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Christianity and World Religions: Native Americans

A guide that serves as a brief introduction to several world religions. It is intended to whet your appetite for further study and to help you understand the religious beliefs of others in today's global society.

Keywords and Sample Questions

Terms and names:

Aleuts
American Indian Movement (AIM)
animism        
Anishinaabeg        
Apache            
Aymara        
Aztec    
Banks, Dennis
Black Hills        
Cherokee        
Chiapas        
Chilam Balam
counting coup
Dakota    
Dakota Uprising    
de Las Casas, Bartholome
Diego, Juan
dog strap soldier    
Five Civilized Tribes    
ghost dance        
Hopi                
Inca
Indian Reorganization Act of 1934
Inuit
Iroquois

Jackson, President Andrew

Kateri Tekawitha
LaDuke, Winona
Maya
Means, Russell
Ojibwa
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Pequot
Pequot War
Pueblo
Quechua
Ross, John
shaman
strong medicine
Subcomandante Marcos    
sun dance
trail of tears
vision quest
Wounded Knee

Give a few examples of interactions between Native American tribes and European settlers.

Describe a “vision quest.”

Be able to explain the five characteristic Dakota virtues.

(a) How would the Dakota define "bravery"? (b) Give some examples of actions that would illustrate bravery.

(a) How would the Dakota define "individual freedom"? (b) What effects did this notion of freedom have?

What sorts of things do the Dakota share? How do they do so?
 
What is the proper meaning of the phrase "Indian giver"?

What does "adjustment to nature" mean?

How is Dakota wisdom expressed? What are some of the elements of this wisdom?

Give some examples of the tension between Dakota characteristics and White characteristics.

How did Indian attitudes toward land ownership differ from white attitudes?

How did Indian attitudes toward authority and freedom differ from white attitudes?