21902

11

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Dissertation

English

Boxer, Elise

"To Become White and Delightsome" : American Indians and Mormon Identity

Tempe, AZ

Arizona State University

2009

94

Ph.D. diss.

"This dissertation examines the construction of race in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the manner in which race and identity has been defined, constructed and maintained within the LDS church with a focus on Indigenous and Euroamerican members. The LDS church actively created and maintained a distinct Indigenous identity based on religious ideologies gathered primarily from The Book of Mormon: Another testament of Jesus Christ . Mormons believed The Book of Mormon to be a historical record of Indigenous peoples throughout the Americas, expanding to eventually include Pacific Islanders. Based on these beliefs, Mormons believed Indigenous peoples to be "Lamanites." The term "Lamanites" became a racialized and religious identity. Ultimately, this "Lamanite" identity created a unique racialized space that simultaneously subjugated and venerated Indigenous peoples in the LDS church. Mormon Euroamericans wielded their power to define the racialized "Other" or "Lamanites" and further colonized Indigenous people. The LDS church had three major phases of Mormon Euroamerican colonization. First, Mormon manifest destiny, second, missions to and among Indigenous communities, and finally, formal programs like the Indian Student Placement Program. These three phases helped define and give meaning to the LDS church's colonization of Indigenous peoples beyond the nineteenth century. Racial formations and the power to define and give meaning to race served as the driving force behind all three phases. This work draws upon oral interviews and archival research and challenges the dominant Mormon Euroamerican narrative that silences Indigenous voices and experiences. Archival sources include those produced by the LDS church, especially those published and disseminated among its membership. Textual analysis of these sources reveals Mormon Euroamerican's attitudes towards Indigenous people as "Lamanites." Combining both oral interviews and archival research, one can gain a better understanding of how Indigenous people were racialized within the LDS church and negotiated their identity as Mormon Native members. This dissertation furthers an understanding regarding the interconnectedness between race, religion and identity in the United States by examining racial formations within the LDS church." [Author's abstract]

Native Americans, Indian Student Placement Program
Native Americans, missions to
Race relations
Native Americans, origins of
Native Americans, Mormon views of

Captivity, Adoption, Marriage and Identity : Native American Children in Mormon Homes, 1847-1900
Entangled Histories : The Mormon Church and Indigenous Child Removal from 1850 to 2000
Essays on American Indian and Mormon History
Grafting Indians and Mormons Together on Great Plains Reservations : A History of the LDS Northern Indian Mission, 1964–1973
Indian Placement Program Host Families : A Mission to the Lamanites
Indigenizing Mormonisms
Making Lamanites : Mormons, Native Americans, and the Indian Student Placement Program, 1947-2000
Miss Indian BYU Contestation over the Crown and Indian Identity
Race and Gender in Mormonism: 1830-1978
The Routledge Handbook of Mormonism and Gender
Women and Mormonism : Historical and Contemporary Perspectives