Native American spirituality
Why NBA star Kyrie Irving was burning sage before a game with the Celtics
By Bob Smietana, Jack Jenkins, and Emily McFarlan Miller — December 21, 2020
(RNS) — NBA star Kyrie Irving, who has Native American roots, burned sage during a warmup in a practice known as smudging.
To fight racism, we need to confront religion’s racist past
By Simran Jeet Singh — July 9, 2020
(RNS) — There’s nothing ‘past’ about American racism — it is our present, and will be our future unless we abandon the triumphalism of the country's founding faith.
Breath, the divine metaphor, becomes a hallmark of America’s twin crises
By Holly Lebowitz Rossi — July 8, 2020
(RNS) — The normally simple, normally unconscious act of drawing breath has come to define the United States’ most pressing problems. What the world’s faith traditions have to say about the meaning of our first act as humans.
How COVID-19 and the fight against Big Oil is reviving one Alaskan people’s spiritual traditions
By Daysha Eaton — May 30, 2020
(RNS) — How indigenous women are leading the fight to protect one of North America’s last wild places, sparking a cultural and spiritual renaissance.
Potawatomi Christian author Kaitlin Curtice on finding herself and God in new book
By Emily McFarlan Miller — May 5, 2020
(RNS) — Curtice wasn’t expecting to release her book amid a pandemic, but she believes the book can speak into this moment in history.
Standing Rock Sioux celebrate ‘significant legal win’ in DAPL fight
By Emily McFarlan Miller — March 31, 2020
(RNS) — A federal judge has ordered a new environmental review for the Dakota Access pipeline in what the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is celebrating as a “significant legal win.”
Potawatomi Christian chapel speaker Kaitlin Curtice draws ire of Baylor student group
By Emily McFarlan Miller — February 20, 2020
(RNS) — Curtice’s chapel message about the journey of 'decolonizing' her faith drew pushback from a student group, which posted a statement on Twitter disavowing the service as part of 'the liberal agenda.'
In Hawaii, ‘protectors’ fight telescope project with prayer
By Jack Jenkins — September 5, 2019
MAUNA KEA, Hawaii (RNS) — Demonstrators have flocked to this mountain to stop construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope for reasons that are partly environmental and partly religious.
Warren, Williamson among candidates at historic Native American presidential forum
By Emily McFarlan Miller — August 19, 2019
(RNS) — O.J. Semans, co-executive director of Four Directions, introduced the forum as "Indian Country 101 for America,” which included discussions of issues informed by indigenous spirituality.
‘Only God can do that’: How Nebraskans are reconciling faith and flooding
By Emily McFarlan Miller — April 8, 2019
LINCOLN, Neb. (RNS) — Here’s a look at how a few Nebraska communities — Christian, Yazidi and Ponca — are reconciling their faiths with the devastating floods that have swept across the Midwest.
Catholic school apologizes after clip emerges of students mocking Native Americans
By Jack Jenkins — January 19, 2019
WASHINGTON (RNS) — 'They're just responding to a president that is giving license to racists and bigots who have no place in our society,' a Native American activist said.
Trump’s Wounded Knee jab evokes dark history of suppressing indigenous religions
By Rosalyn R. LaPier — January 16, 2019
(The Conversation) — A tweet aimed at Elizabeth Warren is the latest statement to draw criticism of the president’s inaccurate portrayal of Native American history.
How the loss of Native Americans’ languages affects our understanding of their belief
By Rosalyn R. LaPier — October 9, 2018
(The Conversation) — Embedded in indigenous languages is information about their beliefs about the creation and preservation of the environment.
Vatican considers sainthood for Lakota Sioux medicine man
By Kirk Petersen — August 21, 2018
(RNS) — The Catholic Church could get its second Native American saint if a Vatican research trip to South Dakota this month leads to confirmation of two miracles performed by Nicholas Black Elk, a Lakota Sioux medicine man born in the Civil War era.
How Native American food is tied to important sacred stories
By The Conversation — June 16, 2018
(The Conversation) — This latest Supreme Court case coincides with a resurgence of interest among a new generation of scholars and activists who are learning about and reviving indigenous food systems.
