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Book Response Indian Great Awakening In his Book

Book Response Indian Great Awakening In his book Indian Great Awakening Religion and the Shaping of Native Cultures in Early America historian Linford Fisher seeks to alter people's understanding of Native American experiences in the light of the Great Awakening Fisher s study opens with an interesting archeological discovery made in 1990 Archeologists unearthed a grave of a Pequot girl who was buried with a Bible page and a bear paw The page fragment which preserved a verse from Psalms 98 of the King James Version Bible celebrated salvation that was shown to a heathen 8 To Fisher the discovery shows the complex nature of Native Americans religious world in New England in the 18th century The Indian Great Awakening refers to a period when Native Indians living in the New England during the 18th century converted to Christianity in high masses Fisher faults the assumption that the natives wholeheartedly and happily embraced the religion brought by the White colonials According to Fisher the Natives response to the Great Awakening was majorly driven by the desire to meet their temporal and pragmatic needs rather than prioritizing their spiritual needs 7 Although embracing of the new religion may lead to dilution of their own beliefs the natives saw such acceptance as the only way of opening new opportunities and enhancing peaceful correlation with the White colonialists

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