Native American Bibles

Chippewa Bible Summaries. Kishemanito muzinaigun tezhiuindumiin, Josip Tuzhimint, auesiug pineshiug gaie tuzhimintuag. Or, Old Testament Bible Stories, Story of Joseph, and Natural History.
Boston: Printed for the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, by Crocker & Brewster, 1835. (BRB0903)

American Bibles in the Harrison Collection include a select gathering of biblical texts in North American indigenous languages. These Native American Bibles, printed for missionary work with tribes located in various regions throughout the United States, were published between the seventeenth and twentieth centuries. Mr. Harrison was particularly interested in acquiring translations of the Bible into Cherokee, a language spoken in Oklahoma. Of the fourteen Native North American language biblical texts he collected, six were printed in Cherokee. These volumes reflect not only his interest in the history of his home state, but likely as well the availability of these printings in or near Pryor, Oklahoma. Additionally, the exhibit displays biblical texts for other Native American groups, such as the Choctaw and the Creek, forcibly removed in the 1830s to the Indian Territory in what is now Oklahoma.