Wyandotte Women and the Shadows of Slavery
Many were forced to relocate with policies like the Indian Removal Act. The Wyandotte nation was moved from Ohio to Kansas. Being in Kansas, Missouri meant they were closer to the south, which was full of slaves. In “Wyandotte Women describes tensions over slavery” (1849), Lucy B. Armstrong, who is writing this letter, claims that the Methodist Epistopal Church had split between north and south, the south was now forming their own church and changing the name since they were in support of slavery. She stated that most of the Wyandotte nation was not okay with their support of the slavery occurring in the south. Because many were against the southern church, the southern church wanted to take down the missionary from the northern church. The Wyandotte fought to have their own church and not be forced into submission of the southern pro-slavery church. Although they weren’t in support of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, Armstrong clearly stated that they were not abolitionists. They simply did not want to be involved with slavery when they were not in a southern state.
Armstrong was against bringing slaves onto the Wyandotte territory. The Wyandotte nation was pushed out of their homeland and they tried to be manipulated into following a belief system they were opposed to. Wyandotte natives did not want their reputation and story to be changed by what the southern church was doing. They decided to follow the religion that they wanted and not be fooled by U.S. officials and the southern church to change beliefs. Manifest Destiny changed the lives of natives like the Wyandotte nation, not only because they were moved from their home but also because their religious beliefs were challenged by those in power. They were active fighters who did not let the effects of Manifest Destiny completely trouble their lives. With Manifest Destiny there was a lot of assimilation in order to try and change the culture of these people to be “American.” It is often seen as just about land, but there was more; they wanted identities to be changed, ignoring the long ancestral traditions and stories of culture.
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