The Ojibwe Journals of Edmund F. Ely, 1833-1849

Download or read book The Ojibwe Journals of Edmund F. Ely, 1833-1849 written by Edmund F. Ely and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2012-11-01 with total page 521 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twenty-four-year-old Edmund F. Ely, a divinity student from Albany, New York, gave up his preparation for the ministry in 1833 to become a missionary and teacher among the Ojibwe of Lake Superior. During the next sixteen years, Ely lived, taught, and preached among the Ojibwe, keeping a journal of his day-to-day experiences as well as recording ethnographic information about the Ojibwe. From recording his frustrations over the Ojibwe's rejection of Christianity to describing hunting and fishing techniques he learned from his Ojibwe neighbors, Ely’s unique and rich record provides unprecedented insight into early nineteenth-century Ojibwe life and Ojibwe-missionary relations. Theresa M. Schenck draws on a broad array of secondary sources to contextualize Ely’s journals for historians, anthropologists, linguists, literary scholars, and the Ojibwe themselves, highlighting the journals’ relevance and importance for understanding the Ojibwe of this era.