Dakota Odowan

Item Details

New York, American Tract Society, 1869, Hardcover

Good

Dakota Odowan (literally, “Dakota Songs” or “Songs of the Dakota”) is among the earliest Christian hymnals printed in the Dakota language and represents an intersection of Indigenous language preservation, missionary activity, and Christian worship in the mid-19th century.

Compiled primarily by Rev. Stephen R. Riggs, the hymnal was created for use in Dakota-speaking Christian congregations in the Upper Midwest, particularly in Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Nebraska. The book reflects both a tool of religious conversion and a genuine collaboration with Dakota Christians, many of whom contributed translations and adapted melodies to their oral and musical traditions.

Hardcover. Blind stamped maroon cloth with gilt title to spine. 6" by 4" 184pp containing 161 hymns and eight other passages in the Dakota language. Fully indexed. Ownership ink stamp of Arie Dykstra of Lake Andes, S. Dak. Two small historical society ink stamps. Rear free endpaper removed. (OCLC 7643028)