BOOK REVIEWS: The Land Looks After Us: A History of Native American Religion

BY SYBEL ALGER THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE http://www.inlandempireonline.com/living/stories/051701/prof.shtml

The religions of Native Americans changed and survived, "miraculously, unbelievably," after Europeans colonized their land, a UCR professor has concluded in his latest book.

Joel W. Martin sees much hope for Native Americans in his book, "The Land Looks After Us: A History of Native American Religion."

After being decimated by disease, losing the buffalo and falling prey to alcohol brought from Europe, the original inhabitants of North America are regaining control of their spiritual as well as economic lives, he said, primarily because of gaming revenues.

A rebirth of native music, literature, art and language combined with deeper study of history will break down stereotypes about Native Americans and restore their self-worth, Martin said.

The first chapters of the book focus on Native American religious traditions before Europeans arrived. The various practices were based on the concept, "Our land, our religion, our life are one."

The middle chapters address Christianity. Some natives were forced into the church and into slavery in Roman Catholic missions. Many absorbed Christian elements into native beliefs, and others adopted the new religion wholeheartedly, seeing parallels between various denominations and traditional teachings.

The book ends with a look to the future of Native American culture.

Catharine Brown, a Cherokee who was sent to a Christian missionary boarding school, became an enthusiastic Christian, Martin tells in the book. Her father feared the growing presence of the Europeans and decided to move his family westward. The mission journal recounts the heart-rending story of Catharine's dilemma. She wanted to complete her education, but she did not want to disobey her father. She finally decided to join her family.

Later, she became the first female Cherokee school teacher, Martin said.

"It's a very complicated story. A very real family drama that I hope people can relate to," Martin said at a recent book signing at the Little Professor Book Company in Temecula. "There was a real issue at stake. What was the future of the Cherokee people?"

Government agents reacted differently to the Ghost Dance, a new religion that began in Nevada in 1889. As recounted in the book, a healer named Wovoka said he had a vision. God told him that Native Americans needed to love one another, live in peace with the whites and give up warlike practices. If they obeyed and performed a ritual dance, they would be reunited with their friends and families in the other world. Some said Wovoka was the Christ. He said he was merely a teacher.

The movement swept the country. It enabled native people to absorb Christian ideas and stories without becoming Christians themselves and provided a spiritual alternative to the newcomers' religion, Martin wrote.

On the Lakota Reservation in South Dakota, Martin said the local government agent "kind of freaked out, in modern terms" when he saw the men wearing sacred shirts said to have protective powers. He set out to crush the Ghost Dance, which led to the massacre of more than 200 Lakotas at Wounded Knee, Martin said.

In Oklahoma, another government official concluded that the Ghost Dance was not a threat to the settlers and could "pave the way for Christianity," Martin said. But it never took hold there, primarily because the Comanchees' leader, Quannah Parker, was an adherent of the peyote religion, yet another belief brought in from the outside. It came from Mexico, where it had survived the Spanish conquests.

Parker believed that peyote cured alcoholism and healed illness. Over time, some branches incorporated Christianity, believing the cactus plant helped them find the road to Christ. The Native American Church, organized in 1918, was formed to promote "the Christian religion with practice of the Peyote Sacrament," Martin wrote.

Martin is the Costo Endowed Chair in American Indian History at University of California, Riverside, as well as a professor of history and religious studies. The chair was established in 1986 by Rupert and Jeannette Henry Costo with the American Indian Historical Society to promote the study of Native America and foster cultural exchange involving tribes and the university.

Once a two-year position, the Costo chair is now a permanent post. Martin said that permanency will allow him to undertake long-term projects, such as creating a center for studying California tribes and organizing a Native American studies program.

The book is part of a series on religion published by the Oxford University Press. The series is designed to make academics' research on the world's religions available to the public. Martin said he was told to write without jargon and the usual footnotes that litter academic work. He focused on people's stories to illustrate the larger picture.

Book proceeds go to the American Indian College Fund.
 
 
 

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