Abraham's conceits

In the second half of the 1800s, the united states turns her attention to the demands of manifest destiny, which include killing or containing the tribal people of north america and establishing a transcontinental, anglo nation. among the last tribes impacted are those in the columbia river valley and on the columbia plateau of the pacific northwest. at the same time, a movement called washani sweeps across that area in reaction to the ascent of the anglo-americans. the spiritual leader is a shaman and prophet of the wanapum tribe named smoholla, 1813-1895. his influence on the other tribes becomes enormous. one of these is the yakima, of what is now eastern washington, and this tribe is one of two featured in the story. james wilbur grows up in upstate new york, son of a presbyterian minister. most, if not all, of our founding fathers were presbyterians. his father believes god is a presbyterian and that methodism is a lesser religion. naturally, james finds his way to what his father considers the devil's trifecta: methodism, the methodist ministry and missionary work. james harvey wilbur marries lucretia ann stebens on 3/9/1831, when both are nineteen. they have a daughter named ann. lucretia wilbur is not a church-chosen partner for james. she smokes cigarettes, drinks whiskey and is a free thinker. the wilburs are sent west by ship to build the first church in portland, oregon, and to tend to that flock. thirty years go by. ann grows up, marries and dies of influenza. the wilburs, then forty-nine, head to the columbia plateau to begin a new life, arriving at the yakima indian reservation in 1859. both teach english; james works to convert the indians to methodism. the yakima call him father wilbur right away; not out of affection, as is historically recorded, but as a joke, his being afflicted with paternalism and prone to pontification. james goes back east to washington and badgers abraham lincoln about the corrupt government agent at the reservation, so president lincoln appoints james to that post. james now uses his combined power to further his own agenda for the yakima, which is assimilation through commercial agriculture. he soon realizes that isolation and death are the true aims of the reservation system, and that his helping the yakima to transcend those intentions is an abomination to almost all the other white people. he is not dissuaded. reservation life in the 1800s is marginal. father wilbur offers food, education and land, in exchange for conversion. teams of oxen, john deere plows, seeds, fruit trees, cattle, homestead claims; it grows, as the converted yakima (eventually about 25% to agriculture and a lesser percentage to methodism) become established in the world of market agriculture. almost immediately, these farms and ranches become self-sustaining. to fund his program, however, james turns to misallocation of government funds - all in god's name. james wilbur has maniacal rules, and his main rules conflict with the traditions of the people. the yakima have a social security system dependent on polygamy, whereby widows and orphans are woven back into the community, also sheltering the aged in the process. it's not about wealth, sex or power. it's about survival through remarriage and adoption.