Overview

Native American Religions: Teaching and Learning on Stolen Land is an introduction to the religious lives of Native American people in North America. Weaving together historical, ethnographic, theoretical, and legal materials, the book focuses on how religion is politicized in North America in the Native American context. Noting that no Native language actually has a word translatable to “religion,” as the sacred and the secular are not separate spheres in Native traditions, and that religion is a colonial construct, the book adopts theories and methods from Native American and Indigenous Studies to understand Native American and Indigenous religious traditions. Written with the student in mind, this cutting-edge volume brings together 17 Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars at various career stages to offer a theoretical framework through which to think about the role of religion in U.S.–Native relations alongside real-world case studies. This book introduces students to the histories of Native American peoples, including discussion of Indigenous intellectual traditions, Indigenous sovereignty movements, and practices such as cultural appropriation and land acknowledgement, to make the case that Native American religions are a political phenomenon. With student-friendly pedagogy throughout, including discussion questions and “further resources” lists, it is a must-read for all students and teachers of Native American Religions, Religion in America, or Indigenous Studies.

Full Product Details

9781032931715

Table of Contents

Reviews

""The short essays that constitute Native American Religions: Teaching and Learning on Stolen Lands open new dimensions in the long and fraught relation between Native religious practice and colonial imposition, a site of power struggles and reinventions, resistances and Indigenous renewal. Structured to serve teachers and learners alike, the collection is on fire, with a range of big ideas arriving in deceptively small packages."" - Philip J. Deloria, Leverett Saltonstall Professor, Department of History (Harvard University) ""Native American Religions: Teaching and Learning on Stolen Land—a volume of seventeen powerful essays by established and emerging Native and non-Native scholars who teach about Native American and Indigenous religious traditions—offers a crucial reminder that religion and politics are inextricably intertwined. Collectively, the essays demonstrate that any responsible and ethical study of Native American and Indigenous religions must also interrogate the devastating colonial history that has adversely impacted—and continues to impact—the peoples to whom those religious traditions belong."" - Marie Alohalani Brown, Professor of Hawaiian Religion, Department of Religions and Ancient Civilizations (University of Hawai’i at Mānoa) ""This is an essential collection of essays from an absolute dream team of established and emerging leaders in the field. Native American Religions is a must-have companion volume for any college or graduate-level course on Indigenous traditions, filled with compelling, multi-disciplinary case studies that provide nuanced examinations of history, theory, and methodology. Highly recommended."" - Suzanne Crawford O'Brien, Professor of Religion and Culture and Native American and Indigenous Studies (Pacific Lutheran University) ""One of the great strengths of Native American Religions: Teaching and Learning on Stolen Land is that while reading about present and past Indigenous religious traditions—traditions each of the contributors teaches—students and instructors will find themselves reflecting on the contexts and communities in which they live and learn. Native and non-Native contributors cover a range of contemporary and historical topics relevant to a number of Indigenous communities. As strong as the volume’s content is, its prompt to rethink action in relation to teaching and learning on lands taken from Indigenous people make it compelling."" - Molly Basset, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies (Georgia State University) ""Dana Lloyd has designed an innovative, action-oriented introduction to what matters most for today’s students of Native American religious traditions. The book is ideal for anyone interested in understanding or contributing to contemporary Indigenous social justice movements. Particularly useful are discussion questions and additional resources, serving as springboards for class discussions and starting points for student research projects."" - Seth Schermerhorn, author of Walking to Magdalena and co-editor of Indigenous Religious Traditions and Movement and Indigenous Religions. ""This powerful and pedagogically rich volume offers a transformative framework for engaging Native American religious traditions. Through themes of sovereignty, relationality, resistance, and ceremonial revitalization, it explores landback ethics, gender and kinship, visionary traditions, and the harms of cultural appropriation. Essential reading for educators and scholars committed to decolonial approaches to religion and Indigenous self-determination."" - Hilda P. Koster, Sisters of St Joseph of Toronto Chair and Associate Professor in Ecological Theology, Toronto School of Theology (University of Toronto)

Author Information

Dana Lloyd is Assistant Professor of Global Interdisciplinary Studies at Villanova University, U.S.A.

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