NATIVE AMERICAN SPIRITUALITY

Since there are hundreds of distinctNative AmericanNations, many containing more than one distinctive traditional religious practice, it should be clear that the phrase “Native American spirituality” refers to a fictional conglomeration. Most often it privileges a version ofLakotaspirituality, appropriating elements such as thesweat lodgeandvision questfrom their cultural context to make them available in non-Native cultures. Far from aiding an appreciation of Native American religious traditions, this piecemeal approach generates misunderstanding of the rolemedicine peopleand ceremonies play. The phrase is often used inwhiteshamanismand by those accused of being “plastic medicinepeople” or frauds.