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Copyright © 2000 by David G. Swatzler
Based in part on the 1799 journal of Quaker missionary Henry Simmons, A Friend focuses on Seneca history and culture during the second half of the 18th century and the first two decades of the 19th. It also examines the history and sectarian milieu of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) during the same period, which shaped both the mission and the missionaries.
Cornplanter's reasons for soliciting assistance are investigated, as are Quaker motives for responding to his call. Personal and group interactions between the Senecas and the Quakers are presented, based on the missionaries' journals and correspondence and on consideration of the bias inherent in such documents. The major historical issue dealt with is the process by which the Senecas lost most of their land base through a series of treaties in the wake of the American Revolution.
Numerous aspects of Seneca culture are described: the seasonal round of subsistence activities (hunting, fishing, gathering, horticulture, and trade); Iroquois games such as lacrosse and its role as medicine in healing; Seneca spiritual beliefs and the calendar of religious celebrations; the cult of dreams and the fear of witchcraft; sacred dances and the war or brag dance; the role of women in the political structure and process; the early visions and themes of the prophet Handsome Lake; and various Indian-directed temperance initiatives.
The similarities and differences between the Quaker and Seneca agendas for the Allegany mission are analyzed, as are the specific ways in which conflicting cultural values produced tensions between the Friends and the Senecas. An epilogue gives brief accounts of the lives of Simmons, Cornplanter, and Handsome Lake following the autumn of 1799. An appendix contains the Simmons 1799 Journal, unedited and edited versions in two-column format.
Book specifications: 319 pages, 6 x 9 inches, hard cover with dust jacket, 28 black-and-white illustrations, 5 maps, reference notes, bibliography, and index. ISBN 0811706710; list price $24.95.
Copyright © 2000 by David G. Swatzler
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