Awards

• Commended for Oklahoma Book Award (Nonfiction) 2004

Overview

"""Around the Sacred Fire"" is a cultural history of inter-tribal activism centred on the Indian Ecumenical Conference, an influencial movement among native people in Canada and the US during the Red Power era. Founded in 1969, the conference began as an attempt at organizing grassroots spiritual leaders who were concerned about the conflict between tribal and Christian traditions throughout Indian country. By the mid 70s thousands of people were gathering each summer in the foothills of the Rockies, where they participated in week-long encampments promoting spiritual revitalization and religious self determination. Virtually all historical overviews of native affairs in the 60s and 70s emphasize the prominence of the American Indian movement and the impact of highly publicized confrontations such as the northwest coast fish-ins, the Alcatraz occupation and events at Wounded Knee. The Indian Ecumenical Conference is rarely mentioned in descriptions of this period and the only substantive scholarly study of the conference is a six-page essay published at the peak of its popularity. The conference played a central role in stimulating religious and cultural revitalization among native people, partly because conference leaders stategized for social change in ways that differed from the militant groups. Drawing on archival records, published accounts, oral histories and field research, James Treat has written a comprehensive study of this important but overlooked effort at post-colonial, inter-religious dialogue."

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9781403961037

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Reviews

'Treat has rescued an important area of Indian activism that has gone virtually unnoticed - the Indian Ecumenical Conference. Gathering scattered documents and conducting personal interviews, he presents an exciting history of efforts by traditional people to offer their own solution to modern social problems. Incisive and precise, this book opens additional vistas for the reader'. - Vine Deloria, Jr., author of God is Red and Custer Died for Your Sins 'important, insightful, and well-written.' - Lee Irwin, author of The Dream Seekers 'Treat has resuced an important area of Indian activism that has gone virtually unnoticed - the India Ecumenical Conference. Gathering scattered documents and conducting personal interviews, he presents an eciting history of efforts by traditional people to offer their own solution to modern social problems. Incisive and precise, this book opens additional vistas for the reader.' - Vine Deloria, Jr., author of God is Red and Custer Died for Your Sins '...yields valuable stories and insights from contemporary Native voices...highly recommended.' - P. Harvey, Choice

.. .yields valuable stories and insights from contemporary Native voices...highly recommended. --P. Harvey, Choice<br> Important, insightful, and well-written <br>--Lee Irwin, author of The Dream Seekers <br> Treat has rescued an important area of Indian activism that has gone virtually unnoticed--the Indian Ecumenical Conference. Gathering scattered documents and conducting personal interviews, he presents an exciting history of efforts by traditional people to offer their own solution to modern social problems. Incisive and precise, this book opens additional vistas for the reader. <br>--Vine Deloria, Jr., author of God is Red and Custer Died for Your Sins <br> In these times of culminating wars and spiritual devastation, this book provides a useful map of efforts to organize across intertribal and interreligious borders. The sacred fire was at the center then, and now. The fire cooks our food, warms us, gives us light and movement. We need to be reminded . . . and the appeara

.,. yields valuable stories and insights from contemporary Native voices...highly recommended. --P. Harvey, Choice<br> Important, insightful, and well-written <br>--Lee Irwin, author of The Dream Seekers <br> Treat has rescued an important area of Indian activism that has gone virtually unnoticed--the Indian Ecumenical Conference. Gathering scattered documents and conducting personal interviews, he presents an exciting history of efforts by traditional people to offer their own solution to modern social problems. Incisive and precise, this book opens additional vistas for the reader. <br>--Vine Deloria, Jr., author of God is Red and Custer Died for Your Sins <br> In these times of culminating wars and spiritual devastation, this book provides a useful map of efforts to organize across intertribal and interreligious borders. The sacred fire was at the center then, and now. The fire cooks our food, warms us, gives us light and movement. We need to be reminded . . . and the appearance of this book assures we will be. <br>--Joy Harjo, Mvskoke poet and musician<br>

Author Information

JAMES TREAT is Assistant Professor in the Honors College at the University of Oklahoma and has edited Native and Christian (Routledge 96), a selection of Vine Deloria Jr.'s writing. (Deloria, who's still alive, in an extremely prominent Native American educator and writer, and is the author of seminal red power books like God is Red and Custor Died for Your Sins). Treat's work on the Indian Ecumenical Conference has been supported by fellowships awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Academy of Religion, among other institutions.

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