Ojibwe Singers Hymns, Grief, and a Native Culture in Motion [Hardcover]

The Ojibwe or Anishinaabe are a native American people of the northern Great Lakes region. 19th-century missionaries promoted the singing of evangelical hymns translated into the Ojibwe language as a tool for rooting out their indianness, but the Ojibwe have ritualized the singing to make the hymns their own. In this book, McNally relates the history and current practice of Ojibwe hymn singing to explore the broader cultural processes that place ritual resources at the center of so many native struggles to negotiate the confines of colonialism.

[A] deeply researched, intelligent, and clear-eyed explication of an important facet of Indian history and contemporary life. --The Journal of American History

Ojibwe Singersis a fine book, both empirically grounded and theoretically sophisticated. It has considerable promise for guiding scholars as they look increasingly at the varieties of native Christianity in North America. --Church History

Contains both scholarly rigor and passionate empathy. McNally's analysis of native texts and his unique fieldwork afford solid contributions that will extend the edges of developing scholarship. --Anglican and Episcopal History