Circulation and Use of Indigenous Language Texts in New England
Start Date
29-10-2016 3:30 PM
End Date
29-10-2016 5:00 PM
Description
Religious materials in New England created by John Eliot and his informants are believed to have played a role in extending secular literacy in indigenous languages in Massachusetts and beyond. Printed and manuscript materials are studied as preserved materials in repositories, but they circulated in various spheres in Colonial and early National New England. A sampling inventory of remaining documents combined with information on provenance and ownership could be mapped against the continued use of indigenous languages, the location of communities of “praying Indians” and early reservations to suggest the ways in which such works were used in a variety of communities using GIS or Google-map based software. Such an analysis would move us closer to an understanding of these books and broadsides as circulating, used works, and each remaining copy could contribute to our understanding of the role they played in literacy and language. A second stage of the project might compare the circulation and use of printed and manuscript materials created by missionaries like Bernardino de Sahagun in indigenous language for conversion uses, including teaching doctrine, theatricals, and public prayer in New Spain (Mexico). questions that would not arise from examining either context alone. I would hope explore parallels between the role of indigenous literacy, fostered by missionary activity but extending far beyond “religious” contexts, in the creation of solidarity within Native communities in New Spain and New England.
Type
Presentation
Session
#s3b: Archiving Collective Memory, moderator John Hunter
Language
eng
Location
Elaine Langone Center, Center Room
Circulation and Use of Indigenous Language Texts in New England
Elaine Langone Center, Center Room
Religious materials in New England created by John Eliot and his informants are believed to have played a role in extending secular literacy in indigenous languages in Massachusetts and beyond. Printed and manuscript materials are studied as preserved materials in repositories, but they circulated in various spheres in Colonial and early National New England. A sampling inventory of remaining documents combined with information on provenance and ownership could be mapped against the continued use of indigenous languages, the location of communities of “praying Indians” and early reservations to suggest the ways in which such works were used in a variety of communities using GIS or Google-map based software. Such an analysis would move us closer to an understanding of these books and broadsides as circulating, used works, and each remaining copy could contribute to our understanding of the role they played in literacy and language. A second stage of the project might compare the circulation and use of printed and manuscript materials created by missionaries like Bernardino de Sahagun in indigenous language for conversion uses, including teaching doctrine, theatricals, and public prayer in New Spain (Mexico). questions that would not arise from examining either context alone. I would hope explore parallels between the role of indigenous literacy, fostered by missionary activity but extending far beyond “religious” contexts, in the creation of solidarity within Native communities in New Spain and New England.