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Remaking Indigenaity: Indigenous Missionaries in the British Empire, 1820-1875

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Remaking Indigenaity: Indigenous Missionaries in the British Empire, 1820-1875 University of Alberta Remaking Indigenaity: Indigenous Missionaries in the British Empire, 1820-1875 by Justin Tolly Bradford A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Department of History and Classics ©Justin Tolly Bradford Fall 2009 Edmonton, Alberta Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission. Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-55805-8 Our file Notre r6f6rence ISBN: 978-0-494-55805-8 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1+1 Canada Examining Committee Dr. Gerhard Ens, History & Classics Dr. Ryan Dunch, History & Classics Dr. E. Ann McDougall, History & Classics Dr. Jane Samson, History & Classics Dr. Sylvia M. Brown, English & Film Studies Dr. Jennifer S. H. Brown, History, University of Winnipeg for my grandparents Abstract In the 1840s, Christian mission organizations from Britain began establishing self-governing, independent indigenous churches staffed by ordained indigenous missionaries. By the 1860s, this initiative had created a world-wide cohort of ordained indigenous missionaries with close ties to Britain and Christianity. This dissertation compares two of these early indigenous missionaries, Henry Budd a Cree from western Canada (1812-1875) and Tiyo Soga a Xhosa from southern Africa (1829-1871). It argues that while Budd and Soga were part of the same process of modernizing indigenaity, their local frontier and particular missionary network led them to create different definitions of indigenaity and distinct kinds of indigenous communities. The thesis begins by explaining how both men were guided by their family and sense of "home" to become missionaries and how both articulated, through their writings and actions, a similar sense of "modern indigenaity." This modern indigenaity comprised of two parts: a new identity that located the meaning of indigenaity not in religion or lifestyle, but in land, language and history; and a new sense of global consciousness that enabled the missionaries to see connections between their lives and the lives of people around the world. The second section of the thesis examines how Budd and Soga, acting as advisors to and advocates for indigenous people, tried to establish new - but very distinct - kinds of indigenous communities in their respective regions. Budd, drawing on the Cree band structure and fluid fur-trade frontier, hoped to establish a "Cree village community" that was Christian, semi-agrarian and bound together by the Cree language. Soga, relying on the hierarchal tribal structure of the Xhosa and nearly a century of race-based warfare between whites and Africans in his region, fostered a "Xhosa national community" that was larger and more robust than Budd's village and bound by race and history as well as language. These different communities reveal that while Budd transformed Creeness into a predominantly linguistic and territorial category of identity, Soga made Xhosaness into a political identity. These remade community identities, and their connection to British Christianity, are the legacies of indigenous missionaries. Acknowledgements Many people have supported the research and writing of this dissertation. I would like to thank the archivists at the Provincial Archives of Manitoba, the National Library of Scotland, the Church Missionary Society Archives, the National Library South Africa and the National Archives of South Africa (Cape Town), each of whom made my all-too-brief visits rewarding and enjoyable. I especially cherish my time at the Cory Library in Grahamstown; its staff members were knowledgeable about their collection and welcoming to me week after week. I likewise benefited from the help of Stephanie Victor at the Amotole Museum (King William's Town) and Mark Snyder at the Howard Pirn Library. Special thanks must also go to Manton Hirst, Alan Weyer, Columba Soga and the members of the Emgwali Church, all of whom helped me learn more about Tiyo Soga's family and landscape. During these archival visits I was given hospitality and friendship by Ann Thorns, Matthew Beament, Jo Fitzhenry and Mike Dacombe and Pat Black. This research was funded by the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), The Eleanor Luxton Historical Foundation and, at the University of Alberta, the Department of History and Classics and the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research. For their generosity with feedback, commentary and discussion of this project, I thank Lize Kriel, Andrew Porter, Ian Maclaren, Don Smith, Sarah Carter, Melanie Niemi-Bohun, John Barwick, David Luesink, Jonathon Anuik, Chelsea Horton, Kerry Abel, Peter Limb, Peter Midgley, Adele Perry (who invited me to two workshops at a crucial stage of the writing) and, for initiating my interest in the topic, Elizabeth Elbourne. Ariana Bradford and Samantha Tabbitt were valuable proofreaders and Tasha Tsang, William Mohns and David Johnson provided support in other ways. I was fortunate to have an examining committee that supported this rather ambitious project: my thanks to Ryan Dunch, Jane Samson and Ann McDougall for their support throughout the process and to Sylvia Brown and Jennifer Brown for their helpful comments at the thesis defense. Above all else, this thesis owes much to the calm support and exacting questions of my advisor, Gerhard Ens. Gerhard has gone above and beyond the responsibilities of advisor. Finally, thanks to friends and family who put up with, and enabled, my years of studentship. My family has always encouraged me to question, learn and discuss history, while friends in Alberta and Ontario helped the writing process by distracting me with opportunities to coach skiing. Lesley Harrington joined this project during my archival work in South Africa, and ever since I have been endlessly grateful for her love, humour and friendship. This thesis is dedicated to my maternal grandparents who saw the beginning but not the end of this project. Table of Contents Introduction - Two Voices, One History 1 Chapter 1 - For the "privileges of God's house": Henry Budd's Journey to Ordination 33 Chapter 2 - "For the elevation of your.. .down-trodden people": Tiyo Soga's Journey to Ordination 77 Chapter 3 - "Placed in very special circumstances": A Stranded Identity 118 Chapter 4 - Local anxieties and Global Connections: The Worlds of Indigenous Missionaries 142 Chapter 5 - Advocate and Advisor: Strategies of Indigenous Missionaries 170 Chapter 6 - Henry Budd's "Great Transformation": A Cree Village Community 196 Chapter 7 - "The Destiny of the Kaffir Race": A Xhosa National Community 230 Conclusion - Remaking Indigenaity, Creating Community 270 Bibliography 277 Maps Map 1.1 The British Northwest, c. 1820 37 Map 1.2 Red River Settlement, c. 1858 44 Map 1.3 The British Northwest, c. 1860 61 Map 2.1 The eastern frontier zone of the Cape Colony, c. 1840s 82 Map 1.4 The Numbered Treaties in the Canadian Northwest after 1877 226 Map 2.2 The eastern frontier zone of the Cape Colony, c. 1865-70 235 Images Image 1 Henry Budd (c. 1850) 69 Image 2 Tiyo Soga as a student 90 Image 3 Tiyo Soga (c. 1857) 104 Image 4 Janet Soga (c. 1857) 107 1 Introduction Two Voices, One History My path to this topic began during my Master's program in history. At that time I became especially interested in the role of the British mission enterprise in southern Africa. The lively debate in that field of scholarship, framed to a large extent by the work of Jean and John Comaroff,1 led me to ask several questions about how African converts, as opposed to British missionaries, experienced the missionary enterprise of the mid-nineteenth century.
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