The Problem with Harjo

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The Problem with Harjo After reading “The Problem with Harjo,” I had two perspective on it. The first perspective is the problem is not with Harjo but with the Church and their beliefs. Harjo is an older Native American Indian and I assume that he lived in the Midwest at the time. A time when Indians were forced to the Midwest by the US Army. Why does it has to be Harjo problem when having two wives is the normal in his community and why couldn’t the church accept him as he was if he wanted salvation. Even an inspector stated to just leave it alone because Harjo was an older Indian and it’s hard to convert them. (Oskison) The second perspective is this is a problem for Harjo because he is a polygamist. As the story started, “the spirit of the Lord had descended upon old Harjo.” (Oskison 2). Harjo wanted to join the church, but he was married with two wives and the church didn’t allow this. Mrs. Rowell was a member of the church, who had strong religious beliefs and didn’t agree with his way of leaving and her actions showed it. She wrote to the Indian Council on numerous occasion to complain about the practice of polygamy. She felt that Harjo was a hopeless sinner (Oskison 3). Mrs. Rowell decided to send a younger missionary by the name of Miss Evans to convince Harjo to give up one of his wives. Miss Evans, young and determined to get Harjo to only have one wife. Her approach was different and she went to his cabin instead of the mission to speak with Harjo. In the story, Harjo didn’t speak very well and there was obviously a communication problem between Harjo and Miss Evans. She couldn’t convince Harjo to give up his wives, but then realize how much he loved them. OSKISON , JOHN M. "THE PROBLEM OF OLD HARJO ." . N.p., n.d. Web. 5 June 2014.
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