To Do Good to My Indian Brethren: The Writings of Joseph Johnson, 1751-1776 / Edition 1

by Laura J. Murray, Joseph Johnson

Overview

This book brings together the writings of Joseph Johnson, a Mohegan Indian preacher, schoolteacher, and leader of the movement to relocate eastern Christian Indians to "Brotherton" in upper New York state.

Johnson's diaries, written between 1771 and 1773, document daily life in the Indian Christian communities of Mohegan and Farmington, Connecticut, with a remarkable richness and intimacy. His letters -- to his teacher, Eleazar Wheelock, and other white benefactors, as well as to his fellow Native Americans -- reveal both an uncommon talent for diplomacy and a powerful vision of Indian solidarity.

Commentary by Laura J. Murray illuminates the meaning of Johnson's writings in their historical context. One essay traces the cultural changes and political conflicts at Mohegan in the generations before Johnson's; other essays illuminate the rhetorical challenges Johnson faced as a literate Indian in the eighteenth century.

University of Massachusetts Press

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781558491274
Publisher:	University of Massachusetts Press
Publication date:	03/09/1998
Series:	Native Americans of the Northeast Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	344
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.24(h) x 1.01(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Laura J. Murray is assistant professor in the English department at Queen's University.

University of Massachusetts Press

What People are Saying About This

David Murray

An impressive piece of work. The writings themselves are carefully transcribed and thoughtfully and thoroughly annotated. In addition, there are quite lengthy introductory sections on aspects of Mohegan history and on the general context of Indian writing. All in all, Murray does a very good job of indicating the various contexts in which Johnson's writings can be seen as both interesting and significant.... A valuable addition to the scholarly material available on Indian writers.

Editorial Reviews

"A fascinating document and tantalizing portrait of an individual who played a small part in [that] history and [that] genocide through religion. . . . Laura J. Murray has accomplished a brilliant task in searching out these various 'writings' in chronological order."

Independent Publisher

These transcriptions of diaries, letters, and sermons of Johnson, a Mohegan (Mohican) teacher and visionary leader, break stereotypes. With prominent ancestors and literate parents, Johnson lived in a community that valued both Mohegan and European cultures. His writing style, learned under the tutelage of Eleazer Wheelock, founder of Dartmouth College, is indistinguishable from that of other writers (Indian or white) trained in prerevolutionary missionary schools, but attention to editor/author Murray's interpretation reveals issues and facts about Mohegan life, including plans for "Brotherton," a Christian Indian town, realized only after the Revolution and Johnson's death. Murray (English, Queen's Univ., Kingston, Ontario) emphasizes the individual writer, following such examples as James Axtell's The Invasion Within (1985). Johnson's humility is striking, as is his commitment to his people. This book makes another Indian "voice" more accessible and gives helpful instruction in the genres and forms of early American writing. Recommended for all Native American collections and for academic libraries.Margaret W. Norton, IHM High Sch. Lib., Westchester, Ill.

Library Journal