Around the Sacred Fire : Native Religious Activism in the Red Power Era

by Treat, James

• ISBN13: 9781403961037
• ISBN10: 1403961034
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-01-18
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Histories of Native Americans during the 1960s and 1970s emphasize confrontations like the Alcatraz Occupation or Wounded Knee. The Indian Ecumenical Conference is rarely mentioned, yet it played a pivotal role in stimulating reli-gious and cultural revitalization among native people. Unlike groups known for militant rhetoric and flamboyance, this movement, founded in 1969, sought social change through dialogue, understanding, and cooperation between the di-verse tribal nations. Conference leaders agreed that survival de-pended on bridging the fierce antagonism between tribal and Christian traditions-and by the mid-1970s, thousands gathered for weeklong meetings promoting tolerance and religious self-determination. Drawing on archival records, oral histories, and field research, Treat has written the first comprehensive book on Christian-native dialogue in the late twentieth century.

Author Biography

James Treat teaches in the Honors College at the University of Oklahoma. He is the editor of Native and Christian: Indigenous Voices on Religious Identity in the United States and Canada and For This Land: Writings on Religion in America.

Table of Contents

Prologue ``All This Religious Squabbling''	1	(12)
Contexts
``Spiritual Revival for Indians''	13	(24)
Traditional Movement
Unity Convention
Intertribal Solidarity
Spiritual Revolution
``Disharmony and Religious Feuds''	37	(24)
Cherokee Prophecy
Action Anthropology
Cross-Cultural Education
Ecumenical Personality
``The Churches Must Listen''	61	(28)
Anglican Missions
Indian Work
Hendry Report
Clerical Activists
``About Saving the World''	89	(34)
Rochdale College
Indian Studies
Ecumenical Conference
Buckskin Curtain
Conversations
``Modern Indian Religious Life''	123	(50)
Steering Committee
Crow Agency
Interreligious Organization
``These Hills and Mountains''	173	(28)
Stoney Country
Ordained Chief
Indian Park
Sacred Fire
``Dissatisfaction Evidenced by Some''	201	(28)
Growing Concern
Crash Course
Battle Royal
Liberation Process
``This Sacred Event Interrupted''	229	(28)
Ideological Investment
Divine Disapproval
Elaborate Representations
Numinous Encounters
``To Implement Meaningful Change''	257	(34)
Personal Transformations
Impending
Obsolescence
Tarnished Reputation
Lingering Embers
Epilogue ``Teachings from This Fire''	291	(16)
Acknowledgments	307	(2)
Notes	309	(64)
Index	373