1877, Klamath, OR: Declining to make use of widely spoken Chinuk Wawa
From another US government “Annual Report of the Department of the Interior“, we have this account of missionaries in charge of the Klamath Indian Reservation declining to take advantage of the people’s familiarity with “the Chenook Jargon”.
Image credit: Klamath Tribes News
Only English would do, it was thought, in this faith-based initiative:
(pages 567-568:)
RELIGIOUS INTERESTS — LANGUAGE. This agency is under the supervision of the Methodist Episcopal Church. We maintain & Christian service for instruction and worship every Sabbath morning. The evening is devoted to study of the Scriptures and Sunday school work. More or less of the natives are participants in all these services. Those who have attended the week-day school have a
568
better chance of understanding the spirit of the services. Some adults are acquiring English words and phrases. Many, both males and females, talk fluently the Chenook jargon; but it is thought best to ignore this entirely in our religious services; so an interpreter is employed who expounds in Klamath the instructions designed especially for their enlightenment. We find a few among them who really seem to have some of the leaven of truth in their minds; but the majority who have ever made the profession of hto be Christians have easily been turned aside again to their own ways. In fact, their hearts may well be compared to the stony ground which held the seeds so lightly that the birds of the air easily plucked them up. Still, the efforts of the past are visible. There is a degree of respect for the Sabbath, and other indications of prayerful Christian effort among them.
I imagine there are some who are glad these invaders missed the chance of using Chinook Jargon to their own advantage…
