CONVERTING THE HEATHENS

westmohney
Jul 7, 2021
7 min read

The Foundation is laid, and such a one that I verily believe the gates of Hell shall never prevail against ~ John Endicott, Governor of MA on the conversion of Native Americans to Christianity

John Eliot, Apostle to the Indians

In 1631, Reverend John Eliot arrived in Boston. He settled first in Roxbury, now encompassed by the broad environs of Boston. There, at the Roxbury Church, he preached the gospel for sixty years. Shortly after his arrival he developed an interest in saving the souls of the "savages," living all around him. He began by learning the various Algonquian languages and, while he wasn't the first to attempt conversion among the Natives, he was the first to produce printed publications for the Algonquian Indians in their own language.

His initial attempts at conversion were not successful, but Eliot was patient and peristent.

Finally, on 28 Oct 1646, Eliot preached in Algonquin to a man of the Nipmuck tribe. Waban was immediately captivated and became the first Christian convert of his people. So began Eliot's lifelong work. In all, he established fourteen praying towns in Massachusetts. Eliot worked tirelessly not only to convert the Natives, but to also protect and fight for their rights.

Come Over And Help Us

The seal of Massachusetts plainly stated one of the main goals of the Puritans who had come to colonize: Help the Natives. So converting the heathens to a faith that would save them from eternal damnation was high on their list of priorities. Not surprisingly, Eliot was enthusiatically supported in his efforts by not only Governor Winthop in Massachusetts, but also by King James in England.

Conversion, however, required that the colonists have complete control over their converts. Little regard was shown for Native culture by the men intent on saving Native souls. John Eliot, in spite of his benevolence towards his converts, proved to be guilty of this as well. He, like most colonists, was unfortunately not able to separate Christianity from English culture. Eliot would not perform a baptism for a future parishioner "until they were come up unto civil cohabitation, government, and labor, which a fixed condition of life will put them upon." In other words, until they began living like Englishmen, "they were not so capable to be trusted with that treasure of Christ."

This meant, for Natives that were willing, haircuts for the men, the wearing of English clothing, adopting English customs and the creation of of villages that were patterned after English colonial towns. Great effort was put into removing the converts from the influence of their "savage" tribal culture.

While missionaries wholeheartedly believed that the Natives could "transcend their savage state," the majority of colonists believed it to be impossible. This would have tragic consequences for the Praying Indians during King Phililp's War.

first Praying Town

In 1651, by order of the Massachusetts General Court, the Praying Town of Natick was established. It was located about ten miles from Dedham where our grandfather Thomas Paine (10GGF) settled in 1640. It was intended as place where the Christian Nipmuck people could worship in peace "unmolested by the colonists and the surrounding disagreeable Native tribes." Eliot proudly counted fifty-one inhabitants of his new village, the first of the fourteen eventually established.

Eliot was revered by the new converted Christians and became known to all in the colony as the “Apostle to the Indians.” Native people moved to praying towns for a wide range of reasons. One main reason was a false hope of land security if they allied themselves with the English. Another was a promise of protection from enemy tribes. Finally, John Eliot's tenacious preaching certainly created a curiosity about the Puritan faith and, in the end, a true devout belief.

While Eliot visited Natick regularly to preach, the town was able to established its own church, school and government. The official governing of the town was run by Massachusetts Bay officials and Nipmuc elected leaders.

conversion progress report

In 1652, a book called Strength Out of Weakness was published in London. It contained letters from various New Englanders reporting on their progress with conversion.

A letter written by our uncle William French (10U) of Billerica was included in this compilation. In it, William relates an interview he had with "one Indian of two yeares profession," which, in William's mind, gave proof as to the success of the conversions:

"The best News I can write you from New England is, the Lord is indeed converting the Indians, and for the refreshing of your heart, and the hearts of all the Godly with you, I have sent you the Relation of one Indian of two yeares profession, that I tooke from his owne mouth, by an Interpreter, because he cannot speake or understand one word of English.

The first Question was;

Q. How did you come first to any sight of sinne?

A. His answer was, before the Lord did ever bring any English to us, my conscience was exceedingly troubled for sinne, but after Mr. Mahew came to preach...one chiefe Sagamore did imbrace the Gospel, and I hearing of him, I went to him, and prayed him to speake something to mee concerning God, and the more I did see of God, the more I did see my sinne, and I went away rejoycing, that I knew any thing of God, and also that I saw my sinne.

Q. I pray what hurt doe you see in sinne?

A. Sinne, sayth he, is a continuall sicknesse in my heart.

Q. Doe you see any punishment due to man for sinne?

A. Yea, sayth he, I see a righteous punishment from God due to man for sinne, which shall be by the Devills in a place like unto fire that I speake of materiall fire, where man shall be for ever dying and never dye.

Q. Have you any hope to escape this punishment?

A. While I went on in the way of Indianisme I had no hope, but did verily believe I should goe to that place, but now I have a little hope, and hope I shall have more.

Q. Doe you see that at any time God doth answer your prayers?

A. Yea, sayth he, I take every thing as an Answer of prayer.

Q. But what speciall answer, have you taken notice of?

A. Once my wife being three dayes and three nights in labour, I was resolved never to leave praying, till she had deliverance, and at last God did it, and gave her a sonne, and I called his name Returning, because all the while I went on in Indianisme I was going from God, but now the Lord hath brought mee to him backe againe.

By this time Captaine Gooking came to us, and he asked him this Questions:

Q. What he would thinke if he should finde more affliction and trouble in Gods wayes, then he did in the way of Indianisme.

A. His answer was, when the Lord did first turne mee to himselfe and his wayes, he stripped mee as bare as my skinne, and if the Lord should strip mee as bare as my skinne againe, and so big Saggamore should come to mee, and say, I will give you so big Wampom, so big Beaver, and leave this way, and turne to us againe: I would say, take your riches to your selfe, I would never forsake God and his wayes againe.

This is a Relation taken by my selfe, William French.

Below is a copy of This lthe first page of William's letter in the book:

Praying Indians in King Philip's War

For all the benefit the Praying Indians may have seen in their own lives by their conversion to Christianity, it also isolated them. They were required to reject non-converted people from their own culture. On the other side of the coin, they were not permitted to join Puritan churches. That left the inhabitants of the fourteen Praying Towns living in a kind of limbo-world between the two factions.

This limbo-world became much more dangerous during King Philip's War. The Praying Indians found themselves caught in the middle of the violence. While wishing to support the English, the Natives found that the colonists, for the most part, distrusted their loyalty. So much so that, when the war began, Christian Natives were confined to their villages which made it difficult for them to farm, hunt or tend to their livestock. Eventually, loyalty counted for nothing. All of the Praying Indians were rounded up just like their "heathen" brothers, taken from their homes and confined to virtual concentration camps on islands in the Boston Harbor. Many did not survive this ordeal due to lack of food and shelter on the islands over an unusually harsh winter.

The aftermath of the war was not much better. All but four of the Praying Villages had been destroyed and to these four the still faithful returned. Rebuilding proved difficult but a bright spot for those with continued faith in their new-found religion was the persistance of John Eliot. He refused to be discouraged and continued to minister to the needs of his adopted wards until his death.

Natick, the original Praying Town

Natick was one of the four Praying Towns that survived the war. Much of their town had been destroyed but they decided to stay and, with the help of their "Apostle," rebuilt the village. They welcomed into their village "others dispossessed of the Praying Indian Villages." Sadly, the town of Dedham began outgrowing its bounds and the Native lands began to look more and more attractive. Finally, in 1719, the Massachussetts government appointed English proprietors to oversee a division of the Natick lands. One successful ploy the settlers used in claiming land was to offer credit to the Natives and subsequently use their naivety to drive them into debt. Many of the Natick were eventurally forced to sell their property. Over the course of the eighteenth century, Natick gradually transformed into a purely English village.

Natick Praying Indians today

Against all odds, the Natik Praying Indians survived as a tribe. They are the only existing Praying Indian tribe left today, living within a twenty mile radius of Stoughton, MA which encompasses part of Dedham, site of the original Praying town. On their website, they pay homage to John Eliot, The Apostle, and Daniel Gookin, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, who both worked ceaselessly to try and resettle the Natives after the war.

Orange = Natick, original Praying Town Blue = Dedham Red = Stoughton

The Natick Indian Praying Church was burned down several times. Today, on that site, stands the Eliot Church, a church of Unitarian denomination. The Natick Tribe continues to "pray for the day when it will be allowed to worship here once again and that the sound of our drum will call to the people awakening the heartbeat of the church and first cause of honor to the Creator."

The goal of the Natick Praying Indians today is for their people, and all people, to live together harmoniously with nature. In the words of Naticksqw, also known as Chief Caring Hands, of the Natick people: "Ho! We are Natick, home of the torch, the light, the candlestick on the hill no longer hidden under a basket...And to the indigenous of the earth know that you are the strands which hold the bead of the necklace on Mother Earth's breast."