Bruchko: The Astonishing True Story of a 19-Year-Old American, His Capture by the Motilone Indians and His Adventures in Christianizing the Stone Age Tribe

Bruchko is a 1978 memoir by American author Bruce Olson about his time working as a Christian missionary in Venezuela and Colombia with an Indigenous tribe, the Barí. Olson depicts his missionary work as based on a divine mission that followed a spiritual experience he had as a youth. At 19, he moved from the United States to South America, where he went to the jungles in the Colombian-Venezuelan border to convert the infamously violent Barí to Christianity. Olson’s thesis in Bruchko is missionary efforts can be aided by the recognition that Western Christianity is not compatible with Indigenous cultures. Instead, adapting Christian teachings to fit local worldviews is shown as a productive and legitimate method of proselytizing. The book considers themes such as The Complexities of Cross-Cultural Missionary Work, The Transformative Power of Personal Connections, and The Importance of Living in Accordance with Faith.

Bruchko has been described as a touchstone of the genre of missionary literature but is also the subject of controversy because of Olson’s endorsement of modern-day colonialism and claims that divine authority preordained his conversion of an Indigenous population. Olson’s defenders cite the support for him expressed by the Barí people in later interviews as proof of the morality of his works.

This study guide uses the 1978 edition produced by Creation House.

Content Warning: Bruchko includes portrayals of Indigenous people that may be seen as stereotypical or demeaning; the Barí people are generally depicted as “primitive” and in need of salvation. The strong Christian evangelism of the text may be offensive to some readers. The text also contains some violent descriptions of death. Please note that the text uses the term “Motilone” to describe the Barí people, a name that was applied to them by Spanish-speaking Columbians and Venezuelans. Similarly, Olson frequently uses the word “Indian” in describing the Indigenous population of South America. In both cases, this guide will refer to the Barí by their preferred name, except when the word appears in direct quotes and titles.

Summary

The book begins years after Olson successfully converted the Barí to Christianity. While Olson is speaking with Ayaboquina, a Barí chieftain, and Bobarishora, Olson’s “pact-brother,” a criminal named Humberto Abril arrives on the Barí’s territory. Abril declares that he has the right to take Barí land so he can build settlements, but his demands are refused. He swears to kill the Barí in the name of Christianity, prompting Olson to reflect on the meaning of the cross.

Moving backward, Bruchko turns to Olson’s childhood. While he is growing up, Olson questions the Lutheran doctrine he was taught, but his harsh father shuts down any debate on religion. Olson develops an early love of language and even teaches himself Latin. After experiencing an alleged divine revelation, Olson leaves the Lutheran church to join a nondenominational church, which further strains his already strained relationship with his father. When a missionary visits the church, Olson becomes convinced he must become a missionary. His research leads him to believe God is drawing him to South America.

Olson is rejected by a mission board but decides he must nevertheless go to South America. His father bitterly buys him a ticket to Caracas (the capital of Venezuela) and gives him a small stipend of money for expenses. The missionary he had agreed to meet at the airport fails to appear, so Olson must make his way into the jungle with the help of the locals. He comes across a tribe that has been partially converted to Christianity and sees that the conversions have brought huge societal upheaval. Christians and non-Christians in the tribe have become separated because the Christians were convinced by missionaries to abandon tribal customs. After seeing this, Olson questions why conversion to Christianity should come with adoption of North American culture.

Months later, Olson makes another expedition into the jungle. He finds the Yuko tribe, which he mistakenly identifies as the Barí. The Yuko lead him to the Barí, but for several years, Olson struggles with learning their language. When he befriends a young tribesman called Bobarishora (nicknamed Bobby), he becomes fluent and integrates himself more fully into the Barí. While there, Olson provides the Barí with knowledge and tools to improve their lives. These include some basic medicines, such as antibiotic ointment, and some hygiene instructions, which are quickly socialized through most of the population. He establishes a familial relationship with the tribe after years of hostility and several near-death experiences, and is given a Barí name, “Bruchko.”

Olson manages to convert Bobby by relating Christian theology to Barí beliefs. He and Bobby then go on to convert the majority of the other Barí, after which Olson claims a swathe of miracles began happening across Barí territory. Years later, Olson becomes engaged to a woman named Gloria who wants to go to medical school so she can help the Barí, but she tragically dies in a car crash. Not long after this, he leaves to visit America. Upon his return to the Barí territory, the narrative returns to where it began. Abril soon arranges for the murder of Bobby and an assault on Barí territory. Distraught, Olson prays to God with Bobby’s adopted son and many Barí who respect Bobby.

At the end of the book, a government official affirms the value of Olson’s efforts with Bobby, convincing him that their lives have improved the Barí tribe. Bruchko celebrates modern evangelism, casting Christianity as a civilizing force in the lives of Indigenous tribespeople.