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Quest for Harmony: Native American Spiritual Traditions PDF

433 Pages·2001·4.55 MB·English
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Quest for Harmony Quest for Harmony Native American Spiritual Traditions William A. Young Westminster College Seven Bridges Press 135Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10010–7101 Copyright © 2001by Seven Bridges Press, LLC All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a re- trieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, me- chanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher. Publisher: Ted Bolen Managing Editor: Katharine Miller Production Assistant: Jessica Maruri Composition: Rachel Hegarty Publishing Freelance Cover design: Stefan Killen Design Cover art: PhotoDisc, Inc., 2000 Printing and Binding: Victor Graphics, Inc. LIBRARYOFCONGRESSCATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATIONDATA Young, William A., 1945– Quest for harmony : Native American spiritual traditions / by William A. Young. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1–889119–50–4 1. Indians of North America—Religion. I. Title. E98.R3Y682001 299’.7—dc21 00–011463 Manufactured in the United States of America 10987654321 Contents Preface ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 Part I: Establishing a Context 1. Native America: A Historical Overview 9 “American Indian History”: A Threefold Dilemma, 10 Before There Was History: Origins of the Peoples, 13 Historical Overview, 16 Conclusion: Genocide? 58 Part II: The Spiritual Traditions of Four Native American Nations 2. The Lenape (Delaware): The Grandfather Nation 61 Who Are the Lenape? 62 Lenape Creation Legends, 63 Historical Overview, 66 Traditional Lenape Spirituality, 89 The Lenape Today, 102 3. The Ani’-Yun’-wiya(Cherokee): Keeping the Eternal Fire Burning 105 Who Are the Cherokee? 106 Ani’-Yun’-wiyaCreation Legends, 107 Historical Overview, 109 Traditional Ani’-Yun’-wiyaSpirituality, 130 The Ani’-Yun’-wiyaToday, 152 VI quest for harmony 4. The Lakota (Sioux): The Way of the Sacred Pipe 155 Who Are the Lakota? 156 Traditional Social Organization, 158 Lakota Creation Legends, 161 Historical Overview, 163 Traditional Lakota Spirituality, 184 The Renewal of Lakota Spirituality, 213 The Lakota Today, 216 5. The Diné (Navajo): Walking in Beauty 221 Who Are the Diné? 222 Traditional Social Organization, 223 Diné Creation Legends, 224 Historical Overview, 228 Traditional Diné Spirituality, 246 The Diné Today, 269 Part III: Pannational Movements and Other Issues 6. The Ghost Dance: The Coming of a New World 273 Historical Overview, 274 The Ghost Dance Myth and Ritual, 286 Interpretations of the Ghost Dance, 292 Conclusion, 298 7. The Native American Church: Peyote and Pannationalism 301 Historical Overview, 303 Peyote Myths, Rituals, and Beliefs, 313 The Native American Church and Peyotism Today, 324 Conclusion: Peyote and Pannationalism, 328 8. The Ecocrisis and Native American Spiritual Traditions 329 Native Americans as “Ecological Saints”: A New Stereotype? 331 A Case Study: The Transformation of Chief Seal’th’s Speech, 335 Ecological Themes in Native American Spiritual Traditions, 337 A Collision of Ecological Perspectives, 348 The Impact of Native American Ecological Teachings, 350 Native American Ecological Activism, 354 Cooperation in the Ecological Struggle, 359 Conclusion, 361 contents VII Part IV: Epilogue 9. Native America in the Twenty-First Century: Looking to the Future with Hope 363 Native American Population: An Amazing Resurgence, 364 Healing the People: Health and Health Care, 365 Educating the People: The Role of the Tribal Colleges, 366 Naming the World: Keeping Languages Alive, 369 Bringing the People Together: The Powwow Movement, 370 Providing for All the People: Economic Empowerment, 372 Defending the People: Treaty Rights and Other Legal Issues, 375 Inspiring the People: The Renewal of Native American Art and Literature, 377 Naming the People: Challenging the Stereotyping of Native Americans, 377 The Quest for Harmony: The Renewal of Traditional Spirituality, 378 The Emergence of a Common “Native American Spirituality,” 384 Conclusion, 385 Bibliography 387 Index 413 Preface If there were an “endangered religions list,” the spiritual traditions of Native American nations would be on it. As the twenty-first century begins, the survival of the traditional lifeways of American Indian nations and other indigenous peo- ples around the world is at risk. Why? The reasons include loss of ancestral lands, disappearance of indigenous languages, leveling of cultural differences as a result of spreading consumerism and technologies, attacks on traditional beliefs and prac- tices by missionaries and native converts, and exploitation and trivialization of in- digenous spiritual traditions by others. If a losing battle for survival were the full story, Quest for Harmony would be little more than a sad eulogy for a few of the spiritual traditions of the more than 500Native American nations. Indeed, many books on the lifeways of American In- dians are written in the past tense, creating the impression that their traditional cultures have already died. Fortunately, despite the incredible pressures under which Native Americans today struggle to preserve and renew their spiritual tradi- tions, reports of their demise are greatly exaggerated. As the following pages make clear, not only are Native American spiritual tra- ditions still very much alive, they are in the midst of a dramatic revival. The four nations on which this work focuses—the Lenape (Delaware), Ani’-Yun’-wiya (Cherokee), Lakota (Sioux), and Diné (Navajo)—each bear witness to the reality of Native American cultural and spiritual renewal and continuity amidst change. In addition, pannational spiritual movements, especially the Native American Church, remain strong and are growing stronger. The impact of Native American spiritual traditions beyond their own nations is also deepening, as is evident when we consider their important role in confronting the environmental crisis. Should a nonnative author attempt to write a book about Native American spiritual traditions? That is an appropriate and important question, and the intro- duction will address it, providing both an account of the personal journey that has led me to write this book and an overview of the book’s contents. Although they appear at the beginning, these words are the last I am writing as I complete Quest for Harmony. As I do, I am very aware of all those who have in- spired me to share the results of my research and reflection on Native American spir- itual traditions with you, the reader. I think of my great-great-grandparents, Isaac

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If there were an "endangered religions list" the spiritual traditions of Native American nations would be on it. Fortunately, as "Quest for Harmony" makes very clear, not only are Native American spiritual traditions still very much alive, they are in the midst of a dramatic revival. The four nation
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Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.