Teaching Spirits

By Joseph Epes Brown

Book Overview

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, at the same time upholding the integrity of individual traditions. Brown illustrates each of these themes with in-depth explorations of specific native cultures including Lakota, Navajo, Apache, Koyukon, and Ojibwe. Brown demonstrates how Native American values provide an alternative metaphysics that stand opposed to modern materialism. He shows how these spiritual values provide material for a serious rethinking of modern attitudes - especially toward the environment - as well as how they may help non-native peoples develop a more sensitive response to native concerns. Throughout, he draws on his extensive personal experience with Black Elk, who came to symbolize for many the greatness of the imperiled native cultures.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0199739005
• ISBN13: 9780199739004
• Release Date: March 2010
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 168 Pages
• Weight: 0.67 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Teaching Spirits: Understanding Native American Religious Traditions

As a former student of the Joseph Epes Brown, I think Joseph expresses himself more clearly in this book than he was ever able to do in the classroom. It is the best summary of Native American religious traditions I have ever read. Delightful and surprising. I only wish he was still with us.

An informative book

I found this book a fascinating, especially for a required college textbook. In his introductary chapter, he is redundant and tries to give the air the Native American religions are much more full of meaning than Western European religions. I was glad to see the rest of the book didn't make such ethnocentric and blanketed statements. The rest of the book is a quick overview of Native American religion. It explains in a very easy manner about the way they live and the differences in their cultures, and provides various examples and humorous stories to demonstrate Brown's findings.In closing, I think this book is a must have for any anthropologist.