John Slocum
John Slocum was a significant figure in the Skokomish community, known for founding the Indian Shaker Church in the early 1880s. Prior to this religious transformation, Slocum led a life marked by gambling and drinking. A pivotal moment in his life occurred in 1881 when he reportedly experienced a near-death experience, during which he claimed to have ascended to heaven and received a divine calling to create a movement aimed at the spiritual salvation of his people. This movement emphasized the importance of abstaining from gambling and alcohol, reflecting a desire for communal healing and renewal. Although Slocum initially devoted himself to these principles, he later returned to his previous lifestyle. His experiences, including a subsequent illness during which his wife Mary reportedly underwent a healing shaking, further embedded the practice of healing within the church's spiritual framework. The Indian Shaker Church thus emerged as a unique blend of indigenous spirituality and healing practices, offering a pathway for community members to seek both physical and spiritual restoration.
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John Slocum
- Born: 1830’s
- Birthplace: Unknown
- Died: c. 1896
- Place of death: Unknown
Category: Religious leader
Tribal affiliation: Northwest Salish
Significance: John Slocum founded the Indian Shaker Church
John Slocum, of the Skokomish (Coast Salish), was the founder of the Indian Shaker Church in the early 1880’s. Previously, he had spent his adult years in gambling and drinking. Oral tradition, as recorded by many scholars who have studied the Shaker Church, recounts that in 1881 Slocum appeared to die. Then, in the presence of family and friends who had gathered to mourn his death, he awoke. He said that he had ascended to heaven and spoken to God. Slocum was told to return to earth and start a movement that would save his people. Among other things, they were all to abstain from gambling and drinking.
Eventually Slocum himself resumed his old ways, however, and in a few years experienced another bout of sickness and (in some accounts) another near-death. It was during this illness that his wife, Mary, underwent the shaking that was believed to have helped heal her husband. A belief in this type of healing then became an important element in the Shaker Church.
Bibliography
Amoss, Pamela T. “The Indian Shaker Church.” In Northwest Coast, edited by Wayne Suttles. Vol. 7 in Handbook of North American Indians, edited by William C. Sturtevant. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1990. Features a photograph of John Slocum as well as a summary of important research since Barnett’s classic study.
Barnett, Homer G. Indian Shakers: A Messianic Cult of the Pacific Northwest. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1957.