In this collection of essays, the chief components of Indian religions and our perceptions of them are treated in sensitive manner.

This book offers fascinating insights into the world of the pre-reservation Indians. It is a collection of classic essays that examines the universal characteristics of American Indian culture and tradition. This new edition also offers a personal view of Dr. Brown's life and research through his private correspondence from his time on the reservation and sheds insights into his relationship with old time Indian leaders including the legendary Sioux Medicine Man Black Elk.

Sketch of the Mythology of the North American Indians by John Wesley Powell is about the various myths in Native American culture. Excerpt: "The wonders of the course of nature have ever challenged attention. In savagery, barbarism, and civilization alike, the mind of man has sought the explanation of things. The movements of the heavenly bodies, the change of seasons, the succession of night and day, the powers of the air, majestic mountains, ever-flowing rivers, perennial springs, the flight of birds, the gliding of serpents, the growth of trees, the blooming of flowers, the forms of storm-carved rocks, the mysteries of life and death, the institutions of society—many are the things to be explained."

A groundbreaking collection of essays and stories by, about, and selected by gay American Indians from over twenty North American tribes. From the preface by Randy Burns (Northern Paiute): Gay American Indians are active members of both the American Indian and gay communities. But our voices have not been heard. To end this silence, GAI is publishing Living the Spirit: A Gay American Indian Anthology. Living the Spirit honors the past and present life of gay American Indians. This book is not just about gay American Indians, it is by gay Indians. Over twenty different American Indian writers, men and women, represent tribes from every part of North America. Living the Spirit tells our story---the story of our history and traditions, as well as the realities and challenges of the present. As Paula Gunn Allen writes, “Some like Indians endure.” The themes of change and continuity are a part of every contribution in this book---in the contemporary coyote tales by Daniel-Harry Steward and Beth Brant---in the reservation experiences of Jerry, a Hupa Indian---in the painful memories of cruelty and injustice that Beth Brant, Chrystos, and others evoke. Our pain, but also our joy, our love, and our sexuality, are all here, in these pages. M. Owlfeather writes, “If traditions have been lost, then new ones should be borrowed from other tribes,” and he uses the example of the Indian pow-wow---Indian, yet contemporary and pantribal. One of our traditional roles was that of the “go-between”---individuals who could help different groups communicate with each other. This is the role GAI hopes to play today. We are advocates for not only gay but American Indian concerns, as well. We are turning double oppression into double continuity---the chance to build bridges between communities, to create a place for gay Indians in both of the worlds we live in, to honor our past and secure our future. Published by Stonewall Inn Editions in partnership with St. Martin’s Press, 1988.

Teaching Spirits offers a thematic approach to Native American religious traditions. Through years of living with and learning about Native traditions across the continent, Joseph Epes Brown learned firsthand of the great diversity of the North American Indian cultures. Yet within this great multiplicity, he also noticed certain common themes that resonate within many Native traditions. These themes include a shared sense of time as cyclical rather than linear, a belief that landscapes are inhabited by spirits, a rich oral tradition, visual arts that emphasize the process of creation, a reciprocal relationship with the natural world, and the rituals that tie these themes together. Brown illustrates each of these themes with in-depth explorations of specific native cultures including Lakota, Navajo, Apache, Koyukon, and Ojibwe. Brown was one of the first scholars to recognize that Native religions-rather than being relics of the past-are vital traditions that tribal members shape and adapt to meet both timeless and contemporary needs. Teaching Spirits reflects this view, using examples from the present as well as the past. For instance, when writing about Plains rituals, he describes not only building an impromptu sweat lodge in a Denver hotel room with Black Elk in the 1940s, but also the struggles of present-day Crow tribal members to balance Sun Dances and vision quests with nine-to-five jobs. In this groundbreaking work, Brown suggests that Native American traditions demonstrate how all components of a culture can be interconnected-how the presence of the sacred can permeate all lifeways to such a degree that what we call religion is integrated into all of life's activities. Throughout the book, Brown draws on his extensive personal experience with Black Elk, who came to symbolize for many the richness of the imperiled native cultures. This volume brings to life the themes that resonate at the heart of Native American religious traditions.

This book tells the gripping story of New England's Natives' efforts to reshape their worlds between the 1670s and 1820 as they defended their land rights, welcomed educational opportunities for their children, joined local white churches during the First Great Awakening (1740s), and over time refashioned Christianity for their own purposes.

Native Americans practice some of America's most spiritually profound, historically resilient, and ethically demanding religions. Joel Martin draws his narrative from folk stories, rituals, and even landscapes to trace the development of Native American religion from ancient burial mounds, through interactions with European conquerors and missionaries, and on to the modern-day rebirth of ancient rites and beliefs. The book depicts the major cornerstones of American Indian history and religion--the vast movements for pan-Indian renewal, the formation of the Native American Church in 1919, the passage of the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act of 1990, and key political actions involving sacred sites in the 1980s and '90s. Martin explores the close links between religion and Native American culture and history. Legendary chiefs like Osceola and Tecumseh led their tribes in resistance movements against the European invaders, inspired by prophets like the Shawnee Tenskwatawa and the Mohawk Coocoochee. Catharine Brown, herself a convert, founded a school for Cherokee women and converted dozens of her people to Christianity. Their stories, along with those of dozens of other men and women--from noblewarriors to celebrated authors--are masterfully woven into this vivid, wide-ranging survey of Native American history and religion.

"Beauty, Honor, and Tradition: The Legacy of Plains Indian Shirts represents a powerful collaboration between two great museums - the National Museum of the American Indian/Smithsonian Institution, and The Minneapolis Institute of Arts - and two curators, father and son members of the A'aninin Indian Tribe of Montana. George P. Horse Capture, and his son, Joseph D. Horse Capture, bring different insights to this project as they explore new relationships among the shirts, the shirtmakers, the historians and scholars, and the audience of Indians and non-Indians alike."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Growing up, I knew two things to be true: My dad was a drunk. Being an Indian was complicated. When I joined the Navy, these two ideas were cemented when my fellow sailors, after finding out that I was an American Indian, would ask me if I drank a lot or if I still lived in a TeePee. They were asking questions because that’s what they knew and I couldn’t blame them. I could only answer “no” to both. These questions, posed by my curious new friends, made me wish that I knew more about my background, about me. Dad tried to teach us the language, the culture, what it meant to be Ojibwe. But no one wants to learn from a drunken Indian, least of all, me. Then, in the winter of 1980, my dad nearly died. When he awoke, everything changed. This is his story. Warrior Spirit Rising is the inspiring true account of Gene Goodsky, as told through the eyes of his oldest daughter, Dianna. Gene was raised in the North Woods of Minnesota, on the tribal lands of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa. Surviving years of cultural genocide, racism, and the Vietnam War left him broken—battling severe PTSD and alcohol abuse. In this stunning tale of Native American perseverance, Good Sky unravels the history of her father, her family, and her people, and the near-death experience that would change their lives forever. With both wit and honesty, she explores the devastating loss of heritage that has impacted generations of Native Americans, and how the powerful choice to forgive can leave a legacy.