Book contents
- Frontmatter
- SECTION I THE POSTWAR RELIGIOUS WORLD, 1945 AND FOLLOWING
- SECTION II CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES IN TRANSITIONAL TIMES
- SECTION III THE WORLD’s RELIGIONS IN AMERICA
- 14 Interrogating the Judeo-Christian Tradition: Will Herberg’s Construction of American Religion, Religious Pluralism, and the Problem of Inclusion
- 15 American Buddhism since 1965
- 16 Hinduism in America
- 17 Islam in America
- 18 Native American Religious Traditions Post–World War II to the Present
- 19 Latina/o Borderland Religions
- 20 New Religious Movements in America
- SECTION IV RELIGIOUS AND CULTURAL CONFLICT IN AMERICA
- SECTION V NEW AND CONTINUING RELIGIOUS REALITIES IN AMERICA
- SECTION VI CONCLUDING ESSAYS
- Index
- References
18 - Native American Religious Traditions Post–World War II to the Present
from SECTION III - THE WORLD’s RELIGIONS IN AMERICA
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 July 2012
- Frontmatter
- SECTION I THE POSTWAR RELIGIOUS WORLD, 1945 AND FOLLOWING
- SECTION II CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES IN TRANSITIONAL TIMES
- SECTION III THE WORLD’s RELIGIONS IN AMERICA
- 14 Interrogating the Judeo-Christian Tradition: Will Herberg’s Construction of American Religion, Religious Pluralism, and the Problem of Inclusion
- 15 American Buddhism since 1965
- 16 Hinduism in America
- 17 Islam in America
- 18 Native American Religious Traditions Post–World War II to the Present
- 19 Latina/o Borderland Religions
- 20 New Religious Movements in America
- SECTION IV RELIGIOUS AND CULTURAL CONFLICT IN AMERICA
- SECTION V NEW AND CONTINUING RELIGIOUS REALITIES IN AMERICA
- SECTION VI CONCLUDING ESSAYS
- Index
- References
Summary
From the point of contact, European colonizers theologically rationalized the conquest of Indian lands by the fact that Indian peoples were not Christian. Throughout United States history, American Indian religions have never benefited from the First Amendment’s protections of free exercise of religion. Particularly during the period 1880–1930, the U.S. government pursued policies intended to destroy native spiritual practices. In the 1800s, the government placed entire Indian reservations under the administrative control of church denominations in an effort to Christianize and civilize them through Grant’s Peace Policy. Interior Secretary Henry M. Teller ordered an end to all “heathenish dances” in 1882. Two years later, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) mandated thirty days imprisonment for Indians who participated in traditional rituals. In 1890, Sioux Ghost Dance participants were slaughtered at Wounded Knee. In 1892, the BIA outlawed the Sun Dance and banned other ceremonies. Indians were made citizens in 1927, but the outright ban on the right to worship was in effect until 1934, when John Collier’s reforms in BIA policies were instituted during Roosevelt’s presidency.
In the wake of Collier’s reforms, pantribal native organizing grew in prominence and effectiveness. Native religious freedom became a key issue of concern. Legal policy debates included concerns about sacred sites, the use of peyote, and the repatriation of native remains. As struggles for sovereignty became more prominent in the public eye during the 1960s and 1970s, native peoples began to wrestle with the legacy of Christian colonialism.
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- The Cambridge History of Religions in America , pp. 380 - 401Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009