Teaching Spirits: Understanding Native American Religious Traditions

Teaching Spirits offers a thematic approach to Native American religious traditions. Within the great multiplicity of Native American cultures, Joseph Epes Brown has perceived certain common themes that resonate within many Native traditions. He demonstrates how themes within native traditions connect with each other while upholding the integrity of individual traditions. Brown and Cousins illustrate these themes with in-depth explorations of specific native cultures including Lakota, Navajo, Apache, Koyukon, and Ojibwe. They also demonstrates how Native American spiritual values provide an alternative metaphysics that stands opposed to modern materialism. These values provide material for a serious rethinking of modern attitudes, which may help non-native peoples develop a more sensitive response to native concerns.