American Swedish Historical Museum

Title: Martin Luther’s Small Catechism Translated into Algonquin Indian

Year: 1696

Material: Paper/Leather

Creator: Johannes Campanius

Collection: American Swedish Historical Museum Rare Books Library

This object is a book of Catechisms translated for the Algonquin Indians of the Delaware River Valley. Catechisms give a brief summary of the basic principles of Christianity in question-and-answer form. The author of this translated book was a Swedish missionary who served the colony of New Sweden. This object was used to spread Christianity in the new world.

This book is important to several people. This book is important to people studying colonial, European, and Native American history. This book is also important to religious studies as well as linguistic studies. It is also important to the remaining tribes of the Delaware River Valley. Most tribes are trying to revive their native language. Having this book could be helpful. Also this book is important because it shows what some of the motives of the New Sweden Colony were. This object may not be interesting or important to people who aren’t interested in history or religion. The topic of New Sweden adds a challenge to this object. It seems that most people don’t know this colony even existed, therefore it seems that this may be the reason some people wouldn’t be interested in the book.

This book is part of the New Sweden Colony exhibit. The book contributes to the larger story of colonization in the Delaware River Valley by the Swedish. This object is displayed to show that the Swedish colony interacted with the local native population. It is also on display to show that the Swedish were one of the first colonies to try to spread Protestantism. The book is displayed next to other books, maps, and documents that reveal the impact the colony had on the area.  The label text for this object is interesting. The label is located next to all of the other labels for the objects on the wall. The text is written in the museum’s point of view, however the text is very simple and direct. It simply states what the object is, who made it, and why it is important to the legacy of the colony of New Sweden.

An opposing point of view about this object could paint a negative picture. The exhibit and the label as it is written now show this object as a positive legacy of the colony. The Native American perspective may see this object as a negative thing that intruded on their culture. Non-Swedish Americans and Americans without Swedish ancestry might also have an opposing viewpoint about this object.

Fields of study for this object include American history, European history, Swedish history, Native American history, book arts, linguistics, and anthropology. Another resource might be rare book collectors.

To further engage people with this object I think it would a good idea to do a weekly page turning. The book is currently opened to the title page. I think it would be interesting to see the inside pages of the book and possible show a small translation of the book. I would also like to do a program that would teach people about the relationship between the Algonquin and the Swedish. This program would highlight both cultures and show how they interacted when the colony was founded. I think it would also be interesting to do a program that teaches Swedish and Algonquin word or phrases to show how different the languages are and how thing could get lost in the translation of the book. 

 

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