William Apess was a Pequot Indian born into a poor disparaged and racist society. The Pequot were thought to be extinct, but there remained two small reservations in Connecticut. Apess suffered physical abuse by the hands of his alcoholic grandmother, was shuffled from foster home to foster home, and eventually suffered from alcoholism himself. During his time in foster homes, he received a minimal education, which led to his love of writing. He wrote five books between 1829 and 1836 (Calloway, 2012). Many of Apess' writings contained the cries of his people in which he plead for equality. One might say that he was one of the first civil rights activists. He fought against the discrimination his people experienced by exposing the hypocrisy, history, and racism of the white Europeans who called themselves Christians. This essay will examine a short work of Apess' with the focus on the Europeans Christian hypocrisy. It will examine how Apess exposed the hypocrisy of these so-called Christians by providing not only biblical proof, but also exposing them to examples of their hate by giving them a glimpse in the mirror, a chance to reflect upon their actions, and how in pursuit of their own freedom they trampled the Native American's.
One of Apess' tools was the pen, which he used to write a short essay titled, "An Indians Looking Glass for the White Man" (Calloway, 2012). Apess' essay showed that claiming Christianity and yet showing bias and distinguishing between races is not biblical. Apess was a Methodist preacher and spoke on Christian principles with a level of expertise. His essay starts as a greeting to his fellow men as well as God in which he refers to as "the maker and preserver both of the white man and the Indian [...] w...
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...er that many non-believers find Christianity so hateful instead of a loving, all accepting relationship with God .
In the final analysis of Apess short work, he demonstrated true Christianity in his righteous anger. In his writings, he did not call for vengeance, but rather a request to lay aside this hypocrisy and hatred of his people simply because they had red skin. He calls for action, for the people to open their eyes to the destruction they have caused and for his people to have the same God given rights to freedom and autonomy.
Works Cited
Calloway, C. G. (2012). First peoples A documentary survey of American Indian history (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
Houdmann, S. M. (n.d.). What does the Bible say about racism, prejudice, and discrimination [Entire issue]. Got Guestions.org. Retrieved from http://www.gotquestions.org/racism-Bible.html
Shoemaker, Nancy. “ Native-American Women in History.” OAH Magazine of History , Vol. 9, No. 4, Native Americans (Summer, 1995), pp. 10-14. 17 Nov. 2013
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In Thomas King’s novel, The Inconvenient Indian, the story of North America’s history is discussed from his original viewpoint and perspective. In his first chapter, “Forgetting Columbus,” he voices his opinion about how he feel towards the way white people have told America’s history and portraying it as an adventurous tale of triumph, strength and freedom. King hunts down the evidence needed to reveal more facts on the controversial relationship between the whites and natives and how it has affected the culture of Americans. Mainly untangling the confusion between the idea of Native Americans being savages and whites constantly reigning in glory. He exposes the truth about how Native Americans were treated and how their actual stories were
Native American’s place in United States history is not as simple as the story of innocent peace loving people forced off their lands by racist white Americans in a never-ending quest to quench their thirst for more land. Accordingly, attempts to simplify the indigenous experience to nothing more than victims of white aggression during the colonial period, and beyond, does an injustice to Native American history. As a result, historians hoping to shed light on the true history of native people during this period have brought new perceptive to the role Indians played in their own history. Consequently, the theme of power and whom controlled it over the course of Native American/European contact is being presented in new ways. Examining the evolving
Slave-owners forced a perverse form of Christianity, one that condoned slavery, upon slaves. According to this false Christianity the enslavement of “black Africans is justified because they are the descendants of Ham, one of Noah's sons; in one Biblical story, Noah cursed Ham's descendants to be slaves” (Tolson 272). Slavery was further validated by the numerous examples of it within the bible. It was reasoned that these examples were confirmation that God condoned slavery. Douglass’s master...
William Apes, in his essay "An Indian's Looking-Glass for the White Man," argues that to profess Christianity and still distinguish between races is a hypocrisy not supported by the Bible. In the first part of his essay Apes asks several questions such as why, if God loves white people so much, did he create fifteen colored people for every white one; and of all the races, who has committed the most heinous crimes? He goes on to emphasize that neither Jesus nor his disciples were white skinned. He also questions the white person's right to control Native Americans. Apes asks his predominately white, Christian audience to reexamine their own prejudices and concludes his essay pleading "pray you not stop till this tree of distinction shall be leveled to the earth, and the mantle of prejudice torn from every American heart--then peace shall pervade the Union."
The American version of history blames the Native people for their ‘savage ' nature, for their failure to adhere to the ‘civilized norms ' of property ownership and individual rights that Christian people hold, and for their ‘brutality ' in defending themselves against the onslaught of non-Indian settlers. The message to Native people is simple: "If only you had been more like us, things might have been different for you.”
Jacquelyin Kilpatrick , Celluloid Indians. Native Americans and Film. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press, 1999
Of the three texts to be examined, Linda Brent's Autobiography, "Incidents," most explicitly shows the inability of the dominant culture's religion to fulfill the needs of the minority. From the tone of her story, one realizes that Brent felt "true Christianity," if it could be found, might comfort the slaves and fulfill their needs. But Brent also felt that slavery created a paradox which made "true Christianity" impossible.
Josephy, Alvin M, The American Heritage Book of Indians, New York, American Heritage Publishing Co,1961
In his essay An Indian’s Looking-Glass for the White Man, William Apess talks about the incompatibility of being a good Christian while still discriminating between races. He argues that this social hypocrisy is not supported by the Biblical text, or by Christian teachings. It is Apess’ belief that if God were to love white people as much as they believe, he wouldn’t have created fifteen colored people for every white one. He goes on to remind his white Christian audience, that it has been the white race the one who has committed the most terrible crimes in the history of mankind. Apess places emphasis on the fact the neither Jesus nor any of his apostles or disciples were white skinned. He also argues the right of the white man to control and subjugate the other races, more
Kroeber, Theodora. Ishi In Two Worlds: A Biography of the Last Wild Indian in North America. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1961. Print.
James Fenimore Cooper’s novel, The Last of the Mohicans, has stood the test of time due to its cunning confrontation of the issues of race in American society. Immediately from the Author’s Introduction, Cooper readily describes the Native American in an admirable light, unable to be extinguished by the prejudices of many of his readers. “In war, he is daring, boastful, cunning, ruthless, self-denying, and self-devoted; in peace, just, generous, hospitable, revengeful, superstitious, modest, and commonly chaste” (Introduction). The way cooper describes “these remarkable people” (Introduction) clarifies his viewpoint on the bias of racism and its wrongful judgment of one’s character solely based off the color of his or her skin. At the very
Upholding the Bible and Christianity throughout William Apess: “An Indian’s Looking-Glass for the White Man”
We, as with these early critics of Christianity, tend to prejudge others by stereotyping and by our refusal to engage others, as Jesus taught. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew