Religious Control

The Quinault were a religious people, like most Native American tribes. They had many customs unique to their culture, and when European settlers began visiting their land, complications arose. The new Americans had their own religion, culture, and ideology. Just like many tribes before them, the Quinault were subjected to criticism from the Whites, who wanted them to embrace their Christian culture. In the fourth chapter of Land of the Quinault, Jacqueline Storm writes about the relationship between the Quinault people and the U.S. government in the 1870’s. She says, “The United States government believed that the most effective way of securing Indian adaptation to the white culture was through religious conversion” (104). The U.S didn’t appreciate there being communities in ‘their’ country that did not agree with their way of thinking, and so they set out to change them. One way they did this to the Quinault was with schools. In their culture, Quinault children were given ample education that provided intellectual stimulation as well as knowledge of survival skills, natural history, spiritualism, medicine, and other practical subjects. However, when the Whites decided to supervise their education, “children were forced into… boarding school[s]… their language left at the door, their culture disparaged, their hair cut, shoes forced on their bare feet, western garments substituted for tribal clothing, and contact with older tribal members discouraged, most often banned” (Storm 127). The white folk maintained a strict education system, teaching the Indian children that their culture was both barbaric and evil, and must therefore be destroyed. As a method of spiritual genocide, this certainly worked; young Quinault grew up with Christian ideologies and shunned their old culture. In later years, treaties between Indian tribes and the U.S. were prohibited and communication was challenging. Much of the Quinault culture began to be torn away as the Americans closed in and took over the land.

Today, many of the traditional religious ceremonies and rituals are practiced on the Quinault reservation. After 1922, the Quinault Nation became a “sovereign nation with the inherent right to govern itself…” (Sampson). They are now free to practice their own religion and culture. Religious freedom is very important to the Quinault nation.

Daniels, Gene. “Quinault Indian Nation.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 5 Feb. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinault_Indian_Nation.

“Quinault Indian Nation Cape Elizabeth.” Quinault Division of Natural Resources, qlandandwater.org/culture/consultations/quinault-indian-nation-cape-elizabeth/.

Sampson, Lisa. “People of the Quinault.” Quinault Indian Nation, 2003, http://www.quinaultindiannation.com/index.htm.

Storm, Jacqueline M., et al. Land of the Quinault. Edited by Pauline K. Capoeman, Second ed., Quinault Indian Nation, 1991.