Indianism

Welcome to Anthropology of Religion and Spirituality!

My point of departure are not world religions, but the complexity of spiritual nexuses in popular culture and day-to-day life. I am interested in the appropriation of Native American religious traditions, the authenticity of Native American religious experience outside of tribal contexts, in crossovers between world religions, such as Christianity, and tribal belief systems both in Europe and among Native Americans, and in the ecumenical tendencies among tribal religions. Good empirical examples are furnished by the Bulgarian Eagle Circle Society that holds a strong focus on Plains Indian spiritual traditions; the Orthodox Wablenica (”Orphans”) League in Moscow that searches for linkages between Orthodox Christianity and Assiniboine Indians; the group of followers of the Native American (or New Age, depending on the opinion) spiritual teacher, Sun Bear (1929-1992), called Stowarzyczenie Zolwi in Poland, and the Native American Church in the U.S. I am naturally interested in New Age, but only for comparative purposes.

See below the cover of Leszek Michalik’s book on American Indian astrology entitled “People and Totems” and, coversely, a Cheyenne Indian chapel shaped as a traditional tipi dwelling (from The Amerindian magazine).