81. Flash Movie Return to Home CrossCultural Connections native american Perspectives. If young native people want to songs and dances used in sacred religious ceremonies. http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/sunearthday/2004/vt_cross_perspectives.htm

Return to: Home Cross-Cultural Connections: Native American Perspectives Native American Perspectives Professional Biographies Lakota Parallels Suggested Links ... Image Gallery Some materials require the Flash 6 plug-in Culture and Connections in Science The Dineh Tah' Navajo dance troupe We Once Hunted for Buffalo, We Now Hunt for Knowledge Culture and Connections in Science A SOARS Protege Shares His Experiences By Barbara Sorensen, "Winds of Change" Autumn 2001 "Indigenous people were aware of their environment. You can see it in their pottery, in their art that reflects geometric designs and patterns. This observation of our natural world is part our culture. Knowing your environment is part of science and this was a necessary part of our survival." Michael Ray Johnson, who is part Laguna Pueblo, part Navajo and part Acoma, sits across from me in the Foothills Lab in building in Boulder, Colorado sipping coffee. He is relaxed and reflective after just completing a presentation entitled, "Ground-based Magnetometer Data for the Study of Electric Currents in the Ionosphere over the Polar Region." The colloquium was attended by fellow Significant Opportunities in Atmospheric Research and Science (SOARS) program participants, mentors, SOARS Director Tom Windham, friends, and an assortment of scientists. The summer program that Johnson is a part of was formed to increase minority representation in the science community. As successful as SOARS is, Johnson is not here to talk to me specifically about the program. His intent is to have me understand how science has always been interwoven throughout Native culture, and the opportunities it offers indigenous people.

82. "the People's Paths!" NAIIP News Article! - One Native American Woman shamanism, since all of the religions of the organizing ceremonies, feeding people at ceremonies, etc Other Cannibals, Africans and native Americans and other http://www.yvwiiusdinvnohii.net/Articles2002/Forbes0201NativeIntelligence.htm

NLThomas Native Intelligence "Focus: Shamanism, New and Old" Guest column by Jack D. Forbes Professor, Native American Studies University of California, Davis NAIIP News Article ~ February 2002 At least until recently, the word "shaman" was one of those terms which would lead most indigenous people to figuratively "reach for their shields" and assume a defensive posture. "Shaman" has been pretty much of a dividing line word: those who use it are non-Native and/or anthropological, or are ignorant of Native Americans' feelings. Indigenous people refer to their own holy people and curers by other terms such as doctor, medicine person, spiritual leader, elder, herbalist or diagnostician, recognizing a wide variety of callings and skills. Of course, before "shaman" became popular in the anthropological literature, indigenous healers and religious persons were often referred to as "witch doctors," "sorcerers" or other derogatory terms, words still used reportedly in right-wing Christian missionary propaganda. But "shaman" is not an innocent term either, because it rises out of a clear misunderstanding of, and denigration of, non-European cultures. According to Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary (1981 edition), the word is from the Tungus language of eastern Asia and refers to "a priest who uses magic for the purpose of curing the sick, divining the hidden, and controlling events." The dictionary goes on to define "shamanism" as "a religion of the Ural-Altaic peoples of northern Asia and Europe characterized by belief in an unseen world of gods, demons, and ancestral spirits responsive only to shamans; also: any similar religion." Quite obviously the above definitions present a culturally hostile picture since the use of terms such as "magic," "demons," "gods" and "ancestral spirits" will likely be interpreted as backward, evil or even "devilish" by many European readers. Moreover, "shamanistic" religions have usually been regarded as more "primitive" than other religions by cultural evolutionists.

83. Issue 1 american Indians are denied their religious rights in The public will attend ceremonies and take at concerning this subject are native american Spirit about http://spiritpath.freeservers.com/issue_1.htm

Free Web site hosting - Freeservers.com Web Hosting - GlobalServers.com Choose an ISP NetZero High Speed Internet ... Dial up $14.95 or NetZero Internet Service $9.95 Issue 1 Welcome to the first issue of Spirit Path! I have decided to begin at the beginning. Sounds simple, yet it is really quite difficult! I am going to endeavor to explain American Indian Spirituality basics in order to provide you all with the foundation of everything that is to come. There are hundreds of different American Indian cultures. Some are government-recognized Tribes, some are not. Each and every different group has it's own spiritual beliefs. Their origin beliefs are different, their ceremonies and rituals are different... it is like all the religions in the world! There is a difference between how the Catholics worship the Creator and how the Baptists worship, or the Buddhists, and yet they are all worshiping the same Creator. No difference here. However, there are some fundamental similarities that are universal to virtually all American Indian cultures. These similarities are what I am going to do my best to outline here. Indigenous people were here in North America for thousands of years before Lief Erikson or Columbus happened upon them. They had evolved into different cultures, and yet they all had a basic belief in a single Creator. The single biggest difference between their beliefs and the beliefs of the European invaders was that American Indian cultures have no concept of the idea of an organized 'religion'.

84. Ceremonies, Rituals And Spirituality Books myths and legends of the american Indian with the world s major philosophies and religions, the book Nature s Weeds, native Medicine Miczak 168 pages $10.95. http://www.tahtonka.com/sacred.html

Ceremonies, Rituals and Spirituality Books Spirituality is not religion to Indians. Religion is not an Indian concept, it is a non Indian word, with implications of things that end badly like wars in the name of individuals God's and so on. Indians do not ask what religion another Indian is, because they already know the answer. To an Indian, spirituality is about the Creator, period. Biographies Women Bison/Buffalo Historical ... Cook Books American Indian Healing Arts Kavasch/Baar - 352 pages $18.95 A beautiful reference book with a collection of Native American ceremonies, stories, prayers healing rituals and myths organized by our stages of life that includes more than 60 herbal remedies. Order this book Book of the Hopi Waters - 366 pages $15.00 A Dennis Banks recommended book "A revelation of the Hopi's historical and religious world view of life. Frank Waters combines Hopi art, history, tradition, myth, folklore and ceremonialism with dignity and authority."

85. Different Standards For Native American Prisoners In Texas My Two Beads Worth claimed to native americans so they could be shipped out to a native american unit Inmates are placed in units depending on their stated religion. native Times. http://mytwobeadsworth.com/TexasInmatesRR.html

Different standards for Native American prisoners in Texas Indian chaplain defends policy AUSTIN TX SAM LEWIN 6/27/2003 When a Christian or Muslim inmate enters the Texas prison system, he or she is allowed to attend services simply by stating their religion. Not so for Native American inmates. They are one of two religions required to take a test to pray traditionally. That change in policy comes as Texas officials are cutting back the number of prison chaplains administering in the system. Cherokee inmate James Franklin is incarcerated at the Daniel Unit in Snyder. " We have a Native American circle in our unit that (at one time) met every Wednesday. A couple of weeks ago they stopped giving half of us passes to attend the circle. They say we must take and pass some Native American test before they will let us start going again," wrote Franklin. Officials with the Texas Department of Justice confirmed there has been a change in policy. " Those who wish to practice the Native American religious ceremonies must accept and complete a study packet that explains the practices of that religion," DOJ spokesman Larry Todd told the Native American Times. Todd said only one other religion, Judaism, places a similar restriction. No other denomination requires Texas inmates to pass a test to pray.

86. Stories/Myths/Legends Although myths are religious in their origin and to convey messages or to record ceremonies and agreements. including some comments on native american Origins. http://www.indigenouspeople.net/stories.htm

Stories/Myths/Legends The terms legend and folktale are sometimes used interchangeably with myth . Technically, however, these are not the same. How should we distinguish them? Donna Rosenberg, in her book Folklore, Myth, and Legends: A World Perspective , offers some useful guidelines: A myth is a sacred story from the past. It may explain the origin of the universe and of life, or it may express its culture's moral values in human terms. Myths concern the powers who control the human world and the relationship between those powers and human beings. Although myths are religious in their origin and function, they may also be the earliest form of history, science, or philosophy... A folktale is a story that, in its plot, is pure fiction and that has no particular location in either time or space. However, despite its elements of fantasy, a folktale is actually a symbolic way of presenting the different means by which human beings cope with the world in which they live. Folktales concern people either royalty or common folk or animals who speak and act like people... A legend is a story from the past about a subject that was, or is believed to have been, historical. Legends concern people, places, and events. Usually, the subject is a saint, a king, a hero, a famous person, or a war. A legend is always associated with a particular place and a particular time in history.

87. HistoryLink Database Output Healing ceremonies also required the community s help to that gave Puget Sound native american culture its the effects of new diseases, religions, mores, and http://www.historylink.org/_output.CFM?file_ID=1506

88. United Nations Testimony Says Discrimination Rampant For many incarcerated native Americans, rehabilitation must practice of traditional religion, including the purification and cleansing ceremonies have proven http://www.treatycouncil.org/section_21122.htm

International Indian Treaty Council CONSEJO INTERNACIONAL DE TRATADOS INDIOS “WORKING FOR THE RIGHTS AND RECOGNITION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES" Navajo-Hopi Observer- News United Nations testimony says discrimination rampant By Catherine Feher The Observer SECOND MESA, Ariz.-Testimony presented in Geneva before the United Nations World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance alleges that racism and the denial of religious rights to American Indians remains rampant in the United States. In testimony before the world conference, Indian rights advocate Lenny Foster said that not only does racism exist, it is actually endorsed by state and federal governments, especially in the American prison systems. Foster is Dineh, and founded the Navajo Prison Project in an attempt to ensure religious rights of Indian prisoner in the United States. “ A paramount Native American human rights problem in the United States...is religious intolerance, the denial of the right to practice Native American tribal religion,” Foster testified in Geneva on May 4. He was part of a delegation from the International Indian Treaty Council consisting of Alberto Saldamando, general counsel for the IITC, former director of California Rural legal Assistance and a member of the Mission Band of California Indians; Esteban Castro, of the Kuna people of Panama; Mario Ibarra, a Mapuche from Chile, and Don Barnes, a Upit from Alaska.

89. PEACE PARTY - Stereotype Hall Of Shame It is religious prostitution. You cannot construct an authentic native american anything by employing bits and pieces of ceremonies and traditions http://www.bluecorncomics.com/newage.htm

Home Contents Photos Reviews ... FAQ New Age Mystics, Healers, and Ceremonies The Native Truth A column dedicated to historical truth and human rights activism of the American Indian Editor/Historian/Activist/Author: Terri Jean Director of the Red Roots Educational Project Contact: the_native_truth@yahoo.com Established year 2000 Selling Native Spirituality by Terri Jean Recently I browsed through the "Native American" section of my favorite local bookstore. To my surprise, there was an entire "Native American Spirituality" sector - twice the size of the indigenous history section - that included books on topics such as building your own sweat lodge, animal totems, shamanism , vision quests and tarot cards. I asked the clerk why these items were in the Native American section, rather than the New Age, and she replied "Because they were written by Native Americans or deal with Indian topics." I asked "Since when were tarot cards a Native American topic?" She informed me that tarot cards were part of their religion and when I begged to differ - she brushed me off, half-promising to look into it and change the book placement if deemed necessary. A week later, there was no change - except that fact that I no longer have a favorite local bookstore. When it comes to the concept of Native Americans and their spirituality, mainstream America has a truly misconstrued ideal of Native culture and religious beliefs. People outside of the Native community have taken it upon themselves to self-classify their writings and teachings as Native American or Native-inspired, and believers outside of the Native community happily follow.

90. AIRR Links The native american Indian Religious Service Organization, Inc to serve persons of native american Indian heritage by promoting tradtional ceremonies, by making http://www.airr.org/links.html

AIRR Links U.S.A. N.A.I.R.S.O. : The Native American Indian Religious Service Organization, Inc. (NAIRSO) exists to serve persons of Native American Indian heritage, and those who follow the spiritual traditions of First Nations Peoples, by promoting tradtional ceremonies, by making available sacred articles to those in need, and by promoting public awareness, education, and sensitivity to indigenous spiritual values. Located in Topeka, Kansas, NAIRSO currently works closely with the Native American Women's Group in the Topeka Correctional Facility. Although locally connected, NAIRSO supplies the many needs of those incarcerated around the country. NAIRSO also supports local children's groups, camps, educational presentations, and more. Native American Prisoner Support (NAPS) : To collate information concerning all individuals and groups actively working on behalf of Native American religious rights; To establish a broad power base for national and international recognition; To establish a document that will enlighten politicians and prison officials on how far-reaching support is; To provide information on behalf of prisoners and spiritual/cultural advisors; To distribute hard copies of the directory to the general public to enlist their support; To provide hard copies of the directory to prisoners, so they will know who to contact for support; And, to develop profiles on prisons and Corrections Departments concerning the treatment of prisoners and the way(s) in which they deal with the religious rights issue.

91. African-Native Americans : We Are Still Here : A Photo Exhibit : Exhibit Page regalia; they have naming ceremonies for their in accordance with ancient religious beliefs, and merchants continued to raid native american communities along http://newman.baruch.cuny.edu/digital/native/native_thumbs.htm

E X H I B I T Rainmaker, Lenape / Munsee Winter Flower, Ramapo Many people believe racial and ethnic groups in North America have always lived as separately as they do now. However, segregation was neither practical nor preferable when people who were not native to this continent began arriving here. Europeans needed Indians as guides, trade partners and military allies. They needed Africans to tend their crops and to build an infrastructure. Paw Paw Moonfire, Seminole Paw Paw, Carnarsie Later, as the new American government began to thrive, laws were drafted to protect the land and property the colonists had acquired. These laws strengthened the powers of slave owners, limited the rights of free Africans and barred most Indian rights altogether. Today, black, white and red Americans still feel the aftershock of those laws. In order to enforce the new laws, Indians and Africans had to be distinguished from Europeans. Government census takers began visiting Indian communities east of the Mississippi River in the late 1700s and continued their task of identifying, categorizing, and counting individuals and "tribes" well into the 20th century. In the earlier days of this process, Native American communities that were found to be harboring escaped African slaves were threatened with loss of their tribal status, thereby nullifying their treaties with the U.S. government and relinquishing all claims to their land.

92. "The United Methodist Church And America's Native People"; "Confession To Native and assistance in upholding the american Indian Religious the rights of the native peoples to practice and the same protection offered all religions under the http://www.iwchildren.org/methodistresolution.htm

The Book of Resolutions of the United Methodist Church Index for this page The United Methodist Church and America's Native People Concerning Demeaning Names to Native Americans Confession to Native Americans The United Methodist Church and America's Native People Most white Americans are isolated from the issues of justice for the United States native people by the lapse of time, the remoteness of reservations or native territories and the comparative invisibility of natives in the urban setting, the distortions in historical accounts, and the accumulation of prejudices. Now is the time for a new beginning, and The United Methodist Church calls its members to pray and work for that new day in relationship between native peoples, other minorities, and white Americans. The United States has been forced to become more sharply aware and keenly conscious of the destructive impact of the unjust acts and injurious policies of the United States government upon the lives and culture of U.S. American Indians, Alaskan natives, and Hawaiian natives. In the past, the white majority population was allowed to forget or excuse the wrongs that were done to the indigenous peoples of this land. Today, U.S. American Indians and Alaskan natives and Hawaiian natives are speaking with a new and more unified voice, causing both the government and the American people to reexamine the actions of the past and to assume responsibility for the conditions of the present. A clear appeal is being made for a fresh and reliable expression of justice. The call is being made for a new recognition of the unique rights that were guaranteed in perpetuity of U.S. American Indians by the treaties and legal agreements that were solemnly signed by official representatives of the United States government. A plea is being raised regarding the disruption of Alaskan and Hawaiian natives who were not granted the legal agreements protecting their culture and land base.

93. A Seat At The Table Struggle for The NAC s religious use of Injustices faced by incarcerated native americans Tonya Gonnella Frichner (Onondaga); american Indian Law http://www.dreamcatchers.org/aseatatthetable/

A SEAT AT THE TABLE: Struggling For American Indian Religious Freedom In December of 1999, 7000 spiritual leaders and scholars from around the world converged on Cape Town, South Africa, to participate in the 3rd Parliament of The Worlds Religions. Legendary Professor of religious studies, Huston Smith ( The World's Religions ) attended, hosting one-on-one conversations with eight American Indian leaders: Walter Echo-Hawk (Pawnee); Native American Rights Fund * Overview of the American Indian struggle for religious freedom Winona LaDuke (Anishinabe); White Earth Land Recovery Project Frank Dayish, Jr. (Dine); Native American Church of North America * Struggle for The N.A.C.'s religious use of Peyote Charlotte Black Elk (Lakota); Advocate for protection of the Black Hills Doug George-Kanentiio (Mohawk); Journalist / Activist Lenny Foster (Dine); Navajo Nation Corrections Project * Injustices faced by incarcerated Native Americans Tonya Gonnella Frichner (Onondaga); American Indian Law Alliance * Spiritual threat to Indigenous peoples by the Human Genome Diversity Project Guy Lopez (Lakota); Association on American Indian Affairs

94. Pipe And Sweat Lodge Ceremonies Offer A Spiritual Retreat. Many versions of Sweat ceremonies have been practiced and understanding for the truth in all religions. It prepared the native Americans for a higher, deeper http://www.hiddencreek.com/activities/earthphilo.html

Body, Mind Earth Philosophy Earth Philosophy D uring your stay at Hidden Creek Ranch you will awaken to an experience of being fully alive. We cradle you in an all encompassing feeling of well being that can only evolve when all aspects of life are equally attended to. Our Earth Philosophy will open you to the beauty of the "outer nature"; your surroundings, ancient earth wisdom and your interconnection with all of creation. This will tie all parts of joyful living together in meaningful oneness. Pipe and Sweat Lodge Ceremony Native American religion and the Pipe and Sweat Lodge Ceremonies are a beautiful way of celebrating ones respect for nature. We conduct what we call the "General Pipe and Sweat Lodge Ceremonies" allowing participants to learn what many ancient earth cultures have in common. We teach love for Mother Earth and point out the many spiritual ways for connection. Many versions of Sweat Ceremonies have been practiced by different cultures throughout ancient history. In 425 B.C. Herodotus wrote of the sweat bath customs of the Scythians and described the construction of a sweat lodge. According to Homer and other ancient Greek writers, hot air baths were introduced quite early. Among the Russians and the northern Slavs in general, the steam bath predates the introduction of Christianity.

95. Myss.com The native religions of North America, like those of In the truest sense, they make up a communal religion; many tribes and members contributing to a http://www.myss.com/worldreligions/Indians.asp

Native American Spirituality Archaeologists propose that tens of thousands of years ago a somewhat uniform culture stretched around the northernmost regions of the globe from Greenland and Scandinavia to northern Asia and Siberia. The peoples of this circumpolar culture shared a common history and many religious beliefs and practices including animism, shamanism, and ceremonies centered around hunting and animals. The culture reached down into China, where it influenced the development of Taoism , and Tibet, whose shamanistic Bon culture left its stamp on Tibetan Buddhism . Beginning as long as 60,000 years ago, the peoples of northern Asia migrated across what is now the Bering Sea to Alaska and Canada, and then down through the Great Plains of North America to Central and South America. The native religions of North America, like those of other continents, by and large rely on oral rather than written transmission, which is why they are sometimes called preliterate, or primal, acknowledging their ancient status (the term "primitive" is no longer applied, because of its pejoritive connotation). In the truest sense, they make up a communal religion; many tribes and members contributing to a tradition which is basically the same for most Indians, with a wide rangs of regional and tribal variations. Indigenous peoples look on the cosmos as a living womb that nurtures their lives, and so they have less neeed to destroy or reshape it as more technologically developed cultures do (although they sometimes abuse the land and livestock as developed cultures do). Their goal could be described as achieving harmony in the personal, social, and cosmic realms, rather than gaining personal salvation or liberation as historical religions aim to do.

96. GLOBAL VISION : FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN: A GATHERING OF SHAMANS medicine man of the native american Church performed the by representatives of the North american Tlingit, Onondaga of the world s organised religions, in front http://www.global-vision.org/karma.html

A film by David Cherniack Productions in association with Global Vision Corporation and Mystic Fire Video www.mysticfire.com INTRODUCTION Fire on the Mountain: A Gathering of Shamans is a documentary about the connection between consciouness and nature, as embodied in the spiritual traditions of Indigenous Peoples, whose ecological metaphors of the sacred are so relevant to the modern world. We shot the project in 1997 at an historic 10-day gathering of shamans from five continents, who travelled to Karma Ling , a Tibetan Buddhist retreat centre in the Val Saint Hugon in Savoy, in the French Alps, to discuss their concerns with H.H. the Dalai Lama and high-level representatives of the world's religions. This documentary embodies the wish of these Indigenous People - all traditional wisdom-keepers, shamans and medicine-women - who requested us to communicate their message to the world. The film was co-executive produced by Michael O'Callaghan , President of Global Vision Corporation in London, and Sheldon Rochlin, President of Mystic Fire Video in New York. It was produced and directed by the award-winning filmmaker

97. Relevant U.S. Laws And Court Cases Involving Sacred Lands the 19th Century between the US Government and native Americans. and teach their spiritual and religious traditions, customs and ceremonies; the right http://www.sacredland.org/legal.html

Proposed Legislation (2002-2003) In July, 2002 sacred land protection legislation was introduced both at the federal level and in California. The Sacred Lands Protection Act (H.R. 5155) , was introduced on July 18, 2002 by Congressman Nick Rahall (D, WV) and never moved out of committee, though S.B. 1828, The Native American Sacred Sites Protection Act , sponsored by California State Senator John Burton (D, San Francisco), was passed by both the state Assembly and Senate before being vetoed by Governor Gray Davis. Read an insightful critique of these two proposed pieces of legislation by cultural resources expert Thomas F. King, and California Gov. Davis's rationale for vetoing S.B. 1828 on September 30, 2002. On June 11, 2003 Rep. Nick Rahall (D, WV) re-introduced a revised Native American Sacred Lands Act (H.R. 2419) . In contrast, Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R, CO), Chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, has introduced the Indian Contracting and Federal Land Management Demonstration Project Act (S 288) and at a Senate hearing on June 18, Sen. Campbell invited the Sacred Land Protection Coalition to draft legislation for him to consider for introduction. Presumably, this draft legislation would meet the criteria endorsed in the December 2002 National Congress of American Indians' resolution Essential Elements of Public Policy to Protect Native Sacred Places (SD-02-027) Meanwhile, on June 26, 2003, California Governor Gray Davis's staff released a "Traditional Tribal Cultural Sites" (TTCS) bill — a rewrite of the sacred site protection legislation Davis vetoed in 2002. The new TTCS bill evolved into

98. Native Intelligence: since all of the religions of the world make use ceremonies, feeding people at ceremonies, etc.). Other Cannibals, Africans and native Americans and other books http://cougar.ucdavis.edu/nas/faculty/forbes/personal/shamanism.html

Native Intelligence: a column by Jack D. Forbes Native American Studies University of California, Davis This column's focus: Shamanism, New and Old At least until recently, the word "shaman" was one of those terms which would lead most indigenous people to figuratively "reach for their shields" and assume a defensive posture. "Shaman" has been pretty much of a dividing line word: those who use it are non-Native and/or anthropological, or are ignorant of Native Americans' feelings. Indigenous people refer to their own holy people and curers by other terms such as doctor, medicine person, spiritual leader, elder, herbalist or diagnostician, recognizing a wide variety of callings and skills. Of course, before "shaman" became popular in the anthropological literature, indigenous healers and religious persons were often referred to as "witch doctors," "sorcerers" or other derogatory terms, words still used reportedly in right-wing Christian missionary propaganda. But "shaman" is not an innocent term either, because it rises out of a clear misunderstanding of, and denigration of, non-European cultures.

99. Journal Of Political Ecology world of cultural domination and religious suppression rarely at alienating indigenous North Americans from their early Spanish assaults on native rituals and http://www.library.arizona.edu/ej/jpe/volume_8/501Greymorning.html

JPE HOME This site maintained by: Aomar Boum Site last updated in May, 2001. Journal of Political Ecology: Case Studies in History and Society VOLUME 8 (2001) Spirit Wars: Native North American Religions in the Age of Nation Building , by Ronald Niezen, London and Los Angeles: University of California Press (2000), 256 pp. Reviewed by Stephen Greymorning , Departments of Anthropology and Native American Studies, University of Montana. In Spirit Wars , Ronald Niezen has masterfully researched the impact colonization has had on the religious practices of Indigenous North Americans. If influenced by initial appearances the book would appear overly ambitious, by its effort to address a multitude of events from a variety of geographic regions and time periods through subjects ranging from missionary and government intrusions to that of New Age mentalities. Solid research and scholarship, however, ground the book and give readers insight into a world of cultural domination and religious suppression rarely seen and most often misunderstood. Readers further benefit from several essays by Native contributors writing on how individual Native people and communities have been affected both historically and contemporarily by activities aimed at alienating Indigenous North Americans from their cultural ways of being. Following his introductory chapter, Niezen sets about introducing readers to the rationale underlying early Spanish assaults on Native rituals and ceremonies; part of which included "making them amenable to White economic exploitation" (p. 39). Whether at the hands of missionaries or politicians, educating the "Indian" was a constant theme.

100. A Seat At The Table: Background including a general societal disrespect of Indian religions. are many locations in North America to Indian Where native sacred sites lie within the boundaries http://www.dreamcatchers.org/aseatatthetable/background.html

A SEAT AT THE TABLE: Historical Background The traditional religious practices of Indigenous peoples throughout the world have, over many centuries, suffered grave persecution. This is as true in America as anywhere else in the world. It's ironic that early settlers in North America were in search of religious freedom, yet they didn't apply the same values to the Indigenous populations. Having suffered persecution and religious intolerance by the dominant religions of Europe, they in turn applied the same intolerance on the Indians, viewing them through ethnocentric eyes and failing to realize that the tribes had ancient yet vital religious beliefs and practices that they were observing. In a little known yet not insignificant document, the "Papal Bull of 1493", the Pope declared Indigenous people of the New World without souls, not savable, in essence, that they were sub-human. During the first century of U.S. history, this deep seated disrespect manifested in many forms of religious intolerance and persecution. From federal statutes conveying Indian land to missionary groups for "church work" amongst the Indians, to missionary groups being deemed Indian agents in charge of entire tribes to assist the government representatives in separating Indians from their way of life. In the 1890's after the tribes were placed on reservations, these policies took a darker turn, when the government acted to completely stamp out Indian religions, even by military force. The most notable example was the U.S. Cavalry arresting Ghost Dancers on reservations across the country and in 1890, slaughtering hundreds of Ghost Dancers at Wounded Knee, SD. Ultimately, in 1894, a complete ban on tribal religions was issued resulting in denial of rations and/or incarceration for engaging in tribal religious ceremonies.

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