Positioning the Missionary

A.J. Pell is rector of Christ Church in Hope, B.C., and lecturer in the
Anglican Studies Programme at Regent College in Vancouver.

in British Columbia have been strained by issues surrounding the
Nisga’a treaty and the Supreme Court’s Delgamuukw decision, and in
which lawsuits against churches and the federal government have arisen
from alleged abuses in the residential schools system. The book tells of
the Anglican mission work in the Lytton area from the 1860s to the
1880s, and the relationships between colonial officials, church
officials and the local Nlha7kapmx people. As the events, personalities,
and issues unfold, it becomes clear that the colonial Lands and Works
office (and its provincial successor) systematically privileged the
incoming white settlers at the expense of the Native peoples in terms of
land allotments. It also becomes clear that the only white voices
speaking up for the Natives were the Anglican clergy, and Lytton
missionary J. B. Good in particular.

Christophers also examines the 19th-century Anglican theology of
mission, showing how it was put into practice in a geographic strategy
that has left lasting marks on Anglicanism in British Columbia. The
conflict between Natives and Christianity with respect to beliefs and
social ethics is intelligently discussed, showing the reasons for the
Nlha7kapmx wanting an Anglican missionary in their territory and the
causes for their disenchantment with Good, the missionary they had
specifically requested. All in all, Positioning the Missionary gives a
fresh, well-researched perspective on an important era in British
Columbia’s history and a thoughtful analysis of issues that still
trouble us over a century later.