Indian Shaker Church

Indigenous native American Christian movement with beginnings in the Winter of 1882-1883 with the visions of John Slocum; Indian Shakers believe their religion is an instrument of God to provide relief to Indians in their time of need; formally constituted as a church June 1892; incorporated Dec. 1910 as Indian Shaker Church of Washington; 1945 split resulted in two churches, Indian Shaker Church and Indian Full Gospel Church; further disputes resulted in 1953 in the Independent Shaker Church.

The Indian Shaker Church of Washington had its beginning in the winter of 1882-1883 with the visions, teachings and shakings of John and Mary Slocum. On June 7 1892 40 members met at the home of Louis Yowaluck at Mud Bay in Thurston County, WA for the purpose of organizing the Church. Elders were elected from Mud Bay, Chehalis and Puyallup, WA. John Slocum and Louis Yowaluck were elected elders from Mud Bay with Yowaluck elected head of the elders and of the Church. Ministers were elected including Slocum and Yowaluck for the Church. The Church property was deed to the Church. In 1910 the Indian Shaker Church incorporated. Trouble within the Church arose about 1935. There were meetings without a head of the Church. There were several years of lawsuits. In 1945 a split resulted in two churches, Indian Shaker Church and Indian Full Gospel Church. There were further disputes resulting in Independent Shaker Church being formed in 1953.

This collection of records of the Indian Shaker Church includes four books that have a stamp that refers to Snohomish County Court Case #41504. These items were involved a State of Washington lawsuit with relation to the Frank F. Bennett vs. William Kitsap, Oct. 4, 1944. The case was dismissed. The State Capitol Historical Society was able to remove these books from the Snohomish County Courthouse files because of their valuable historical information on the Indian Shaker Church. This information about the court case was received from a phone call to the Snohomish County Clerk's Office, Feb. 27, 1978.