Overview
When Roger Vandersteene arrived in the wilderness of northern Canada in 1946 he found an aboriginal spirituality that inspired his own poetic and artistic nature which encouraged him to pursue a religious vision that united Cree tradition and Catholicism. Until his death in 1976, Vandersteen attempted, through his paintings, poetry and liturgical modifications, to ground Christian ideas in Cree imagery and spirituality. Dissonant Worlds: traces the remarkable career of Vandersteene and his life as an Oblate missionary among the Cree, his intensive study of the Cree language and folkways, his status as a Cree medicine man, and the evolution of his views on the relationship between aboriginal traditions and Roman Catholicism. Above all, Dissonant Worlds traces Vandersteene's quest to build a new religious reality: a strong, spiritually powerful Cree church, a magnificent Cree formation of Christian life.
Full Product Details
Author: Earle H. Waugh
Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
Imprint: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 1.80cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.520kg
ISBN: 9780889202788
ISBN 10: 0889202788
Pages: 376
Publication Date: 30 November 1996
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Available To Order
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Reviews
An important source for scholarly reassessments of Christianity's role among Native peoples, this book will appeal to missiology and North American church history students.''--Jamie S. Scott Religious Studies Review
``This biography is as respectful and sensitive to Vandersteene's religious vision as he was to that of his Cree companions.... As much a work of spirituality and theology as of history and biography, this text is highly recommended for students in religious studies, Catholicism, native and Canadian history, philosophy and cultural studies.'' -- Choice ``Dissonant Worlds is not a hagiography....Vandersteene's dream did not come true, but he did leave behind him `one of the most important legacies of interreligious encounter in Canada in this century.''' -- Filip Matthus (translated by Tanis Guest) ``This study is a biography of one of the most innovative Catholic missionaries who ever worked among the aboriginal peoples of Canada. It is a challenging case study of just how difficult it is to achieve the goal of inculturating the gospel....This work will be of special interest to church personnel working with or responsible for ministry to aboriginal peoples. It will also appeal, I think, to many Canadian readers -- religious and secular -- because of its insight into Canadian identity. Europeans, who continue to have a romantic fascination with all things aboriginal, will no doubt relish this epic story of a native son.'' -- Michael Stogre -- Missiology ``Most of Waugh's book is in narrative form and includes well-researched chapters on Vandersteene's Flemish background and family, his departure from his homeland, and his life among the Cree....Dissonant Worlds is a thorough and readable study of one man's noble attempt to relate two cultures for the sake of Christian mission.'' -- Paul F. Blankenship, Memphis Theological Seminary -- Nova Religio ``Vandersteene's ideas about the relationship of aboriginal traditions to Catholicism, well documented here, are seen as one of the most important legacies of interreligious encounter in Canada in this century.'' -- National Catholic Reporter ``Dissonant Worlds is more than simply a biography of Vandersteene and his work. Waugh takes the reader through an in-depth analysis of `Steentje's' roots and influences, his appreciation of Cree spirituality, and his cultural conversion to a Cree world view....Dissonant Worlds is solid biographical writing, strongly felt and carefully reasoned.... [T]he analytical and thematic tone of Dissonant Worlds provides a fully realized and integrated portrait of a complex individual who played a significant role at a time of momentous change in Aboriginal life in Canada.'' -- Robert Coutts, Parks Canada, Winnipeg -- The Canadian Historical Review ``Waugh carries the reader along with him in his fascination with the complexities of the sorcerer cum priest/prophet that was Vandersteene. His biography is particularly effective when dealing with Steentje's Flemish background and exploring the ways in which it prepared him for his northern mission. Waugh's own knowledge of Cree -- he is compiling a Cree dictionary -- adds an essential dimension. If, like Vandersteene, he has not found all the answers, he still presents a thoughtful and very interesting analysis of some fundamental problems that have plagued the missions.'' -- The Catholic Register ``Dissonant Worlds is the fruit of many years of historical and anthropological work, marking the advent of a new maturity in the scholarship on the cultural life of Western Canada. It combines what is best in historical research and field research work, drawing on the memory of Cree and Metis and of the priests and sisters who worked with Vandersteene.... This is a superb and fascinating book that speaks to the next century of our culture's life.'' -- The Edmonton Journal ``Waugh's study of the mission of Roger Vandersteene is a ground breaking examination of the contribution of a `failed visionary' whose seminal ideas are yet to be realized.'' -- Wayne Holst, University of Calgary -- Western Canadian Publishers Bulletin
