Henry Rowe Schoolcraft Collection: A Catalogue of Books in Native American Languages in the Library of the Boston Athenaeum

This catalogue reassembles the collection of Biblical and educational books published in Native American languages that was donated to the Boston Athenaeum in February 1871 by Mary Howard Schoolcraft, widow of the noted ethnographer Henry Rowe Schoolcraft. The catalogue also includes other Athenaeum holdings in various Native American dialects or tongues that augment the Schoolcraft donation. These books are representative of the types of materials published by organizations committed to the conversion of Native Americans to the white man's religions and way of life. In his role as an Indian agent for the federal government, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft was both a witness and a player in the tremendous social upheaval that Native Americans were experiencing. His collection of books is an important body of evidence for those who would like to understand some of the pressures applied by the dominant culture to the indigenous people of North America.