John Slocum

John Slocum (Squ-sacht-un) (1838 – 11 November 1897) was a member of the Squaxin Island Tribe, Coast Salish, and a reputed holy man and prophet who founded the Indian Shaker Church in 1881.[1][2]

Early life

Born in Mason County, Washington in 1838, Slocum was introduced to Christianity by missionaries working in Washington's Puget Sound region. As a young man he had lived on the Skokomish Indian Reservation, where he attended a Presbyterian church and also became familiar with the Roman Catholic faith after being baptized by a Catholic priest.[1][3] He worked as a cutter and hauler for a lumber company, and eventually became a foreman, owning his own logging company with a 14-man crew. In order to facilitate the transport of timber, Slocum's crew constructed several corduroy roads on the reservation.[1] Slocum, like many other loggers, drank and gambled with his friends in the evenings. Because alcoholic beverages were illegal on the reservation, Slocum drank Jamaica Ginger, an extract with a high alcohol content that was sold as a health tonic.[1]

First vision
John Slocum's first Indian Shaker Church at Mud Bay, Eld Inlet, Washington State, circa 1892.

In 1881 he became ill and allegedly fell into a coma.[4] His family believed that he was dead, however Slocum revived after a few hours and said that he had had a vision in which he was transported to the gates of heaven.[5] There he met an angel who told him that because he had led an immoral life, he would not be permitted to enter.[6] The angel gave Slocum the choice of going to Hell or returning to earth to instruct his people in a new religion.[1][5] He was told how to bring Native American peoples to salvation. This experience was similar to that described by other 19th-century Native American prophets, including Neolin, Handsome Lake, Yonaguska, Tenskwatawa, Tavibo[7] and his son Wovoka, and Smohalla, all of whom had prophetic visions. In 1886, Slocum began preaching a message he designated "Tschadam."[8] Slocum said God had informed him that that Native Americans would be saved if they gave up harmful behaviors such as drinking, smoking tobacco, and gambling. He also warned against shamanistic healers and their rituals.[2] Slocum believed that he had been granted a limited time on earth, during which he felt compelled to construct a church and guide his people towards salvation.[1][5]

Second vision and origins of the Indian Shaker Church

Slocum continued to operate his logging crew, and eventually he started drinking again.[1] About a year later, Slocum once again became ill.[9] While his wife, Mary Thompson Slocum, cared for him, she started shaking uncontrollably in his presence.[10] When he recovered, he interpreted her shaking as a spiritual manifestation which saved him from death. Slocum incorporated shaking or twitching into the religion as a way to brush off sin, sickness, or bad feelings. This practice led non-natives to call the Church the "Indian Shaker Religion."[11] Slocum and some of his followers were imprisoned regularly for their opposition to government-mandated acculturation programs for Pacific Coast peoples. Persecutions ended after the church was incorporated in Oregon (1907), Washington (1910), and California (1932), and in the late 20th century more than 20 congregations united, with some 3,000 adherents.[12]

Death and legacy

Slocum died in Oakland, Washington in 1897 and is buried in Shelton, Washington.[13] He was succeeded as church leader by Louis "Mud Bay Louie" Yowaluch (d. 1906),[14] his friend and former employee in the timber-cutting trade.[15] Louis was in turn succeeded by his brother “Mud Bay Sam” Yowaluch (1846–1911),[16] another friend of Slocum.[1]

The Indian Shaker Religion is still practiced and combines many traditional native beliefs and customs with Christian beliefs about God, heaven and hell. The church specializes in the spiritual treatment of drug and alcohol dependence.[17][18]

See also

References
  1. Ruby, Robert H. and John Arthur Brown. John Slocum and the Indian Shaker Church. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1996, p. 3. ISBN 0-8061-2865-8
  2. Bonvillain, Nancy. Native Nations: Cultures and Histories of Native North America. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2016; p. 438. ISBN 9781442251465
  3. Barnett, H. G. Indian Shakers: A Messianic Cult of the Pacific Northwest, Carbondale, Ill.: Southern Illinois University, 1957
  4. Lewis H. St. John, "The Present Status and Probable Future of the Indians of Puget Sound," Washington Historical Quarterly, 1914, Vol. 5, No. 1, p. 12-21
  5. Charles D. Rakestraw, "The Shaker Indians of Puget Sound," The Southern Workman and Hampton School Record, Vol XXIX, No. 1, January 1900. Hampton Institute Press, 1900, pp. 703–709
  6. Fredson, Jean T. "Religion of the Shakers." In H. Deegan (Ed.), History of Mason County Washington, Shelton, WA, 1960
  7. "Tavibo," Encyclopedia.com
  8. Carl Waldman, Molly Braun, Atlas of the North American Indian, Facts on File library of American history, Infobase Publishing, 2009; p. 230. ISBN 1438126719
  9. George P. Castille, "The "Half-Catholic" movement: Edwin and Myron Eells and the rise of the Indian Shaker Church," Pacific Northwest Quarterly, 1982, Vol. 73, No. 4, pp. 165–174
  10. Lee Sackett, "The Siletz Indian Shaker Church," Pacific Northwest Quarterly, 1973, Vol. 64, No. 3, p. 120-126; University of Washington, 1973
  11. David Wilma, "Native Americans organize the Indian Shaker Church in 1892," HistoryLink.org, 9/04/2000
  12. Matt Stefon, "Indian Shaker Church, American religious sect," Encyclopaedia Britannica
  13. Rev John Slocum (1838-1897)
  14. Louis "Mud Bay Louie" Yowaluch (d. 6 Sep 1906)
  15. Ruth Kirk, Carmela Alexander, Exploring Washington's Past: A Road Guide to History, University of Washington Press, 1995 ISBN 0295974435
  16. “Mud Bay Sam” Yowaluch (1846 – 7 Aug 1911)
  17. A. Logan Slagle and Joan Weibel-Orlando, "The Indian Shaker Church and Alcoholics Anonymous: Revitalistic Curing Cults," Human Organization, Vol. 45, No. 4 (Winter 1986), pp. 310–319
  18. Wawmeesh G. Hamilton and Gen Cruz, "Unshaken faith: Keeping the Shaker Church alive, elder struggles to pass the Shaker faith on to shrinking congregation," Reporting in Indigenous Communities, 2015
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