Thesis statement:
When Jesus came to the Plains Indian nations over a hundred years ago, many errors happened. The Crow and Cheyenne history of song for Christian worship reveals how God, by his Holy Spirit, has transformed those human errors into blessing for His kingdom. Pythagoras and Boethius in ancient European history set mathematically proportional precise tunings for melodies and timing for notes. This enabled music writing, and modal standards in pitch and rhythm for music acceptable in Christian worship in the Holy Roman Empire. Other tribal song, instruments and dance expressions were suppressed. European tribes slowly came to accept these standards by the end of the Middle Ages. Centuries later missionaries came to North America with their God-blest European music and language. They assumed Pythagoras’ math rules trumped any other music or language, which they considered pagan. At the same time, God’s Holy Spirit was clearly gifting thirty-five elders of the Crow tribe with songs by his Holy Spirit. Could their heritage of celebration be God-blest as surely as the European celebration heritage for worship of God? This is the story of how God gave the Apsáalooke nation particular songs and song styles. Mingled with this is also the story of transformation of our humanity, even our pain, and even the utmost human cruelty at the center of the Bible’s salvation story and the story of Jesus.
This is the beginning of a lecture at Spirit of LIfe Four Square Church in Crow Agency, Montana, August 11, 2014. It's based on a paper presented June 2006 at a historical society meeting in Oklahoma. This paper with audio examples is available online: http://archive.bethelks.edu/ml/issue/vol-61-no-2/article/the-cheyenne-hymns-the-hymnbook-and-plains-indian/
David Graber
Hardin, MT
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