Spirituality, Native American Personhood, Sovereignty and Solidarity

Abstract

Aboriginal peoples in North America today are, if you will, a fourth world. I As fourth-world peoples, we share with our third-world relatives the hunger, poverty and repression which has been the continuing common experience of those overpowered by the expansionism of European adventurers and their missionaries five hundred years ago.What distinguishes fourth-world indigenous peoples from other third-world peoples, however, are the particular repercussions of conquest and genocide as they impacted our distinctive indigenous cultures. While the immediately obvious effects of conquest and genocide seem similar for third-and fourth-world peoples -poverty, unemployment, disease, high infant mortality, low adult longevity -there are deeper, more hidden but no less deadly effects of colonialism which impact third-and fourthworld peoples in dramatically different ways. These effects are especially felt in the indigenous fourth-world spiritual experience, and we see our struggle for liberation within the context of this distinctive spirituality. This has been often overlooked, until recently, in third-world liberation theology models of social change which often remained inappropriate and ineffective in the struggle of indigenous peoples for their right to self-determination. In fact, the themes of much liberation theology have been derived from the very modes of discourse of the Western academy against which indigenous peoples have struggled for centuries. These modes of discourse -whether theological, legal, political, economic, or even the so-called social sciences -have structured colonial, neo-colonial, and now Marxist regimes which, in the name of 0 Dr George E. Tinker (Osaga-Cherokee) is assistant professor of cross-cultural ministries at Iliff School of Theology, Denver, Colorado, USA. 312

Ethnic and Gender Variation in Religious Involvement: Patterns of Expression in Young Adulthood

“…She describes the United States as having “an almost unrivaled variety of religions, reflecting both historic factors and contemporary socio-economic processes.” Further breaking the country down into regions, she identifies the Pacific Northwest as being dominated by Protestant Christianity, while also having low religious affiliation. This characterization is also reported by Iannaccone and Makowsky (2007) who call the western United States “relatively irreligious.” By contrast, Shahabi et al (2002) found that people in the South were more religious than spiritual. Overall there is variation in perspectives across the nation.…”

“…This may cause a split for some groups and individuals who accept a Christian identity (Bucko 2007). Tinker (1996) found that for Native Americans, all existence is spiritual. While there are a great variety of cultures among Native Americans, the universal starting point is spirituality, with many tribal ceremonies expressing spirituality (Tinker 1996).…”

“…Tinker (1996) found that for Native Americans, all existence is spiritual. While there are a great variety of cultures among Native Americans, the universal starting point is spirituality, with many tribal ceremonies expressing spirituality (Tinker 1996). Experiential aspects of religion are extremely important in Native American religious tradition.…”

“…Studies exploring differences in religiosity across age are limited, as few cross-sectional or longitudinal studies have been done. Those studies that have addressed age have shown that young adults are more likely to consider themselves to be spiritual, but are less likely to participate in organized religious services or activities (Shahabi et al 2002). Glover (1996) and Becker and Hofmeister (2001) explain that some changes in religious involvement are associated with societal expectations about maturity and adulthood.…”

“…Where a person lives also affects how religious involvement manifests. Shahabi et al (2002) writes about the relationship between religion and geographic location. She describes the United States as having “an almost unrivaled variety of religions, reflecting both historic factors and contemporary socio-economic processes.” Further breaking the country down into regions, she identifies the Pacific Northwest as being dominated by Protestant Christianity, while also having low religious affiliation.…”