The collected writings of Samson Occom, Mohegan

About this book

"The Collected Writings of Samson Occom, Mohegan brings together for the first time all the known writings of the pioneering Native American religious leader, political activist, and author Samson Occom, a member of the Mohegan tribe who lived from 1723 to 1792. The largest surviving archive of American Indian writing before Charles Eastman (Santee Sioux; 1858-1939), Occom's writings offer unparalleled views into the little understood intellectual and cultural universe of Native Americans in the era of colonialization. His letters, sermons, journals, prose, petitions, and hymns - many of them never before published - document the emergence of pantribal political consciousness among the Native peoples of New England as well as Native efforts to adapt Christianity as a tool of decolonization. Presenting previously unpublished and newly recovered writings, this collection offers a fascinating look into the mind and milieu of a charismatic Indian leader and public intellectual. At the same time, the publication of his full known corpus more than doubles the amount of available Native American writing from before 1800, thus providing a vital resource for scholars and students of history and Native American cultures."--Jacket.