|
Native North America > Reference Resources By Topic ReligionA number of North America’s native peoples practice some form of Christianity Many others practice their own indigenous form of religion that may be better defined as following the sacred life of their peoples. Native historians find that the terms "religions" or "beliefs" do not adequately address how the life of the spirit is conducted. Native peoples generally believe in a relationship of sacredness between humans and animate and inanimate objects. While some native forms of ceremony and worship are open to view by outsiders, many other peoples have kept their practices private because they have been repressed in the past or subjected to misappropriation. One form of protection, the Public Law 103-344, American Indian Religious Freedom Act, was passed in 1978 and amended in 1994. Issues of relevance in recent writing have touched on the roles of elders in reviving ceremonies, the problem of misappropriation of "plastic shamans," and the legality of peyote use in rituals conducted by the Native American Church. Brown, Joseph Epes. The Spiritual Legacy of the American Indian. New York: Crossroad, 1982. HBC 83-666 Dixon-Kennedy, Mike. Native American Myth and Legend. London: Blandford, 1996. *R- HBC 97-27 Gill, Sam D., and Irene F. Sullivan. Dictionary of Native American Mythology. Santa Barbara; Denver: ABC-CLIO, 1992. *R-HBC 93-1585 Hirschfelder, Arlene, and Paulette Molin. Encyclopedia of Native American Religions. Updated edition. New York: Facts on File, 2000. *R-HBC 00-2930 I Become Part of It: Sacred Dimensions in Native American Life. Edited by D.M. Dooling and Paul Jordan-Smith. New York: Parabola Books, 1989. HBC 92-10245 Lyon, William S. Encyclopedia of Native American Shamanism: Sacred Ceremonies of North America. Denver; Oxford: ABC-CLIO, 1998. *R-HBC 99-1817 Native American Religions: North America. Edited by Lawrence E. Sullivan. New York: Macmillan Pub.; London: Collier Macmillan, 1989. HBC 90-9200 Native Religions and Cultures of North America. Edited by Lawrence E. Sullivan. New York; London: Continuum, 2000. HBC 00-12575 Religion in Native North America. Edited by Christopher Vecsey. Moscow, ID: University of Idaho Press, 1990. HBC 90-13271 Stewart, Omer Call. Peyote Religion: A History. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987. HBC 88-310 Wall, Steve. Wisdom’s Daughters: Conversations with Women Elders of Native America. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1993. HBC 93-10761
Compiled by Paula A. Baxter, 2002 |