Recovery and Resistance: The Renewal of Traditional Spirituality among American Indian Women
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Recovery and Resistance: The Renewal of Traditional Spirituality among American Indian Women

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https://doi.org/10.17953Creative Commons 'BY-NC' version 4.0 license
Abstract

This article tells the story of healing from personal trauma and a tale of resistance to the cultural denigration experienced by women from the Northern Cheyenne and Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux reservations. The women's stories, obtained through in-depth and focus-group interviews, and participant observation, reveal how spirituality expressed in a variety of forms has been an important part of the resistance process. Through their spiritual practices and beliefs, these women have achieved desired changes in their personal lives and contributed to a renaissance of spiritual practices on the two Northern Plains reservations. These stories elucidate the specific experiences and perspectives of women, rather than the views of the clergy or institutional leaders of the religious groups to which the women belong. This article responds to the recent call made by Kathryn Ward to focus on the experiences and views of indigenous women and how they resist domination and reestablish political, social, and cultural rights. This article also contributes to recent research exploring the effects of history and generational experiences or changes in religious affiliation and spiritual expression. The imposition of the reservation system on Native peoples in the late 1800s brought social and economic changes and cultural loss, which required significant adaptations that have affected each subsequent generation. While each generation found ways to protect their traditions or challenge subordination, women in these two reservation settings provided the means to resist both personal dysfunction and further cultural loss.

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