In his book, Prophetic Worlds Christopher L. Miller describes the encounters of the Indians living on the Columbia plateau with the whites using a unique and different perspective. His story demonstrates how the Indians desire to fulfill their prophecies and the whites to ambition to accomplish their purpose drove the two groups together. Miller spoke of how the Indians and the Americans “each came to regard the other as the most significant agent in the working out of a millenarian scheme” (1). When these worlds met, the prophecies fulfilled, leaving the Indians in ruins; stripped of their belief and land.
The first chapter focused on the culture of the Plateau people. From “their days gathering roots” to their “winter dances held everywhere on the plateau,” Miller illustrates their lifestyle (13-17). They also had a strong belief in spirits. Every villager received their own spirit, who led them and was considered their “partner or power” (15). The author repeatedly foreshadows a future crisis. The next chapter explained their encounter with the Little Ice Age. But “the worsened climate only threatened the quality of life, not life itself” (25). Then came the first encounters with the Europeans. This was the first introduction to horses and guns. With these new discoveries, many changes were made to their culture. The horses gave them the ability to get around quicker and the guns gave them power. Not only were the Indians introduced with horses and guns, but they also received deadly diseases form the Europeans. Measles, smallpox and many other contagious diseases swept through the Plateau taking many lives. Then came the prophets and the prophecy. It foretold of a man coming from a different world, teaching them everything they needed to know also bringing a book, then their world would “fall to pieces” (45).
The prophecy began to unfold in chapter four when David Thompson, a trader came to open his trading post and encountered the Indians. He spoke to...