Eliot Bible on Display

Saturday, Mar. 1-Saturday, Apr. 26, 1-5 pm

Eliot Bible on Display in the Research Library

Here’s a rare opportunity to see our second edition of the Eliot Indian Bible, which was printed in 1685, and combines both the Old and New Testament in one volume. Missionary John Eliot translated the Old and New Testaments into the Natick dialect of the Massachusetts language by taking the phonetic form of the Algonkian/Massachusetts language and using the English (Roman) alphabet to convey the words. His translation was aided immensely by Native preacher and Harvard student Job Nesutan, and the printing was made possible by the assistance of James Printer, a Nipmuc printer’s apprentice.  The Bible’s legacy represents a complex history of cultural interaction involving literacy education, religious conversion, and challenges to Native oral tradition. Free.

Saturday, Mar. 1, 1-3 pm

A Conversation about America’s Oldest Bible

Join a conversation in the Research Library about the Eliot Bible with two of the nation’s leading scholars on the intersection of Indians, language, and religion.  Jessie Little Doe Baird, Wampanoag Language Reclamation Project founder and director, vice-chairwoman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, and MacArthur Foundation Genius Award recipient presents with Brown University history professor Linford Fisher, author of The Indian Great Awakening. The discussion is in War Theater I and is free with Museum admission, free to Museum members. Plan to visit the Research Library after the talk to view the Bible.