Native Messengers of God in Canada? : A Test Case for Bahá'í Universalism

Academic and popular interest has lent prestige to native spirituality. The strong native presence in the Canadian Bahá'í community raises the question of the place of native spirituality within a Bahá'í worldview. Recognition has been supported by local Bahá'í policy, e.g. teaching pamphlets addressed to native peoples in which the concept of "First World" messengers of God is validated. Explicit recognition of native messengers of God has yet to be formaized in Bahá'í doctrine.. This study discusses the possibilities of incorporating the principle of "Messengers of God to Indigenous Peoples" within formal Bahá'í doctrine, reflecting a development that has already taken place in popular North American Bahá'í belief. A hitherto under-studied Persian text of 'Abdu'l-Bahá establishes the principle in such a way that its explicit enunciation is now possible. The problem of historical attestation remains. The prophetic credentials of Iroquois culture hero Deganawidah are examined as a test case. If the Bahá'í principle of Progressive Revelation can assimilate the Amerindian spiritual legacy, then it might be possible to accord Deganawidah a provisional status in Bahá'í prophetology, and still affirm Bahá'u'lláh's unific role in world history, as oral cultures take their place beside the more familiar "literate" traditions.