Battle for the soul
Subtitle: Métis children encounter evangelical Protestants at Mackinaw Mission, 1823-1837
By: Keith R. Widder.
Publisher: Michigan State University Press
Published: 1999
Place of publication: East Lansing
Language: eng
Number of pages: 254
Subjects: Mackinaw Mission -- History.; Métis -- Missions -- Michigan -- Mackinac Island (Island); Métis -- Cultural assimilation -- Michigan -- Mackinac Island (Island); Evangelicalism -- Michigan -- Mackinac Island (Island); Ojibwa Indians -- Missions.
Description: In 1823 William and Amanda Ferry opened a boarding school for Metis children on Mackinac Island, Michigan Territory, setting in motion an intense spiritual battle to win the souls and change the lives of the children, their parents, and all others living at Mackinac. Battle for the Soul demonstrates how a group of enthusiastic missionaries, empowered by an uncompromising religious motivation, served as agents of Americanization.

The Ferry's high hopes crumbled, however, as they watched their work bring about a revival of Catholicism and their students refuse to abandon the fur trade as a way of life. The story of the Mackinaw Mission is that of people who held different world views negotiating to create a "middle-ground" society with room for all.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 221-241) and index.