Belief and Ritual, Spirits of Earth and Sky.
Combining both historical and present-day perspectives, this book provides a far-ranging and richly illustrated account of the spiritual traditions of the indigenous peoples of North America, from the Inuit of the Canadian north to the Pueblo Indians of the Southwestern desert.
Beginning with an examination of the history of Native Americans, from before the arrival of the Europeans to the legacy of the settlers, the book moves on to explore the individual culture areas region by region. At the heart of the book is a treatment of Native ritual and ceremony that illuminates the expression of the spiritual and the sacred in such forms as personal and communal ritual, initiation rites and curing ceremonies. The final chapter examines the issues that are important among Native peoples early in the twenty-first century.
The text is illustrated with a wealth of pictures of tribal life, sacred landscapes and artefacts, including historical black and white photographs and superb full-colour modern images. The reference section at the back of the book provides valuable supplementary information about languages, social organisation, population trends and land issues.
