really.

Stole their land, murdered them, removed their identities and then forced your fake religion on the ones that were left.
A full house.

My main reason for asking, as nothing more than a white girl from WV raised by baptists, is it all seems so fake the older I get.. And I genuinely want to hear someone tell me why, if Jesus is the only way, did Native Americans not know about him... Does that make sense?

[link to www.roage.com]

you are on the right path.

not just native americans. think about all of the people worldwide who never even heard of jesus until generations later.

If you do some research you'll see that the good book was practically crammed down their throats. So many native children were taken away from their parents and taken to Christian schools to wipe away (or try to) their ancestral knowledge and way of life.

Much more..lots of info. on the net.

Also, why would they need the bible? They lived in harmony with nature and had their own beliefs. Who is anyone to minimize that?

pretty hard with u.s. cavalry - pig/Military coming at them from all sides

No they didnt untill the europeans came im sure , Many people didnt , thats the flaw in these religions, "Its the only way" but it starts in one spot in no where land and takes mass murder to spread some times and doesnt get to some places 1k years later

Last Edited by The Deplorable AtsuiPanda on 02/21/2013 01:33 PM

I think they need Education first,
JC-Chan is like a good Headman and totally normal!

it's a good question,op.

i've never heard an answer to it that made sense, logically, humanly, nor spiritually.

I guess you did not learn much being raised Baptist.
The Bible declares that God is revealed by both Nature, and in the Heavens.
Man's own nature,(conscious), tells us right from wrong.
So just as Abram, Moses and others found God, so can any man.

Now Jesus is the way to life, those who died before he lived and tried to live righteously, were allowed to receive Him, and get eternal life.

So one can assume it would be the same for any Indians that did not know Jesus, but tried to live righteously.

The Just live by Faith in God, not by rules that are made by man or written in a book. Even the Israelite's could not live by the rules in the Bible and obtain righteousness.

God is fair in all his dealings with man, although we may have trouble understanding them.

they did believe in and pray to the great spirit.

ssssooooooo they were supposed to have lived by rules they didnt know existed?

right.

I could be wrong but I think the Mormons might have thought the Indians. I was talking with some missionaries for a while and I think they mentioned that

they question the OP poses is about the native americans prior to european contact

Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to go off topic. I have no clue

Exactly.. Still not a sensible answer, same ole same ole... And I never said I was raised baptist, I said I was raised by baptists .. Who luckily for me, might damn me to Hell but still allow me the freedom of thought ..

I recently discovered (was led to) the medicine wheel by Sun Bear. My life NOW makes sense. I was never "lost" to begin with...

Now I learn who I am really. Day by day.

peace

.

If not, they received what they were meant to receive through other ways.

Truth relies not in necessarialy in scripture but in Christ's Word and Work.

And by Christ I mean basically manifestation of the imanifested. Therefore his Truth lies within all. Truth comes to you if you are opened to it, not if you have a Bible or a Bhagavad Gita in hands, or any other religion book you wish to follow.

My 2 cents, my opinion