Summary
The wide variety of people who lived in America prior to Western migration possessed an equally wide variety of faith, practices, and beliefs. What these Native American faiths share are deep ties to the land and to nature.
Native American Faith in America, Third Edition explores these basic beliefs, the impact of Western expansion, and the ways Native Americans today are working to preserve their faiths. As the centuries have passed since the first Europeans appeared on American soil, Native American ways have come into the general culture, influencing everything from fashion and music to medicine and sports. The dominant American culture continues to affect the social lives of Native Americans, both on reservations and elsewhere, while the sacred sites of some tribes have been a source of great controversy. Presently, Native Americans young and old are working to ensure that their religious beliefs do not die out as some of their languages and customs have.
New and updated coverage includes:
- Key concepts shared by most Native American religions
- Impacts of European conquest and Christian missionaries on Indigenous peoples
- The ways that Native Americans merge traditional beliefs with Christian faith
- Biographies of spiritual tribal leaders
- Self-determination and sovereignty
- Native American athletes
- Native American literature, art, and music
- Women's roles in Native American culture
- Native American organizations and politicians
- Native Americans in the media
- Protecting sacred sites.
About the Author(s)
Michael T. Garrett
Michael T. Garrett, Ph.D., Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation, is professor of counselor education and chair of the Department of Collaborative Support and Intervention at the University of West Georgia. He is the author and coauthor of more than 80 publications on multiculturalism and social justice, group work, wellness and spirituality, school counseling, working with youth, and counseling Native Americans, including Walking on the Wind: Cherokee Teachings for Harmony and Balance and coauthored Medicine of the Cherokee: The Way of Right Relationship, Cherokee Full Circle: A Practical Guide to Ceremonies and Traditions, and Counseling and Diversity.
J.T. Garrett
J. T. Garrett, Ph.D., is a state/county health director in North Carolina. As a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, he learned under several medicine men and women, including Doc Amoneeta Sequoyah, Cherokee Medicine Elder. He has written numerous articles and several books on Cherokee cultural ways and traditions. He is retired from the U.S. Public Health Service, Indian Health Service where he had the opportunity to work with and travel to most of the 574 tribes in America.