A seat at the table : Huston Smith in conversation with Native Americans on religious freedom

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Bibliographic Information

A seat at the table : Huston Smith in conversation with Native Americans on religious freedom

edited and with a preface by Phil Cousineau ; with assistance from Gary Rhine

University of California Press, c2006

  • : hbk

Available at  / 5 libraries

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Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. 211-215) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

In this collection of illuminating conversations, renowned historian of world religions Huston Smith invites ten influential American Indian spiritual and political leaders to talk about their five-hundred-year struggle for religious freedom. Their intimate, impassioned dialogues yield profound insights into one of the most striking cases of tragic irony in history: the country that prides itself on religious freedom has resolutely denied those same rights to its own indigenous people. With remarkable erudition and curiosity - and respectfully framing his questions in light of the revelation that his discovery of Native American religion helped him round out his views of the world's religions - Smith skillfully helps reveal the depth of the speakers' knowledge and experience. American Indian leaders Vine Deloria, Jr. (Standing Rock Sioux), Winona LaDuke (Anishshinaabeg), Walter Echo-Hawk (Pawnee), Frank Dayish, Jr. (Navajo), Charlotte Black Elk (Oglala Lakota), Douglas George-Kanentiio (Mohawk-Iroquois), Lenny Foster (Dine/Navajo), Tonya Gonnella Frichner (Onondaga), Anthony Guy Lopez (Lakota-Sioux), and Oren Lyons (Onondaga) provide an impressive overview of the critical issues facing the Native American community today. Their ideas about spirituality, politics, relations with the U.S. government, their place in American society, and the continuing vitality of their communities give voice to a population that is all too often ignored in contemporary discourse. The culture they describe is not a relic of the past, nor a historical curiosity, but a living tradition that continues to shape Native American lives.

Table of Contents

Preface The Indian Way of Story Introduction: The Primal Religions Huston Smith 1. The Spiritual Malaise in America: The Confluence of Religion, Law, and Community A conversation with Vine Deloria Jr. (Standing Rock Sioux) 2. Five Hundred Nations within One: The Search for Religious Justice A conversation with Walter Echo-Hawk (Pawnee) 3. Ecology and Spirituality: Following the Path of Natural Law A conversation with Winona LaDuke (Anishinaabeg) 4. The Homelands of Religion: The Clash of Worldviews Over Prayer, Place, and Ceremony A conversation with Charlotte Black Elk (Oglala Lakota) 5. Native Language, Native Spirituality: From Crisis to Challenge A conversation with Douglas George-Kanentiio (Mohawk-Iroquois) 6. The Triumph of the Native American Church: Celebrating the Free Exercise of Religion A conversation with Frank Dayish Jr. (Navajo) 7. The Fight for Native American Prisoners' Rights: The Red Road to Rehabilitation A conversation with Lenny Foster (Navajo) 8. Stealing Our Spirit: The Threat of the Human Genome Diversity Project A conversation with Tonya Gonella Frichner (Onondaga) 9. The Fight for Mount Graham: Looking for the Fingerprints of God A conversation with Anthony Guy Lopez (Lakota Sioux) 10. Redeeming the Future: The Two Instructions of Spiritual Law A conversation with Oren Lyons (Onondaga) 11. The Healing of Indian Country: Kinship, Custom, Ceremony, and Oratory A conversation with Vine Deloria Jr. (Standing Rock Sioux) Afterword Huston Smith Notes Bibliography Acknowledgments Index

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