Black Indians and Freedmen : The African Methodist Episcopal Church and Indigenous Americans, 1816-1916

The African Methodist Episcopal Church is a venerable, Wesleyan religious body that former slaves established in 1816. Although this denomination is historically Black, it has never been racially exclusive. Scholars have largely minimized the AME Church's ethnic diversity and they have specifically ignored its impact within Native communities. This book corrects these unnecessarily narrow views by emphasizing the AME Church's evangelism within diverse Native communities throughout the 19^th^ and early 20^th^ centuries. As a result of this evangelism, the denomination fulfilled the vision of its founder, Richard Allen, who imagined a racially and ethnically inclusive Methodist ecclesia. The outreach of African Methodists to indigenous people started at the denomination's inception and led to the ordination of such indigenous ministers as Thomas Sunrise, who was Oneida, and John Hall, who was Ojibwe. AME ministries to Native people reached their apex in Indian Territory where African Methodists engaged with the Five Civilized Tribes. This book strengthens existing scholarship on Black and Native interactions. This study on the AME Church is the first to comprehensively examine Native peoples' interactions with a historically Black institution. Often seen as ethnically monolithic, the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in fact successfully pursued evangelism among diverse communities of indigenous peoples and Black Indians. Christina Dickerson-Cousin tells the little-known story of the AME Church's work in Indian Territory, where African Methodists engaged with people from the Five Civilized Tribes (Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Seminoles) and Black Indians from various ethnic backgrounds. These converts proved receptive to the historically Black church due to its traditions of self-government and resistance to white hegemony, and its strong support of their interests. The ministers, guided by the vision of a racially and ethnically inclusive Methodist institution, believed their denomination the best option for the marginalized people. Dickerson-Cousin also argues that the religious opportunities opened up by the AME Church throughout the West provided another impetus for Black migration. Insightful and richly detailed, Black Indians and Freedmen illuminates how faith and empathy encouraged the unique interactions between two peoples. | Preface ix Acknowledgments xi A Note on Terminology xiii Introduction: The Drums of Nonnemontubbi 1 1 Richard Allen, John Stewart, and Jarena Lee: Writing Indigenous Outreach into the DNA of the AME Church, 1816–1830 12 2 Seeking Their Cousins: The AME Ministries of Thomas Sunrise and John Hall, 1850–1896 34 3 The African Methodist Migration and the All-Black Town Movement 57 4 "Ham Began . . . to Evangelize Japheth": The Birth of African Methodism in Indian Territory 82 5 "Blazing Out the Way": The Ministers of the Indian Mission Annual Conference 100 6 Conferences, Churches, Schools, and Publications: Creating an AME Church Infrastructure in Indian Territory 119 7 "All the Rights . . . of Citizens": African Methodists and the Dawes Commission 154 Notes 173 Index 227 |"An excellent study that analyzes the role of the AME Church members in westward expansion and migration who provided stability and institution building to many Black settlements in the West, incorporated Black Indians within the larger African American community, and evangelized among Native American populations."—Lawrence S. Little, author of Disciples of Liberty: The African Methodist Episcopal Church in the Age of Imperialism, 1884-1916 | Christina Dickerson-Cousin is an assistant professor of history at Quinnipiac University. "The African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church is a venerable, Wesleyan religious body that formerly enslaved people established in 1816. Although this denomination is historically Black, it has never been racially exclusive. Scholars have largely minimized the AME Church's ethnic diversity and have specifically ignored its impact within Native communities. This book corrects these unnecessarily narrow views by emphasizing the AME Church's evangelism within diverse Native communities throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. As a result of this evangelism, the denomination fulfilled the vision of its founder, Richard Allen, who imagined a racially and ethnically inclusive Methodist ecclesia. The outreach of African Methodists to Indigenous people started at the denomination's inception and led to the ordination of such Indigenous ministers as Thomas Sunrise, who was Oneida, and John Hall, who was Ojibwe. AME ministries to Native people reached their apex in Indian Territory, where African Methodists engaged with the Five Civilized Tribes. This book strengthens existing scholarship on Black and Native interactions. This study on the AME Church is the first to comprehensively examine Native peoples' interactions with a historically Black institution"-- Provided by publisher "The African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church is a venerable, Wesleyan religious body that formerly enslaved people established in 1816. Although this denomination is historically Black, it has never been racially exclusive. Scholars have largely minimized the AME Church's ethnic diversity and have specifically ignored its impact within Native communities. This book corrects these unnecessarily narrow views by emphasizing the AME Church's evangelism within diverse Native communities throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. As a result of this evangelism, the denomination fulfilled the vision of its founder, Richard Allen, who imagined a racially and ethnically inclusive Methodist ecclesia. The outreach of African Methodists to Indigenous people started at the denomination's inception and led to the ordination of such Indigenous ministers as Thomas Sunrise, who was Oneida, and John Hall, who was Ojibwe. AME ministries to Native people reached their apex in Indian Territory, where African Methodists engaged with the Five Civilized Tribes. This book strengthens existing scholarship on Black and Native interactions. This study on the AME Church is the first to comprehensively examine Native peoples' interactions with a historically Black institution"-- Fourni par l'éditeur Often seen as ethnically monolithic, the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in fact successfully pursued evangelism among diverse communities of indigenous peoples and Black Indians. Christina Dickerson-Cousin tells the little-known story of the AME Church's work in Indian Territory, where African Methodists engaged with people from the Five Civilized Tribes (Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Seminoles) and Black Indians with various ethnic backgrounds. These converts proved receptive to the historically black church due to its traditions of self-government and resistance to white hegemony, and its strong support of their interests. The ministers, guided by the vision of a racially and ethnically inclusive Methodist institution, believed their denomination the best option for the marginalized people. Dickerson-Cousin also argues that the religious opportunities opened up by the AME Church throughout the West provided another impetus for black migration. Insightful and richly detailed, Black Indians and Freedmen illuminates how faith and empathy encouraged the unique interactions between two peoples