Boy, has this been a mad week! The flu, tons of homework, storms, and homesteading together really take it out of you!
Here’s a paper I wrote for my history class. My great-grandmother was Dakota, and I love the Dakota people. Here’s a brief history of the Bible in Dakota, and its key role in preserving the language for oyate iyotan (every people) to study today! These men and women went through so much to help the incredible Dakota Language to survive.Their amazing work, the Dakota Wowapi Wakan, is available on Amazon.com, as well as Barnes and Noble. Here are the links:
Wakantanka niye yawaste nunwe – May the Creator bless you!
The Missionaries of the 1800s and the Dakota Bible: Language Preservation in a Dark Time
Introduction
The late 1800s were a time of strife in the United States of America. The violent and bloody War between the States, also known as the Civil War, raged across the country, claiming many lives, and causing untold damage to the country. In financial and human terms, the costs of the war were staggering.
Shortly following the War between the States were the lesser-known Dakota Wars of the west. Expansionism, cruel policies, war crimes, starvation, and loss of life were everyday occurrences, as one tragic event led to another in the bloody conflict of the Great Plains. It is difficult for the modern scholar to find any positive events in the midst of the dreadful conflict that scarred the nation.
However, in the middle of the conflicts between races, cultures, and ways of life, there is a shining gem of hope. Although there were many instances of extreme injustice, retribution, and faults on both sides of the conflict, a few brave people stood up for the rights of the Sioux. These people went to the Dakota people, in the midst of the wars, learned their language, and eventually preserved the beautifully rich and complex Dakota language for future generations. These people wrote many books in Dakota and taught the Dakota people to read and write well in their own language. The crown jewel in the crown of the efforts to preserve the language was the translation of the Bible into Dakota.
There were many actors on the stage of the drama of the 1800s translation of the Dakota Bible: too many to be contained in any one work. Samuel and Gideon Pond, Joseph Renville, Samuel Dutton Hinman, the family of Dr. Williamson, and the controversial Stephen Return Riggs are the main players upon which this paper will focus. Together, the missionaries during the 1800s preserved the Dakota language for future generations through the translation of the Bible.
Setting the Scene
It is impossible to begin the story of the missionaries and their efforts amongst the Sioux Indians without first setting the scene. This history is difficult for the scholar to approach. It may seem very strange, in the modern day, to read about the abject racism that swept across the United States. There were certainly wrongs done on all sides; however, the “bitter hatred felt by nearly all the whites toward every individual of the hated race[1]”, the Dakota, was completely unmitigated.
The official policies towards the Dakota people were not kind. Food was withheld from the Dakota people so entirely that in one instance, all the young children of a Dakota band starved to death[2]. This sort of situation would affect the actions of any person, of any race whatsoever. Adding to the problem of starvation was the problem of multiple forced removals. As George Foster, a scholar on Native American history, states, “If I were an Indian, and a band of representatives of Christian civilization should scheme to deprive me of the home which I had built, and if I were driven further west, and compelled to leave a second or even a third home which I had made, I would want to scalp somebody, and I believe the good Lord in Heaven would forgive me for it, without my half-trying to be forgiven, just as I believe that he has blotted from his book of remembrance the penalty for many a massacre of Indians, and charged the same against the white men who were really the cause of these massacres”[3].
The late 1800s in Dakota Territory was not a pleasant time. Starvation and removal were not the only policies the Dakotas had to contend with. Indeed, the Dakota language nearly disappeared, as the Dakotas were ordered not to learn to read in their own language[4]. Had this, and other similar policies, been successfully carried out, there would be no Dakota language today. This complex language of the Great Plains, so linked with the national identity of the Sioux People, could very well have been lost to history forever.
The Williamsons
Thankfully, there were a few people who ignored the commands to abandon the study of the Dakota language. These men and women continued to teach the Dakota People to read and write in their own language, even during the bloodiest hours of the Dakota Wars. Dr. Thomas Williamson was one of these missionaries who continued to teach the Dakota how to read their language. Williamson was also an integral part of translating the Bible into the Dakota language.
Regularly risking his own life to defend the Dakota, Williamson was originally from the state of South Carolina[5]. Williamson, along with his wife, his sister-in-law, and two other missionaries, began work in the mission nearby Lacquiparle[6]. Dr. Williamson was heavily involved in aiding the Dakota prisoners of war after the dreadful incidents of the Dakota Uprising.
After the Dakota Uprising, many of the Dakota men and women were imprisoned in the town of Mankato[7]. During this imprisonment, Dr. Williamson again appeared on the scene. Williamson and his sister, Jane, brought materials for instructing the Dakota men in writing their native language[8]. This endeavor was met with much success. The imprisoned Dakota learned to read and write very rapidly and wrote thousands of letters to friends and relatives[9].
Dr. Williamson and his associates helped to preserve the language of the Dakotas by the simple task of teaching the Dakota people to write. Dr. Williamson’s son, John Poage Williamson, was to follow in his father’s footsteps. John Williamson wrote An English-Dakota Dictionary, a companion to Stephen Rigg’s Dakota-English dictionary[10]. This book is easy to navigate, and quite useful to the modern scholar of the Dakota language. John Williamson also wrote An English-Dakota School Dictionary, which contains a touching message to the Dakota schoolchildren in the Dakota language[11].
Additionally, Dr. Thomas Williamson was instrumental in working alongside Riggs and Joseph Renville to translate the Bible into the Dakota language. Williamson worked to learn the Dakota language and to translate the Bible for over forty years of his life[12]. The efforts of this family, both through teaching and translation, helped to preserve valuable Dakota language documents for study in the modern day.
Stephen Return Riggs
Stephen Return Riggs is the most controversial actor in this narrative. Heralded by some as a hero, and by others as a supremacist who took away native culture, the works of Stephen Riggs are the best indicators of his life and work. Riggs was one of the most prolific writers of his time about the Dakota language.
Writing the comprehensive Dakota-English Dictionary[13], Riggs could have been considered a preserver of the Siouxan languages for this one book alone. Riggs not only included the forms of the word that were most commonly used in Dakota, but the Nakota and Teton (Lakota) versions of the words, as well. The language of the Dakota and the culture of the Dakota people are considered to be the same thing[14], and Rigg’s contribution to the preservation of the language would be valuable for this work alone.
Riggs’ efforts did not stop with the already impressive contribution of his dictionary. Riggs worked alongside Joseph Renville and Thomas Williamson to translate the Bible into Dakota during one of the harshest times in history. Riggs’ expertise on the Dakota language cannot be understated. Riggs knew the language perfectly and was able to write complex poetry in the Dakota language[15] – a feat which would certainly be the envy of any modern linguist. Riggs’ in-depth study of the language enabled him to work alongside his associates well.
More than any of the others, Riggs wrote about the Dakota language in a beautiful way. Capturing the forms, the cadence, and the minute intricacies of the language[16], Riggs preserved the idea of the language as it was. Through his work, the modern scholar can absorb the impact of the Dakota language.
Stephen Riggs, the man who wrote so prolifically, centered his work on one thing: the translation of the Bible into Dakota. Through the determination of Riggs and his compatriots, the Dakota Wowapi Wakan, the Holy Bible in Dakota, was printed. This book is hailed as the “Greatest Indian translation of the whole Bible published by the American Bible[17] Society”, and modern readers have the work of Riggs and his team to thank for this invaluable document.
Samuel Dutton Hinman
Samuel Dutton Hinman is different from the others in this narrative, mostly due to his denomination. Unlike the other missionaries, who were largely Presbyterian, Hinman was an Episcopal. Hinman primarily ministered to the Santee Sioux, and spent many long years alongside the Santee as he and his wife labored to teach the Santee in the ways of reading, writing, and construction[18].
Hinman’s journal is an in-depth look at the everyday life on the Dakota Mission. Recording baptisms, children’s ministry, illness, and weather, this book offers a unique insight into the inner workings of the Dakota missions. Hinman preserved much of the Dakota language in his journal. Hinman wrote down the Dakota names of his friends around the mission site, such as Paul Mazakute and Taopi[19]. Hinman also wrote down the English translation of these names, imparting the knowledge that Mazakute means “Iron Shooter”, and Taopi means “Wounded”[20].
Hinman also recorded a song by one of the Dakota men, Dowanna (Singer), which was sung at the Epiphany celebration[21]. This song is written in both Dakota and English, adding to the research about the Dakota language that the modern scholar can study. Hinman records the culture, the problems, the sorrows, and the joys of the Santee Sioux, preserving insight into the Dakota language and culture for generations to come.
Hinman was widely respected by the Sioux. Hinman often received requests from other bands to come and do mission work. The chief of the Yanktons, named Dolurio, said to Hinman, “Koda, you are small in stature, but your name has grown so large, so that you seem to us like a pine tree of a ravine, tall and straight. You are a boy in years, but we know that your words reach the ears of the Great Father who sits in Washington…You have God’s work, and he gives you his strength.[22]”.
Hinman’s work amongst the Sioux people is invaluable, and his contribution to the Dakota Bible is priceless. Hinman translated the Book of Psalms[23], which was used in the Book of Common Prayer, as well as the Bible. The version of the Psalms in the Dakota Wowapi Wakan are slightly different than the version that appears in the Book of Common Prayer. This is perhaps due to Riggs’ influence, as he worked very hard to standardize the language.
The most notable differences are these: firstly, Hinman used the word “Itancan” where the English says “LORD”[24], while the Wowapi Wakan uses “Jehovah[25]”. Secondly, Hinman used the “x” for the sound equivalent to the English “sh”[26], where Riggs used the “ś” diacritical mark for this sound[27]. These are normal differences to have in translation when documenting a previously unwritten language.
Hinman’s prayer book also contains vast portions of the Gospels and Epistles. The prayer book avoids the strange translation issues which stem from the Wowapi Wakan, such as the word “deer” where the English says “sheep”[28]. Furthermore, Hinman’s prayer book contains sections from the Apocrypha, which does not appear in the Wowapi Wakan. Hinman’s translations of the scripture are beautiful, and very nearly perfectly accurate renditions of the English. The contributions of Hinman, the “boy in years[29]”, to the Dakota Bible, and to the preservation of the Dakota language, are immeasurable to the modern scholar.
Joseph Renville
The translation of the Bible in Dakota could not have occurred without the contributions of Joseph Renville. Renville was the son of a French trader father and a Dakota mother, and received instruction in French as a child[30]. Renville worked closely with the missionaries, especially Riggs and Williamson. Renville translated hymns into his native Dakota language, and translated the books of Mark and John from the French Bible into Dakota[31].
Renville’s aid was also invaluable to both Riggs and Williamson. Renville helped to translate large portions of the scripture from the French Bible into Dakota. Williamson would read the verse, Renville would translate it into Dakota, and Riggs would write down the words[32]. This tedious, though thorough, method was employed for much of the translation process. Joseph Renville worked with the other missionaries to preserve his native language through the translation of the Bible. Without Renville, it is doubtful that Riggs and Williamson could have completed the entire Bible in the Dakota language.
Samuel and Gideon Pond
The final people to be addressed in this narrative are the Brothers Pond. From the state of Connecticut, the brothers left a comfortable life in the East to travel to the west as missionaries[33]. Samuel Pond contributed heavily to what became Riggs’ immaculate dictionary[34], and so helped to preserve the Dakota language and its sister dialects, as well.
The Pond Brothers lived for years amongst the Dakotas, learning the language, and teaching what they could. The brothers also strove to provide a written form for the Dakota language. The missionary brothers found the language to be quite complex, and also struggled with finding an appropriate symbol for the English “sh” sound[35].
Samuel Pond and his brother Gideon were on the scene of missions to the Dakota far before Riggs came to the West. Samuel Pond instructed Riggs in the learning of the Dakotas, and together, the Ponds and Riggs formed a nearly perfect alphabetical system for use in the Dakota tongue[36]. Soon afterwards, the Biblical story of Joseph was translated by Samuel Pond, and printed in the Dakota language as one of the first books seen in that language in the 1800s[37].
The works of these first missionaries on the scene contributed to the whole of the mission. The Brothers Pond lived among the Dakotas, and shared in their joys and sorrows[38]. Without the Ponds’ work at the first, Riggs and the others would not have had the well of knowledge to draw upon that was so necessary to the completion of the Bible and the preservation of the Dakota language.
Samuel and Gideon Pond were well-beloved of the Dakotas, and even received Dakota names. Samuel was known as “Wanmdiduta” (the red eagle), and Gideon as “Matohota (grizzly bear)[39]. These first of the missionaries gave their knowledge freely, and helped to collect the words of the Dakotas and to translate the holy scriptures into the Dakota tongue.
The Crown Jewel: The Bible
In a beautiful act of teamwork, all the efforts of the missionaries combined in one work: the Dakota Wowapi Wakan. In this book, the expertise of Riggs and Renville, the spirit of the Ponds, and the love for the Dakota people possessed by Hinman and Williamson, comes together in one cohesive document. Although the translation was not completely accurate, with strange word substitutions like “deer” for “sheep”[40], the work was nevertheless a nearly perfect vessel to preserve the nearly-lost language of the Dakotas.
The intricacies and peculiarities of the language are perfectly intact, and ready for the avid linguist to study. The Dakota word for “hand” is “nape”, while “to trust” is “wowinape”. One can easily see that the Dakota word “to trust” is closely linked to “hand”, basically meaning “to put one’s hand in another’s”. Another subject of interest is the word “hunka”. To be “hunka” is to be adopted into a family. Further research shows that the word “hunka” also means “one of my mother” as well as “one of my bones”[41]. Such intricacies as this are perfectly preserved within the Dakota Bible, preserving both the language and the entwined culture of the Dakota people. The efforts of the combined missionaries made this valuable document possible, and prevented the Dakota language from being forever lost to history during the conflicts of the 1800s.
Conclusion
The 1800s on the Dakota Plains were not a pleasant time. Policies directed at the Dakotas forbade them to study in their own language and could potentially have wiped out the Dakota language, and indeed their way of life, entirely. However, the beautiful, rich, and complex Dakota language was preserved by the missionaries in the translation of the Holy Bible. Samuel and Gideon Pond began the work, collecting the Dakota words and translating the story of Joseph. Dr. Williamson and his family followed, teaching the Dakotas to read and write their own language, and working with Riggs and Renville to translate the scriptures. Riggs compiled the dictionary and had a unique understanding of the Dakota language. Joseph Renville aided the missionaries in translating the Bible from French into Dakota, while Hinman contributed the Book of Psalms. The work of all these missionaries combined into one great work, the Dakota Wowapi Wakan, the Holy Bible in Dakota. This comprehensive work showcases the intricacies of the Dakota language, and effectively preserves it for students of the language today. The efforts of these missionaries recorded the Dakota language nearly perfectly, keeping the language intact, and preventing it from being lost to history forever.
Works Cited:
Foster, George. Story of the Cherokee Bible: An Address. Ithaca, New York: Democrat Press, 1899.
Hinman, Samuel Dutton. Journal of the Rev. S.D. Hinman, Missionary to the Santee Sioux Indians, and Taopi by Bishop Whipple. Philadelphia: McCalla and Stavely, Printers, 1869.
Hinman, Samuel Dutton, et al. Okodakiciye Wocekiye Wowapi Kin (Dakota Book of Common Prayer). New York: New York Bible and Common Prayer Book Society, 1891.
Moffett, Thomas C. The Bible in the Life of the Indians of the United States. New York: American Bible Society, 1916.
Pond, Samuel W., Jr. Two Volunteer Missionaries Among the Dakotas. Minneapolis: Congregational Sunday-School and Publishing Society, 1893.
Riggs, Stephen Return. A Dakota-English Dictionary. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1992, 1890.
Riggs, Stephen Return, et al. Dakota Wowapi Wakan (The Dakota Holy Bible). New York: American Bible Society, 1880.
Riggs, Stephen Return. Tahkoo Wahkan; or, The Gospel Among the Dakotas. Boston: Cong. Sabbath-School and Publishing Society, 1869.
Williamson, John Poage. An English-Dakota Dictionary. New York: American Tract Society, 1902.
Williamson, John Poage. An English-Dakota School Dictionary. Yankton Agency: Iapi Oaye Press.
Williamson, John Poage, & Alfred Longely Riggs, eds. Dakota Odowan (Dakota Hymns). New York: American Tract Society, 1911.
[1] Pond. Two Volunteer Missionaries Among the Dakotas. Minneapolis: Congregational Sunday-School and Publishing Society, 1893, 220.
[2] Hinman. Journal of the Rev. S.D. Hinman, Missionary to the Santee Sioux Indians, and Taopi by Bishop Whipple. Philadelphia: McCalla and Stavely, Printers, 1869, viii.
[3] Foster. Story of the Cherokee Bible: An Address. Ithaca, New York: Democrat Press, 1899.
[4] Moffett. The Bible in the Life of the Indians of the United States. New York: American Bible Society, 1916, 14.
[5] Riggs. Tahkoo Wahkan; or, The Gospel Among the Dakotas. Boston: Cong. Sabbath-School and Publishing Society, 1869, 107-108.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Riggs. Tahkoo Wahkan. 342.
[8] Riggs, 343.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Williamson. An English-Dakota Dictionary. New York: American Tract Society, 1902.
[11] Williamson. An English-Dakota School Dictionary. Yankton Agency: Iapi Oaye Press.
[12] Moffatt, The Bible in the Lives of Indians, 14.
[13] Riggs. A Dakota-English Dictionary. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1992, 1890.
[14] Ibid, vi.
[15] Williamson, John, & Alfred Riggs, eds. Dakota Odowan (Dakota Hymns). New York: American Tract Society, 1911.
[16] Riggs. Tahkoo Wahkan, 7-14.
[17] Moffat, The Bible in the Lives of Indians, 13.
[18]. Hinman, Samuel Dutton. Journal of the Rev. S.D. Hinman, Missionary to the Santee Sioux Indians, and Taopi by Bishop Whipple. Philadelphia: McCalla and Stavely, Printers, 1869.
[19] Hinman, Journal, 4.
[20] Ibid.
[21] Hinman, Journal, 45-46.
[22] Hinman, Journal, 32.
[23] Pond. Two Volunteer Missionaries Among the Dakotas. Minneapolis: Congregational Sunday-School and Publishing Society, 1893
[24] Hinman, et al. Okodakiciye Wocekiye Wowapi Kin (Dakota Book of Common Prayer). New York: New York Bible and Common Prayer Book Society, 1891.
[25] Riggs, Stephen Return, et al. Dakota Wowapi Wakan (The Dakota Holy Bible). New York: American Bible Society, 1880.
[26] Hinman, et al. Okodakiciye Wocekiye Wowapi Kin.
[27] Riggs, et al. Dakota Wowapi Wakan.
[28] Ibid.
[29] Hinman, Journal, 32.
[30] Riggs, Tahkoo Wahkan, 154.
[31] Riggs, 160-161.
[32] Riggs, Tahkoo Wahkan, 163-164.
[33] Pond. Two Volunteer Missionaries Among the Dakotas, 14.
[34] Pond. 217.
[35] Pond. 50-51.
[36] Pond. Two Volunteer Missionaries. 112.
[37] Ibid.
[38] Riggs. Tahkoo Wahkan, 120-121.
[39] Pond. 56.
[40] Rigs, et al. Dakota Wowapi Wakan.
[41] Riggs. Dakota-Englsh Dictionary.
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