REL 366 - Advanced Topics: Native American Religions (1)

Native American Religion will introduce students to the oral traditions, ritual ceremonies, connection to the land, and lifeways that animate the spirituality of Indigenous Peoples across North America. Students will reflect upon the meaning, experience, and effects of vision quests, sweat lodges, smudging (“burning sage/sweet grass”), the Ghost Dance, the Sun Dance, and the Navajo Kinaalda ritual. Students will learn about the tragic and complex history of Native American relationships with settlers and missionaries, their strategies for maintaining traditional practices despite pressures to “civilize” and “Christianize,” and what Indigenous Peoples can teach us about our interdependence with the environment. Lastly, students will consider how to be good neighbors and allies to Indigenous Peoples as they continue to struggle with the lasting effects of colonization, revitalize their language and lifeways, legal battles over sacred land, and the defense of their sovereignty.
(Humanities) (Intercultural Literacy Intensive)