Contemporary Native American and Indigenous Religions: State of the field

Abstract

AbstractNative American and Indigenous religions are incredibly diverse in practice, belief, material culture, and organization, which shape distinct individual religious experiences and communal identities. The study of Native American and Indigenous religions is not the study of a singular religion or people nor does it refer to a singular methodology. Instead, the study of contemporary Native American religions is the study of diverse communities that were and continue to be shaped by settler colonialism, Christian missionization, US federal Indian policy, and legal battles over religious freedom and ancestral lands. Three interrelated themes emerge in recent scholarship: the study of protest/protector movements and the assertion of legal rights for sovereignty, self‐determination, and religious freedom; the confluence of environmental issues and Indigenous religions; and an attention to global Indigeneity. A number of gaps remain, however: engagement with non‐federally recognized tribes; Indigenous communities outside of the American West; and religion and violence.