John Henry Keen (1851–1950) was an Anglican missionary in Canada, known for translating
scriptures
Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...
into
Haida. While serving as a missionary, he also contributed to Canada's
natural history, writing on insects he discovered; he had a species of mouse and bat named after him.
Early years and ordination
John Henry Keen was born in England in 1851; he graduated from a
Bible college
A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for Christian ministry with theological educ ...
in Islington in 1873.
In 1874 he was sent by the
Bishop of London
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
as a missionary at
Moose Fort in Ontario. He was ordained by
John Horden
John Horden (January 20, 1828Long, John S. (2003) ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'', vol. 12. University of Toronto/Université Laval. Retrieved 2013-12-10. – January 12, 1893) was the first Anglican Bishop of Moosonee, Canada, who for more ...
,
Bishop of Moosonee in 1877.
1880s and 1890s
From 1882 to 1889, he was in London, where he was first a curate at
Spitalfields
Spitalfields is a district in the East End of London and within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The area is formed around Commercial Street (on the A1202 London Inner Ring Road) and includes the locale around Brick Lane, Christ Church, ...
and later in
Islington
Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...
. In 1890, he left again for Canada where he was based at the northern end of
Graham Island
Graham Island () is the largest island in the Haida Gwaii archipelago (previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands), lying off the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is separated by the narrow Skidegate Channel from the other pri ...
in British Columbia. He lived at a village called
Massett
Masset , formerly ''Massett'', is a village in Haida Gwaii in British Columbia, Canada. It is located on Masset Sound on the northern coast of Graham Island, the largest island in the archipelago, and is approximately west of mainland British Col ...
where several families would share a
longhouse
A longhouse or long house is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling. It has been built in various parts of the world including Asia, Europe, and North America.
Many were built from timber and often rep ...
which typically had totem poles outside.
![Haida Houses](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Haida_Houses.jpg)
Whilst in Canada Keen translated the ''
Book of Common Prayer
The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...
'' into
Haida; he later translated the gospels of
Luke
People
*Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name)
*Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name)
*Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known as ...
and
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
and the
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its messag ...
.
In Masset, Keen took an interest in
natural history. In 1891, he published his first paper on local beetles (''Some British Columbian Coleoptera'') and sent off 46 samples for identification to the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
.
In 1894 he first described the
Northwestern deer mouse
The northwestern deer mouse or Keen's mouse (''Peromyscus keeni'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in British Columbia in Canada and in Alaska and Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), Uni ...
, which was named Keen's mouse, or ''Peromyscus keeni'', in his honour.
He was also the first to scientifically describe a type of brown mouse eared bat. This animal is now called
Keen's myotis
Keen's myotis (''Myotis keenii'') is a species of vesper bat. It is found in British Columbia in Canada and in Washington and Alaska in the United States. It is named after the Rev. John Henry Keen, who collected the specimen that formed the bas ...
(''Myotis keenii Trouessart'').
In 1896 he also found the first type specimen of what is now known to be a sub-species of
northern saw-whet owl
The northern saw-whet owl (''Aegolius acadicus'') is a species of small owl in the family Strigidae. The species is native to North America. Saw-whet owls of the genus ''Aegolius'' are some of the smallest owl species in North America. They can ...
.
Keen returned on leave in 1898 and his translated prayer book was published in 1899 in London by the
Missionary Society
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a M ...
.
The book went out of print as a result of its intended audience dying out. It is estimated that before the Europeans arrived, there were 10,000 people who spoke Haida. By 1900, there were about 700.
The Book of Common Prayer in Haida
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, London, 1899, accessed 16 November 2010, There were thought to be only about 30 people in 1999 who spoke the Haida language,
Artifacts
In the 1890s there were visits from the English Charles F. Newcombe
Charles Frederick Newcombe (15 September 1851 – 19 October 1924) was a British botanist and ethnographic researcher. He is known for his studies of the First Nations or native people of Canada.
Biography
Newcombe was born in Newcastle-upon- ...
, George Amos Dorsey
George Amos Dorsey (February 6, 1868 – March 29, 1931) was an American ethnographer of indigenous peoples of the Americas, with a special focus on the Caddoan and Siouan tribes of the Great Plains. He is credited with helping develop the ant ...
from Chicago and a Scottish guide named James Deans. These people were travelling to gather artefacts that might be of ethnographic interest. Their methods varied, but they frequently held little regard for the native Canadians. Keen had to angrily take them to task after he travelled to confirm for himself that visitors had not only raided graves but also not restored them to there former state. Keen found hair and coffins strewn about from where they had dug to steal skulls and bones. Keen wrote to complain about the desecration and challenged Dean to name his accomplices although he was clear that the benefactor of their work was the Field Columbian Museum
The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educational ...
and that the perpetrators were Americans. George Dorsey was known for his haste in finding artefacts was told of Keen's letter to the "'' Daily Colonist'' and he argued that Keen's anger should be ignored.
The British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
bought a number of artefacts from Keen, including a model of a house and an attached totem pole
Totem poles ( hai, gyáaʼaang) are monumental carvings found in western Canada and the northwestern United States. They are a type of Northwest Coast art, consisting of poles, posts or pillars, carved with symbols or figures. They are usually m ...
which had been carved by John Gwaytihl. The museum also bought another 44 objects and received a description of the story that the totem pole was intended to tell. By coincidence the museum acquired a complete 39-foot-high totem pole that differed only slightly from the model in 1903. The museum now not only has the pole but it has a description of its significance and symbols. The museum bought the pole from Charles Frederick Newcombe.
20th century activities
Keen returned to Canada again in 1899, but this time he was based at Metlakatla, where he stayed until 1913.
Keen died in 1950.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keen, John Henry
1851 births
1950 deaths
Missionary linguists
English naturalists
People associated with the British Museum
English Anglican missionaries
Anglican missionaries in Canada