Ebook: Ojibwe, Activist, Priest: The Life of Father Philip Bergin Gordon, Tibishkogijik

“The turn of the twentieth century was such a pivotal time for Native people, a time when Native communities were losing their children and their land and reforming their identities. Situated during this important time, Father Philip Gordon’s story provides helpful details about this period of transition. His biography is a welcome addition to works about prominent Native Americans of the era.”
—Patty Loew, Center for Native American and Indigenous Research at Northwestern University

"This biography adds insight to previous works about Native people during the era in question and adds another perspective that seems to be lacking in some of them--the lens of a Native American priest who played a fairly prominent role at times in the Society of American Indians and worked with key political actors."
—Brady DeSanti, Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe, University of Nebraska Omaha

Born in Wisconsin, Philip Bergin Gordon—whose Ojibwe name Tibishkogijik is said to mean Looking into the Sky—became one of the first Native Americans to be ordained as a Catholic priest in the United States. Gordon’s devotion to Catholicism was matched only by his dedication to the protection of his people. A notable Native rights activist, his bold efforts to expose poverty and corruption on reservations and his reputation for agitation earned him the nickname “Wisconsin’s Fighting Priest.”

Drawing on previously unexplored materials, Tadeusz Lewandowski paints a portrait of a contentious life. Ojibwe, Activist, Priest examines Gordon’s efforts to abolish the Bureau of Indian Affairs, his membership in the Society of American Indians, and his dismissal from his Ojibwe parish and exile to a tiny community where he’d be less likely to stir up controversy. Lewandowski illuminates a significant chapter in the struggle for Native American rights through the views and experiences of a key Native progressive.