Description
The Orders of the Dreamed: George Nelson on Cree and Northern Ojibwa Religions and Myth, 1832 examines the works of fur trader George Nelson stationed at Lac la Ronge with the Hudson's Bay company during the 1820s. From Nelson's letter-journal, addressed to his father, he related his observations of Cree and Northern Ojibwa spiritually and traditional accounts. This document is reproduced here for the first time. The introduction by scholars Jennifer Brown and Robert Brightman describes Nelson’s career in the fur trade and explains the influences affecting his perception and understanding of Indigenous spirituality. They also provide a comparative summary of Subarctic Algonquian beliefs. Stan Cuthand, a Cree Anglican minister, author, and language instructor, who lived in Lac la Ronge in the 1940s, adds a commentary relating Nelson’s writing to his own knowledge of Cree spirituality in Saskatchewan. Emma LaRoque, an author and instructor in Native Studies, presents an Aboriginal scholar’s perspective on the ethics of publishing historical documents.