Red Bullet Defends Native American Religion Summary

I chose to focus my posting on the “Red Jacket Defends Native American Religion, 1805” by Red Jacket. The summary of the reading is about a person named Red Jacket because he would repeatedly wear red coats given to him by his British allies. Red Jacket sided with the British in the American Revolution. Red Jacket was part of an Indian tribe, the Senecas, and the tribe was a part of the Iroquois Confederacy. Also, Red Jacket was a strong supporter of his native religion. The religion Red Jacket and the Senecas believed in was the Great Spirit, and they would thank the Great Spirit for everything they had like the sun and the ability to hear words. They believed the Great Spirit gave the land to them (the Senecas). Also, they believed the Great

Spirit made animals for food, animals to skin for clothing, and the Great Spirit caused corn to grow to make bread. Senecas claim that the Great Spirit did all of this for his red children. Meanwhile, white people came over to the land of the Senecas asking for pity, so they could practice their own religion on the Seneca’s land.

The Senecas welcomed the white people, fed them, and gave them more land and freedom. More white people came over to the Seneca’s country, and they wanted to take Seneca’s country from them and their land. Red Jacket did not want to partake in the white people’s religion, Christianity and the Bible, because it did not include the Great Spirit. Red Jacket admitted he would not follow the Bible unless the Great Spirit had given it to him. At the end of the reading, Red Jacket said his religion taught him how to give thanks, have kindness, and have the tribe united as one. Red Jacket said there is no reason for argument with religion because there is only the Great Spirit. Moreover, Red Jacket believed there was only one religion, the Great Spirit, and he believed there was no place for Christianity within the Seneca’s tribe. However, Red Jacket tried to understand that there were two religions made because of different customs, beliefs, and understandings about the world. This reading is about Red Jacket trying to protect the Great Spirit and his religion from the white people and

Christianity. He is trying to protect it because he does not want Christianity and the Bible to take over the native religion they have established for the Seneca tribe.
In the reading, Red Jacket talks about how the Great Spirit did not give the Senecas a Bible. Since Red Jacket and the Senecas did not receive a Bible from the Great Spirit, they asked why should they have to read the Bible and take part in the white people’s religion (Christianity). They said this because they only follow the rules the Great Spirit gives them not another religion’s rules. A quote in the reading illustrates this point, “We understand that your religion is written in a book; if it was intended for us as well as you, why has not the Great Spirit given it to us, and not only to us, but why did he not give to our forefathers the knowledge of that book, with the means of understanding it rightly” (Drake)? From this quote, I grasp that Red Jacket is very faithful to his religion, but he is not that supportive of Christianity. The Encyclopedia of World Biography reveals that Red Jacket is in fact a strong supporter of his native religion, The Great Spirit. Also, the source says he did not like how the white people came over to their land and tried to introduce their religion to his people because he opposed Christianity. Thus, this information is true because it supports how Red Jacket did not want to introduce the Bible or Christianity into his native religion. I found another article to fact check Red Jacket’s comment, and the article supports the fact that Red Jacket does not believe in Christianity or the Bible. Therefore, Red Jacket rejects the teachings of Christianity and the Bible because it was not brought to his attention by his religion, The Great Spirit. Red Jacket only believed in the Great Spirit, and he would not read the Bible because the Great Spirit never physically gave the Bible to him.
I also identified some hidden themes like religious freedom and unity. Religious freedom was a major concern back then. However, Red Jacket did not want the Indian tribes to adopt Christianity because the Great Spirit was their religion. On the other side, religious freedom was a big theme in this reading because that is why the white people came over to the Seneca’s land, so they could practice their own religion. One of the major reasons the white people left their country is because they wanted to practice and exercise their own religious rights. Another theme I found was unity because Red Jacket did not want new religions to incorporate their way into the life of the Senecas. Moreover, Red Jacket wanted all the Senecas to all have the same traditions, beliefs, and religion. The white people joined together with their Christian beliefs and traditions while the Senecas joined together with their beliefs and traditions on the opposite side with the Great Spirit. Groups united based on their common interests, beliefs, and religion. Religious freedom and unity were important parts of culture back then in history.