Mediations of the spirit: Native American religious traditions and the ethics of representation.(Special Issue: To Hear the Eagles Cry: Contemporary Themes in Native American Spirituality) From: The American Indian Quarterly | Date: June 22, 1996| Author: Hernandez-Avila, Ines | COPYRIGHT 1996 University of Nebraska Press. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

A personal, autoethnographic approach to the study of Native American religious traditions by a Native (Nimipu or Nez Perce) scholar highlights issues of community, identity and representation. Many Native Americans are working to sustain and reconstruct their spiritual traditions. Problems include issues of Native American religious freedom, the exploitation of Native healers such as the Mazatec elder Maria Sabina, and the assumption by 'New Age' non-Indian people that they have a right to a...