NORTH AMERICA

North America: translation

Shamanism has been identified among a wide range of indigenous nations in North America, from theYaquiliving around the Mexican border to theInuitof theArctic. Objections have been raised to the use of the wordshamanwith reference to religious and cultural leaders in North America on the grounds that the term is specific toSiberian ritualistsand that there are local names for the different kinds of leaders recognized by particular indigenous nations. It is often true that “holy people,” “medicine people,” “doctor,” or “ritualist” are better translations of many of these terms.Similarly, distinct roles are performed by those labeled in particular ways within a single community, for example, theTcisaki, nanandawi,wabeno, andmedaamong theOjibwe. The issues are similar with reference to words likereligionthat are drawn from other cultural contexts and require considerable care if they are not to convey misinformation about specific local contexts and cultures. Nonetheless, there are considerable similarities betweenNative Americanritualists,healers, and spiritual leaders and those labeled “shamans” elsewhere. North America is also the origin of muchneo-shamanicactivity, fromSun Bear, who argued that “Native American spirituality” should be shared among a wider community of non-Natives, andCarlosCastaneda’sDon Juanmythos, toMichaelHarner’s proposal of a “core shamanism” free of cultural specificity. Other Native Americans—for example, those affiliated with theAmerican IndianMovement—have criticized Sun Bear and non-Native “teachers” such as Castaneda and Harner for appropriating Native American knowledge, traditions, and practices, often suggesting that EuroAmerican neo-shamans should reclaim their European shamanistic traditions, as practiced among theCeltsand otherNorthern Europeans.