Thomas Crosby and the Tsimshian: Small Shoes for Feet Too Large

by Clarence R. Bolt

In Thomas Crobsy and the Small Shoes for Feet Too Large, Clarence Bolt demonstrates that the Indians were conscious participants in the acculturation and conversion process – as long as this met their goals – and not merely passive receivers of the blessings as typically reported by the missionaries. In order to understand the complexities of Indian-European contact, Bolt argues, one must look at the reasons for the Indians' behaviour as well as those of the Europeans. He points out that the Indians actively influenced the manner in which their relationships with the white population developed, often resulting in a complex interaction in which the values of both groups rubbed off on each other.

170 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Alex Strohschein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over thirty years old, this is the best book I have read thus far on the relationship between missionaries and First Nations in British Columbia. Clarence R. Bolt is a careful, nuanced scholar who thoroughly examines the motivations of both Thomas Crosby and the Tsimshian, giving both due agency that is so often suppressed by other scholars who tell simplistic myths about the indigenous encounter with Western civilization.