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Title: Mary and I: Forty Years With the Sioux by Stephen R. Riggs ISBN: 0-87928-019-0 Publisher: Maurice Filler Pub. Date: 01 November, 1979 Format: Hardcover List Price(USD): $28.95

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Average Customer Rating: 4 (1 review)

Rating: 4
Summary: Christianity and the American Indian
Comment: Stephen Return Riggs (1812-1883) and his wife, Mary (1813-1869) are enormously significant figures in the history of the Dakota tribe. Originally published in 1880, "Mary and I: Forty Years with the Sioux," is an account of the trials and tribulations of the Riggs's long career as Christian missionaries in the wilds of Minnesota, South Dakota, and Nebraska. Riggs's greatest contribution to the Dakota people does not concern his missionary work; it is his preservation of the Dakota language. Riggs translated significant portions of the Bible into Dakota, collected and catalogued thousands of Dakota words, and helped create a written language for the Dakota people. "Mary and I" is divided into two parts-the first is a narrative account of forty years of missionary work with the Dakota Indians. The second section is a series of monographs discussing various people who worked within the missionary field. An account of a Riggs family reunion concludes the book.

"Mary and I," a title with a double meaning (referring to both Mary Riggs and Mary, the mother of Jesus) focuses mostly on Riggs's efforts to spread Christianity among native tribes. When Riggs first came to Minnesota in the 1830's, the only white people in the region were a few other missionaries and the soldiers at Fort Snelling. By the time Riggs retired from mission work, in the late 1870's, there existed a Dakota Presbytery spanning Minnesota, Nebraska, and present day South Dakota. These churches, staffed by Indian pastors, carried on the work of Riggs and others by continuing to gain converts and sending out their own missionaries to bring Christianity to Indian tribes in Canada.

Riggs spends much time in this book discussing his children. He eventually had eight of them, six of whom became missionaries in their own right. Several children continued their father's work with Indians while one went as far as China to bring Christianity to the native Chinese.

Riggs's book gives the reader a good idea of the difficulties inherent in spreading Christianity among people who have no conception of Christian doctrine. Riggs had to learn the language in order to preach to the Indians in terms they could understand. Many Indians did not want Christian ideas taught to the people, resulting in threats to Indians who attended church, the killing of mission cattle, and occasional vandalism to mission property. One thing history teaches is that such pesky things as uninterested natives do not put off Christian missionaries. With the patience of Job, these missionaries do not quit until they win the game. Riggs and his fellow missionaries won the game in this case, especially after the Dakota uprising of 1862, when Indians converted in droves during their stay in a military prison. Riggs sees this as a good thing, and maybe it is for a man who dedicated his life to spreading the gospel. For the Dakotas, converting to Christianity was a necessary survival technique after a disastrous military defeat at the hands of the American government. I am not trying to bash Christianity, but all too often (and it is apparent in this book) the "Good Book" extended to the Indians relied on the implied threat of violence and economic terrorism.

Alfred Riggs, one of Stephen's sons, provides an excellent account of how Christianity should work in reference to Native Americans. Alfred learned early in life that Indians were indolent, dirty heathens. Living among Indians who are not Christians, according to Alfred, inspires fear and disgust. Only through Christianity may this fear and disgust disappear. In Alfred's worldview (and it is a worldview he freely admits he inherited from his parents) the heathenism, wickedness, and darkness of the Indians strengthens Christianity because Christianity shines greatest when confronted by such darkness.

As bad as this sounds, missionaries worked hard to help Indians in everyday life. In one of the monographs at the end of the book, Stephen Riggs sings the praises of Thomas Williamson, one of the earliest Christian missionaries. Williamson used his medical skills to save many Indian lives, and also publicly stated he thought Indians were more honest than white people. The internal paradox within the missionary worldview is a difficult one incapable of resolution anytime soon (and certainly not solvable in this 1000 word essay!).

"Mary and I" is an essential read for those interested in frontier history, the missionary movement in America, or for those interested in discovering the truth about how the American government joined hands with Christian evangelizers to get what it wanted from the Indians. Some prior knowledge of the Dakota tribe is helpful before starting this book, but Riggs keeps his writing at a level where, for the most part, most people could follow along quite easily. "Mary and I" is an enjoyable (but at times disturbing) read.