diff --git a/xapian_backend.py b/xapian_backend.py
index 8d7344c..c64e895 100755
--- a/xapian_backend.py
+++ b/xapian_backend.py
@@ -276,7 +276,11 @@ class XapianSearchBackend(BaseSearchBackend):
             term_generator = xapian.TermGenerator()
             term_generator.set_database(database)
             term_generator.set_stemmer(xapian.Stem(self.language))
-            term_generator.set_stemming_strategy(self.stemming_strategy)
+            try:
+                term_generator.set_stemming_strategy(self.stemming_strategy)
+            except AttributeError:  
+                # Versions before Xapian 1.2.11 do not support stemming strategies for TermGenerator
+                pass
             if self.include_spelling is True:
                 term_generator.set_flags(xapian.TermGenerator.FLAG_SPELLING)