1st Bible printed in New World
The Algonquian Bible
An important part of Eliot's ministry focused on the conversion of
Massachusett Indians. Accordingly, Eliot translated the
Bible into the Algonquin
language and published it in 1663 as
Mamusse Wunneetupanatamwe Up-Biblum God.
[6] In 1666, he published "The Indian Grammar Begun", again concerning the Massachusett language. As a missionary, Eliot strove to consolidate Native Americans in planned towns, thereby encouraging them to recreate a Christian society. At one point, there were 14 towns of so-called "
Praying Indians", the best documented being at
Natick, Massachusetts. Other praying Indian towns included:
Littleton (Nashoba),
Lowell (Wamesit, initially incorporated as part of
Chelmsford),
Grafton (Hassanamessit),
Marlborough (Okommakamesit), a portion of
Hopkinton that is now in the Town of Ashland (Makunkokoag),
Canton (Punkapoag), and
Mendon-Uxbridge (Wacentug). In 1662, Eliot witnessed the signing of the deed for
Mendon with
Nipmuck Indians for "Squinshepauk Plantation". Eliot's better intentions can be seen in his involvement in the legal case, The Town of Dedham v. The Indians of Natick, which concerned a boundary dispute. Besides answering Dedham's complaint point by point, Eliot stated that the colony's purpose was to benefit the native people.
[7] Praying Indian towns were also established by other missionaries, including the Presbyterian
Samson Occom, himself of
Mohegan dissent. All praying Indian towns suffered disruption during
King Philip's War (1675), and for the most part lost their special status as Indian self-governing communities in the course of the 18th and 19th centuries, in some cases being paid to move to
Wisconsin and other areas further West.
[8]
