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The Indian Shaker Church is a
As tradition tells, Slocum (Squ-sacht-um) had died from sickness in 1881 when he revived during his 
The first church was built at Mud Bay outside 
Practices reflecting Catholic influence include the use of hand-held candles, the ringing of individual hand bells (to a very loud volume), and the
University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections - American Indians of the Pacific Northwest Collection
The Siletz Indian Shaker Church
The "Half-Catholic" movement: Edwin and Myron Eells and the rise of the Indian Shaker Church
The Indian Connection: Judge James Wickersham and the Indian Shakers (1990)
The Present Status and Probable Future of the Indians of Puget Sound (1914)
(see: pp. 18–20)
The Swinomish People and Their State (1936)
(see: pp. 293–295)
Christian denomination
A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, worsh ...
founded in 1881 by Squaxin
The Squaxin Island Tribe are the descendants of several Lushootseed clans organized under the Squaxin Island Indian Reservation, a Native American tribal government in western Washington state.
Historically, the ancestors of the Squaxin Island T ...
shaman John Slocum
Squ-sacht-un (1838 – 11 November 1897), also known as John Slocum, was a member of the Squaxin Island Tribe, Coast Salish, and a reputed holy man and prophet who founded the Indian Shaker Church in 1881.
and his wife Mary Slocum in Washington state
Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...
. The Indian Shaker Church is a unique blend of Indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
, Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, and Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
beliefs and practices.
The Indian Shakers are unrelated to the Shakers
The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, more commonly known as the Shakers, are a Millenarianism, millenarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian sect founded in England and then organized in the Unit ...
(United Society of Believers) and are not to be confused with the Native American Church
The Native American Church (NAC), also known as Peyotism and Peyote Religion, is a Native American religion that teaches a combination of traditional Native American beliefs and Christianity, with sacramental use of the entheogen peyote. The re ...
.
History and practices
As tradition tells, Slocum (Squ-sacht-um) had died from sickness in 1881 when he revived during his wake
Wake or The Wake may refer to:
Culture
*Wake (ceremony), a ritual which takes place during some funeral ceremonies
*Wakes week, an English holiday tradition
* Parish Wake, another name of the Welsh ', the fairs held on the local parish's patron s ...
reporting a visit to heaven, where he was told by an angel that, "you've been a pretty bad Indian", and where he received instructions to start a new religion. When Slocum became ill again several months later, his wife, Mary, began to shake and tremble uncontrollably in prayer. Soon afterward, Slocum recovered, and his healing was attributed to Mary's convulsions. The religion is thus named for the shaking of members during religious congregations. The shaking is reported to have healing powers.Ruby, p. 81
The story is told that Mary had sent for a casket. John was dead. The casket was brought by canoe, down the river. The casket was just coming around the bend in the river when John revived, and told the people he had met Jesus and what they were to do.
The first church was built at Mud Bay outside Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region.
European ...
near the homes of church co-founders and brothers Mud Bay Louie and Mud Bay Sam.
Indian Shakers originally rejected the Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
and all other written scriptures, and instead relied on direct communication between God and the individual. Such Shakers believe that the experience of the Gospel does not require a book, but rather is encoded in the mind and soul in accordance with the will of God. The religion began to be practiced by many unrelated peoples along the Northwest Coast of North America, such as the Klallam
Klallam (also Clallam, although the spelling with "K" is preferred in all four modern Klallam communities) refers to four related indigenous Native American/First Nations communities from the Pacific Northwest of North America. The Klallam cult ...
, Quinault Quinault may refer to:
* Quinault people, an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast
**Quinault Indian Nation, a federally recognized tribe
**Quinault language, their language
People
* Quinault family of actors, including
* Jean-Baptis ...
, Lower Chehalis
Lower Chehalis (''Łəw̓ál̕məš'') is a member of the Tsamosan (or Olympic Peninsula) branch of the Coast Salish family of Salishan languages. In some classifications, Lower Chehalis is placed closer to Quinault than it is to Upper Chehalis ...
, Yakama
The Yakama are a Native American tribe with nearly 10,851 members, based primarily in eastern Washington state.
Yakama people today are enrolled in the federally recognized tribe, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. Their Yak ...
, Hoh
Water () is a polar inorganic compound that is at room temperature a tasteless and odorless liquid, which is nearly colorless apart from an inherent hint of blue. It is by far the most studied chemical compound and is described as the "univer ...
, Quileute
The Quileute , are a Native American people in western Washington state in the United States, currently numbering approximately 2,000. They are a federally recognized tribe: the ''Quileute Tribe of the Quileute Reservation''.
The Quileute peop ...
, Wiyot
The Wiyot ( Wiyot: Wíyot, Chetco-Tolowa: Wee-’at xee-she or Wee-yan’ Xee-she’, Euchre Creek Tututni: Wii-yat-dv-ne - "Mad River People“, Yurok: Weyet) are an indigenous people of California living near Humboldt Bay, California and a s ...
, Yurok
The Yurok (Karuk language: Yurúkvaarar / Yuru Kyara - "downriver Indian; i.e. Yurok Indian") are an Indigenous people from along the Klamath River and Pacific coast, whose homelands are located in present-day California stretching from Trinidad ...
, and Hupa
Hupa (Yurok language term: Huep'oola' / Huep'oolaa = "Hupa people") are a Native American people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group in northwestern California. Their endonym is Natinixwe, also spelled Natinook-wa, meaning "Peopl ...
, among others.
Practices reflecting Catholic influence include the use of hand-held candles, the ringing of individual hand bells (to a very loud volume), and the sign of the cross
Making the sign of the cross ( la, signum crucis), or blessing oneself or crossing oneself, is a ritual blessing made by members of some branches of Christianity. This blessing is made by the tracing of an upright cross or + across the body with ...
(usually repeated three times). Protestant influence is shown in public testifying and confession of shortcomings. Native elements include brushing or stroking to remove evil influence, counter-clockwise movement of service participants around the room (often with loud stomping), and spontaneous reception of songs from the spirit. Church members are expected to refrain from using alcohol and tobacco. Carefulness, kindness, and supplication to God for help are emphasized.
The new religion encountered much opposition and hostility from Euro-Americans. As had happened with the Ghost Dance
The Ghost Dance ( Caddo: Nanissáanah, also called the Ghost Dance of 1890) was a ceremony incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems. According to the teachings of the Northern Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka (renamed Jack Wilso ...
, there was much misunderstanding and Anglos feared an Indian uprising. For a time, all Indian religious practices were banned by law, and the Indian Shakers were included. Many members were imprisoned and chained for their practices. Powell et al. (1976) show two notices posted by the US Indian Service
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and Al ...
at Quileute Reservation:
During the latter part of the 20th century, the denomination had 20 congregations with about 2,000 members. In the 1960s, a break occurred among Indian Shakers in which one "conservative" faction continued to reject written religious material while another "progressive" faction was more tolerant of the use of the Bible and other written material.
Indian Shakers continue to practice on the Northwest Coast in Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
, Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
, California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, and British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
.
See also
* List of Indian Shaker Church buildings in WashingtonFootnotes
References
Bibliography
* * * * *Ruby, Robert H.; & Brown, John A. (1996). ''John Slocum and the Indian Shaker Church''. University of Oklahoma Press. . *Further reading
*Amoss, Pamela T. (1990). The Indian Shaker Church. In W. Suttles (Ed.), ''Northwest Coast''.Handbook of North American Indians
The ''Handbook of North American Indians'' is a series of edited scholarly and reference volumes in Native American studies, published by the Smithsonian Institution beginning in 1978. Planning for the handbook series began in the late 1960s and ...
(Vol. 7). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
*Barnett, H. G. (1957). ''Indian Shakers: A messianic cult of the Pacific Northwest''. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.
*Castile, George P. (1982). The 'Half-Catholic' movement: Edwin and Myron Eells and the rise of the Indian Shaker Church. ''Pacific Northwest Quarterly'', ''73'', 165-174.
*Eells, Myron. (1886). ''Ten years of missionary work among the Indians at Skokomish, Washington Territory, 1874-1884'' (pp. 180–237). Boston.
*Fredson, Jean T. (1960). Religion of the Shakers. In H. Deegan (Ed.), ''History of Mason County Washington''. Shelton, WA.
*Giovannetti, Joseph M. (1994). Indian Shaker Church. In ''Native America in the twentieth century: An encyclopedia'' (pp. 266–267). New York: Garland Publishing.
*Gunter, Erna. (1977). The Shaker Religion of the Northwest. In J. A. Halseth & B. A. Glasrud (Eds.), ''The Northwest mosaic: Minority conflicts in Pacific Northwest history''. Boulder, CO: Pruett Publishing Company.
*Harmon, Alexandra. (1999). ''Indians in the making: Ethnic relations and Indian identities around Puget Sound'' (pp. 125–130). Berkeley: University of California Press.
*Harmon, Ray. (1971). Indian Shaker Church, The Dalles. ''Oregon Historical Quarterly'', ''72'', 148-158.
*Ober, Sarah E. (1910). A new religion among the West Coast Indians. ''The Overland Monthly'', ''56'' (July–December).
*Sackett, Lee. (1973). The Siletz Indian Shaker Church. ''Pacific Northwest Quarterly'', ''64'' (July), 120-26.
*Valory, Dale. (1966). ''The focus of Indian Shaker healing''. The Kroeber Anthropological Society Papers (No. 35). Berkeley: Kroeber Anthropological Society.
*From thUniversity of Washington Libraries Digital Collections - American Indians of the Pacific Northwest Collection
The Siletz Indian Shaker Church
The "Half-Catholic" movement: Edwin and Myron Eells and the rise of the Indian Shaker Church
The Indian Connection: Judge James Wickersham and the Indian Shakers (1990)
The Present Status and Probable Future of the Indians of Puget Sound (1914)
(see: pp. 18–20)
The Swinomish People and Their State (1936)
(see: pp. 293–295)
External links
*{{Historylink, article=2640, title=Native Americans organize the Indian Shaker Church in 1892 Native American Christianity Christian denominations established in the 19th century Christianity and religious syncretism Christianity in Oregon Coast Salish culture Hupa Indigenous Christianity Indigenous culture of the Plateau Religious organizations established in 1881 1881 establishments in Washington Territory