Reimagining the California Missions is former Franciscan friar Mark Day's concise and fascinating memoir-history about his painful realization that the conventional settler-colonial depiction of California's mission era that he and other young Franciscans received did not reflect the traumatic reality of that difficult time period.
The book depicts how Day's awakening brought him closer to Native Californians, many of whom still honor their ancient traditions, and who consider Day and others like him to be allies in the fight to correct the historical record. Contra the prevailing narrative, the Spanish conquest of California and the Franciscan order's administration of the missions system was not an episode of peaceful relations between Indigenous Californians and the newcomers. Rather, it was a period fraught with exploitation and violence.
In addition to Day's own reflections, Reimagining the California Missions is filled with quotes and comments from leading scholars and Native Californians who are seeking to set the record straight. Ultimately, Day's book posits the all-important question: Who gets to tell the story of the California mission era?
