SB> DM>The instructor uses texts written by researchers who quote liberally, 
th
SB>   >native american ideals.  His primary texts are TEACHINGS FROM THE 
AMERIC
SB>   >EARTH by Dennis and Barbara Tedlock, and WHITE ROOTS OF PEACE by Paul 
Wa
SB>   >He also frequently uses Jack Weatherford's NATIVE ROOTS as well.
SB> 
SB> I remain suspicious of anyone teaching a general class in native
SB> spirituality.  What folks in the southeast believe is not exactly the
SB> same as what folks in the northwest believe, for example.  By the way,
SB> what makes Dennis and Barbara Tedlock, Paul Walla, and Jack Weatherford
SB> qualified to speak on native spirituality?
 
Suspicions are always good, but it's best to learn from the best available 
source of information.  An example, would you be willing to travel to the 
Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma to study the Lenapi?  That's their tribal 
headquarters.  
 
With respect to the authors that I cited, they are cultural anthropologists 
who study and write about what they learn from the particular groups that 
hey
study.  In the case of the Tedlocks, the book they wrote, (edited actually) 
was a compilation of works by native authors of differing nations.  
imilarly,
Paul Wallace's book is widely endorsed by the Haudenosaunee.  (Forward by 
Chief Shenandoah, Tadadaho or Keeper of the Central Fire, of the 
Haudenosaunee.)
 
Granted, people in different areas of the country have different points of 
view on the subject, but in the case of my instructors at least, they deal 
with the more widely known and better studied peoples, rather than applying a 
general set of principles on all of them.  As an example, the Dine' and the 
Hopi live in the same general area, (desert Southwest), but they are vastly 
different in religion, social structure, and history.  Instead of applying 
he
Dine' or Hopi cultural pattern on all desert Southwest societies, each one is 
studied seperately and analyzed.  There's no judgement of right or wrong in 
the study.  This is the case in all groups that we study.
 
As I said, I can understand your reluctance to accept a class or instructor 
talking about "Native American Spirituality", but the class studies groups 
independenty, rather than as a whole.
 
Dennis Martin
 
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