1909
September 4, 2018 DOI: 10.1525/california/9780520285422.003.0004 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Cult Disgust Popularity Native american Art history Ethnology Ancient history Law |
| Key points | Argues that peyotism's growing popularity in early twentieth-century Native American communities provoked a powerful response from missionaries, Indian Agents, and conservatives, exemplified by William Johnson's attempt to burn peyote. |
Abstract
Even as some Americans saw in peyotism a fascinating and perhaps even salubrious Native American religion, others responded with a visceral disgust to what they saw as a degenerate and dangerous cult. This chapter traces the powerful response by missionaries, Indian Agents, and conservatives to the growing popularity of peyotism in Native American communities in the first decades of the twentieth century, beginning with an incident in which the famed temperance activist William “Pussyfoot” Johnson attempted to purchase all the peyote for sale in Laredo and then burn it in a symbolic gesture. The chapter also considers the origins of the peyote religions within Native American communities during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.