This is not intended to be an arbitrary outline for work among all North American Indian tribes, for among the Indians of Oklahoma and some Central and Eastern States, where they have had from 150 to 300 years' contact with the white man and Protestant missionaries, the method of approach may be quite different from that among our more recently contacted Southwestern tribes.
When we first settled among the Navahos in the spring of 1916, I found my nurses' training a great help in gaining admittance to the hogans (homes) of this great tribe. But as the Government extended its medical work, building new hospitals and placing more doctors, dentists, optometrists, and nurses in the field, we found less and less need for our own medical work, and so have increasingly turned our efforts to the more strictly spiritual side of our program. This does not mean that we have neglected the health part of the great threefold message, but this has been carried on more along the lines of instruction in right living. And as a result 'of this method we have received more hearty cooperation from Government forces in the field.
We have found some in newly entered communities to be rather suspicious. Our experience has been that a thorough program of literature distribution gives opportunity to become acquainted and break down prejudice. This method could not be followed in the early days of our work among the Navahos because of the high percentage of illiteracy among them at that time—only five per cent could speak English, and fewer could read. Wherever possible, we encourage white or Indian lay members to assist in the literature distribution.
Through the Government schools the younger generation of Indians have been trained in loyalty to the particular religion which was taught them in such schools. The result is that we often find even our own Indian members reluctant to attempt to win those in other religious groups, notwithstanding the fact that such may be open transgressors of every Christian and moral standard. And of course the "heathen" are usually allotted, by interdenominational arrangement, to organizations operating in the field. We must meet this situation with much tact and Christian forbearance, else we may incur to ourselves the title "proselyter" in an odious sense. Not until they thoroughly learn that we are commissioned by God Himself to carry the last warning message of Revelation 14 to "every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people" in a lost world, can these people realize their individual responsibility to the other members of their tribe.
The Indian reservations upon which most of the tribes are located are in some respects little nations or kingdoms within a nation. The Indians have had authority to keep undesired religious instructors out of their reservations, and missionaries of some of the denominations have sometimes taken advantage of this situation by using their influence with the Indians to keep out other denominations. It has been reported that the Catholics influenced the Navahos to keep the Presbyterians out of at least one strategic section of their great reservation for fifty years before they were finally able to gain a foothold there. I mention this condition to help our readers better understand the importance of gaining the friendship of several Indian families before attempting to establish a strong work among them. Thus far, minority groups have been protected by the central Government at Washington, when the Indians have had the courage to express their wishes.
Among nomadic Navahos we found we could give Bible studies to advantage in their hogans from the first visit onward. But many of the other Southwestern tribes have been taught to go to a meetinghouse for religious instruction; therefore, we find it possible and advantageous to build an arbor, or an inexpensive tabernacle, or if a tent is available, to use a tent, in which to hold public meetings. The arbor is preferred in southern Arizona because of its greater protection from the hot summer sun.
If the worker will throw himself unreservedly into the effort, putting spiritual interest and life into every sermon, and visiting from home to home daily, the interest and attendance will be good from the first. But we must not forget that the Indian is a keen reader of men, and he will not be slow to detect whether or not the worker is sincerely interested in the spiritual welfare of the tribe.
The worker should be neat and dignified, but never "snobbish." Missionaries of other organizations rarely shake hands with an Indian without gloves. This, of course, loses their respect. I never hesitate to shake hands with any who appreciate such courtesy. I have treated the worst possible cases of trachoma, and many other infectious diseases, over a period of many years, but have never contracted their diseases. The sensibly trained missionary knows how to meet and treat the most needy without fear of infection. After all, sin is the worst of all diseases, and every missionary, among Indians as among other peoples, will need to keep himself pure and undefiled always, ever above suspicion, and he will be respected even though his teachings may be doubted by some. To summarize:
1. First, win the confidence and friendship of several influential families by medical work, where Government agencies are not available; by literature distribution, by visiting from home to home, and by helping the needy.
2. Never attempt to hide your denominational identity. Most Indians despise evasion of facts in a missionary. And the opposition of white missionaries seems less reasonable to the Indian if we have shown our true colors from the very beginning.
3. After confidence and friendship have been won, some Indians will invite the worker (if properly approached) to hold meetings among them. (We should never start an effort on a reservation without first receiving an invitation from friendly Indians to do so.)
4. Hold on. Don't give up ! Just keep hammering away, even when others may decide that your audience is stoical, unresponsive, and uninterested, and that there is no hope of results. "Continual dropping wears away a stone," and steady effort, combined with much prayer, faith, and patience, will break down the barriers.
5. Never hesitate to preach the message in its entirety. Opposing agents will anticipate some of the subjects you plan to present. As soon as such opposition is reported, explain the points clearly, giving reasons for the truths we teach. Points held back or explanations promised at a future time, are evasions in the minds of the uninformed. Better make a brief explanation immediately. The Indian gains confidence by such methods, and will stand with you.
6. Never unduly press an Indian on any point. Teach him. Lead him. Show him that the God of heaven grants us the wonderful privilege of following in the footsteps of His own dear Son Jesus in all that we teach. No Indian is legally obliged to submit to our teaching. The God of heaven grants every man, including the Indian, the privilege of accepting life or death. The choice is entirely up to the individual. But we can still proclaim the Lord's message to the sons of men: "I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live." Eze. 18:32.
7. Indians generally, where not influenced by white opposers, have not been prejudiced against the Sabbath. When they learn from the Bible itself that the Sabbath was given in Eden, has been sacred to God's true people through the ages, and will still be exalted in the earth made new, they are usually quick to see and believe in its divine requirements and perpetuity, even though in some cases they may be rather slow to fully obey the commandment. But the nature of man and the state of the dead are generally more cautiously received. Make every point clear as crystal, and in the end, truth will win.
