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"This is a monumental work that contextualizes what might be called Cherokee 'religion,' but goes deeper than that. Crafted over years of collaborations between academic and Cherokee knowledge holders, this is going to be a highly regarded classic of the history of religions."—Philip Arnold, Associate Professor of Religion and Native American and Indigenous Studies, Syracuse University, and President, Indigenous Values Initiative
"People of Kituwah is a major contribution to the study of the Cherokee ethos. John Loftin and Benjamin Frey offer a comprehensive study of a much-neglected subject—Eastern Cherokee spirituality—by examining the mythic context from which Cherokee religious beliefs evolved and were historically practiced. A scholarly work which challenges modern misconceptions regarding the monolithic nature of Cherokees' religion, historical attitude toward female menstruation, and belief in multiple souls and in the afterlife."—Alan Kilpatrick, Professor Emeritus of American Indian Studies, San Diego State University
List of contents
Contents
Preface
Introduction
PART ONE. BEFORE CONTACT
1. ᏗᏓᎴᏂᏍᎬ ᎤᏂᏃᎮᏓ: Eastern Cherokee Creation and Subsistence Narratives
2. ᎠᏂᎩᏚᏩᎩ ᏍᎦᏚᎩ: Cherokee Community
3. ᎤᎵᏍᎨᏗ ᎢᏳᎾᏛᏁᏘ: Cherokee Ceremonial Life
4. ᏅᏬᏘ: Cherokee Medicine
PART TWO. AFTER CONTACT
5. The Contact Era: 1540–1760
6. Contact, Colonialism, and Christianity: 1725–1799
7. Christian Missions and the Ghost Dance: 1799–1815
8. Missionaries and Medicine Men: 1815–1828
9. Cherokees, Christianity, and Myth: 1818–1830
10. Christianity and Cherokee Removal: 1830–1838
11. Cherokee Isolation, the Civil War, and Traditional Religion: 1839–1900
12. Cherokee Traditions in the Twentieth Century
Epilogue
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the author
John D. Loftin, who has been hanging around Indian Country for more than 40 years, has taught widely and written in the field of American Indian spirituality. A third-generation North Carolina lawyer, he has also represented the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians since 2003.
Benjamin E. Frey is Assistant Professor of American Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He teaches courses in Cherokee language, philosophy, and worldview, and is proficient in the Cherokee language. He is also involved in the revitalization and preservation of the Cherokee language.
