`Black Robe" tells the story of the first contacts between the Huron Indians of Quebec and the Jesuit missionaries from France who came to convert them to Catholicism, and ended up delivering them into the hands of their enemies. Those first brave Jesuit priests did not realize, in the mid-17th century, that they were pawns of colonialism, of course; they were driven by a burning faith and an absolute conviction that they were doing the right thing. Only much later was it apparent that the European settlement of North America led to the destruction of the original inhabitants, not their salvation.
The film, a bleak and dour affair that seems filmed mostly under gray, glowering skies, stars Lothaire Bluteau in the central role of young Father Laforgue. Bluteau's name may not ring a bell, but if you saw "Jesus of Montreal" you will recognize him immediately as the young actor who played the title role, gaunt and intense. In this film, he undertakes a long and arduous journey in winter, guided by the Algonquins, threatened by the Iroquois. It is a torturous experience, and "Black Robe" visualizes it in one of the most realistic depictions of Indian life I have seen.
The architectural details of the Indian dwellings, their methods of hunting and food procurement, the way they used absolute cooperation and trust of each other as a weapon against the deadly climate - these are all made clear in the movie. It also becomes clear that the Indians had their own religious and belief systems already in place, and that none of them had much use for Jesus and the other gifts of Christianity. The most pathetic character in the movie is a "converted" Indian, whose crucifix around his neck represents not a leap of faith, but an accommodation of convenience with those who could give him what he wanted.
The first contacts between North American Indians and Europeans were probably a great deal more like those depicted in "Black Robe" than like the stirring adventures in "Dances with Wolves." Both sides were no doubt motivated much more by matters of religious belief and personal destiny than by a desire to get to know one another.
One of the achievements of "Black Robe," which is based on research and a novel by Brian Moore, is that it re-creates a time when Christians were dogmatic and unswervingly convinced of their rightness; today, when we talk of the "fanaticism" of religions like Islam, we forget that the modern religions of the West, so diluted by psychobabble, were once fierce and righteous enough to send men halfway around the world seeking martyrdom.
It is common knowledge that the Europeans came to the Americas and that Native Americans did not seek out exploration in Europe, making the term “encounter” inaccurate. (Axtell, 98). Native Americans did eventually travel overseas to Europe, but in the beginning, as slaves, followed by Native Americans going to learn the language and culture, (Axtell 103), and finally few went to plea with the courts when conditions grew dangerous in the 1700’s.(Axtell, Native Americans were merely a variable element in a changing world that would have to adapt to
In a growing body of literature that is working to decolonize history and reframe it to include the Aboriginal perspective and experience, The Míkmaw Concordat (1997), provides an important insight into an aspect of Mi’kmaq history not widely discussed. While the negative effects of European religion on Aboriginal cultures is widely discussed and documented, this text reconstructs a unique relationship formed between the Mi’kmaq of Atlantic Canada and Catholicism in the early seventeenth century. In 1610 a Concordat alliance was cemented between Mikmáki and the Holy See, and alliance based on mutual benefit and sovereignty.
Over the course of the film, clips of many western movies play which show parts of Native Americans
Another source, Catherine Albanese American Indians’ Nature Religion focuses on harmony in Native Culture. Natives felt that “the world was a holy place; and so harmony with nature beings and natural forms was the controlling ethic… Ritual functioned to restore a lost harmony, like a great balancing act bringing the people back to right relation with the world” (Albanese 10). Similar to Richter’s observations, Albanese is aligned with The Black Robe quite well. The art of adoption-torture is one of balance and harmony within the
Across Canada and the United States there are many First Nations languages which are a part of the Algonquian language family, all of which with varying states of health. Although these languages share many characteristics of the Algonquian language family, the cultures, systems of beliefs, and geographic location of their respective Nations differentiate them. In being shaped by the landscape, cultures, and spirituality of the First Nations, the language brings the speakers closer to their land and traditions while reaffirming their identity as First Peoples. Using the Blackfoot Nation to further explore this concept, this paper will show that while language threads together First Nations culture, spirituality, traditions and land, as well as their identity, each of these essential components also maintain and revitalize the language.
The movie revolves around a 1632 French missionary, Father LaForgue (Lothaire Bluteau) or Black Robe as the Indians referred to him. He traveled to North America to attempt to “save the savages on the new land”. His mission leads him to a Canadian settlement and an Algonquin tribe. There he is first introduced into the Indian religion, culture, and practices. This is also where his first major shock occurs, when he encounters a Frenchman, Daniel (Aden Young), having sex with the Algonquin chief's daughter, Annuka(Sandrine Holt). Shortly after, Father LaForgue decides to accompany a small group of Algonquin Indians on a...
Livingstone, David. Black Terror White Soldiers: Islam, Fascism and the New Age. Place of Publication Not Identified: Sabilillah Publications, 2013. Print.
In George E. Tinker’s book, American Indian Liberation: A Theology of Sovereignty, the atrocities endured by many of the first peoples, Native American tribes, come into full view. Tinker argues that the colonization of these groups had and continues to have lasting effects on their culture and thus their theology. There is a delicate balance to their culture and their spiritual selves within their tightly knit communities prior to contact from the first European explorers. In fact, their culture and spiritual aspects are so intertwined that it is conceptually impossible to separate the two, as so many Euro-American analysts attempted. Tinker points to the differences between the European and the Native American cultures and mind sets as ultimately
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic order that is still doing good work today around the world. During the age of encounters—especially during the colonization of the Americas—the Society of Jesus, also known as Jesuits, played an important role in documenting Native Americans, converting them and helping them adapt to their newly changing environment. The practice of first establishing respect, then influence, and eventually working for religious conversion proved effective at converting Native Americans in North America. Their extensive ethnographic documentation as well as everyday letters to one another have proved useful to scholars trying to understand early Native American and French encounters in North America.
Religion is a part of society that is so closely bound to the rest of one’s life it becomes hard to distinguish what part of religion is actually being portrayed through themselves, or what is being portrayed through their culture and the rest of their society. In Holy Terrors, Bruce Lincoln states that religion is used as a justifiable mean of supporting violence and war throughout time (Lincoln 2). This becomes truly visible in times such as the practice of Jihad, the Reformation, and 9/11. The purpose of this essay is to show that as long as religion is bound to a political and cultural aspect of a community, religious war and destruction will always occur throughout the world. A historical methodology will be deployed in order to gain
When Columbus and Hariot first came into contact with these natives, they seemed different (even strange) at times because they lived almost completely naked. For a long period of time, the Native Americans lives had to change as they adapted too many different environments. As a matter of fact, the American Indians were very creative. They were able to found ways on to how to live in deserts, forests, along the oceans, and on grassy prairies. The Natives people were great hunters and productive farmers, for they built towns and traded over large distances with other tribes. The Native Americans also believed they were one with nature, and that the gods of land and water controlled what they got if they didn’t sacrifice and worship them. The Europeans however, viewed the natives to be a region inhabited by salvages, who did not how to live. They believed the natives had no laws, no religion, no property (for they all shared it), no kingdom or king because they have no system of government. All these two explorers saw was new land, with plants, and animals to be discovered. As well as, new people with fascinating lifeways that Europeans have never seen before, that would soon be conquered and governor to help personal ambitions, like the Spanish monarchs who also wanted to strengthen their legal claim on the New World, in case the Portugal’s decided to send ships across the Atlantic and eventually become a
This book is considered an American Classic due to its longevity in popular literature. It also provides the important historical background on the Catholic Church and its impact on the American Southwest. Willa emphasizes, through her writings, the hardships of the people involved in making this part of America what it is today. It points out the influence of the earliest Spanish missionaries of the 16th century through the latter part of the 19th century involving French missionaries and exposes the corruptness as well as the dedication of the missionaries of the church. The book’s main setting is in the 19th century, during the settlement of New Mexico and Colorado and recalls the journeys that a priest undertook and the hardships overcame in order to meet his and the churches goal of bringing the Catholic faith to Mexicans and native Indians. Through his travels and the spiritual work in the beautiful, yet rough environment he was radically transformed. He was especially influenced by the experiences of the westward movement of the agricultural frontier because of the impact of the native people.
Nelson, Jack. Is religion killing us?violence in the Bible and the Quran / Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer.. 2003 Print.
According to Nicholson, encounters between explorers, such as Christopher Columbus and Henry Hudson, and Native Americans were always friendly. There was no “expression of hostility based on physical appearance” (Nicholson 15) between the two
The first Catholic priests came to South America with the conquistadors and through social and political force superimposed 16th century Catholicism upon conquered peoples and in subsequent generations upon slaves arriving in the New World. Catholicism has, likewise, frequently absorbed, rather than confronted, popular folk religious beliefs. The resulting religion is often overtly Catholic but covertly pagan. Behind the Catholic facade, the foundations and building structure reflect varying folk religious traditions. (2)