Includes bibliographical references (pages 287-294) and index.
Contents
Prologue: Pierre-Anthoine Pastedechouan, voyager between worlds -- "Thy God has not come to our country" : Innu childhood -- "Do not take me back to those beasts who do not know God" : transformation in France -- "I have not a mind strong enough to remain firm" : religious ambivalence -- "God has let his thunderbolts fall" : apostasy and death in the Canadian woods -- Pastedechouan's legacy.
Summary
Pierre-Anthoine Pastedechouan was born into a nomadic Indigenous community of Innu living along the St. Lawrence River in present-day Quebec. In 1620, at age eleven, he was sent to France by Catholic missionaries to be educated for five years, and then brought back to help Christianize his people. Pastedechouan's youthful encounter with French Catholicism engendered in him a fatal religious ambivalence. Robbed of both his traditional religious identity and critical survival skills, he had difficulty winning the acceptance of his community upon his return. At the same time, his attempts to prove himself to his people led the Jesuits to regard him with increasing suspicion. Suspended between two worlds, Pastedechouan ultimately became estranged - with tragic consequences - from both his native community and his missionary mentors.
Reproduction
Electronic text and image data. Ann Arbor, Mich. : University of Michigan, Michigan Publishing, 2024. EPUB file. ([ACLS Humanities E-Book])
