Shamanism and Vulnerability on the North and South American Great Plains

Shamanism and Vulnerability on the North and South American Great Plains explores how indigenous shamanism has been misunderstood and dismissed by white settlers, NGO workers, policymakers, government administrators, and historians and anthropologists. It draws parallels between the cultures and societies of the South American Gran Chaco and the North American Great Plains, highlighting the ways in which power and autonomy manifest and intersect in storytelling, fantasy, and myth. The book offers an alternative way of understanding indigenous American communities and their long histories of interethnic relations with expanding colonial and national states.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 238 pages
Publication date: 01 December 2020
Publisher: University Press of Colorado

In her groundbreaking work, "Shamanism and Vulnerability on the North and South American Great Plains," Kathleen Bolling Lowrey delves into the intricate world of indigenous shamanism, exploring its misinterpretations and dismissals by white settlers, NGO workers, policymakers, government administrators, and historians and anthropologists. Through a diverse range of theoretical frameworks, including masculinity, disability, dependence, domesticity, and popular children's literature, Lowrey conducts a comparative analysis of the cultures and societies of the South American Gran Chaco and the North American Great Plains. She highlights the contrasting dynamics of power and autonomy in Amerindian societies versus weakness and dependence in settler societies. Moreover, she demonstrates how stigmatized or repressed aspects of dependence and power manifest and intersect in unexpected ways within storytelling, fantasy, and myth.

Lowrey's book uncovers the pervasive ways in which anthropologists, historians, folklorists, and other writers have inadvertently projected modern ideologies and assumptions derived from "contract societies" onto ethnographic and historical realities when studying indigenous shamanism and revitalization movements. She offers alternative perspectives that challenge these misrepresentations, shedding light on the complex and multifaceted nature of indigenous American communities and their long histories of interethnic relations with expanding colonial and national states in the Americas.

This innovative and expansive study will be of immense interest to scholars of North and South American anthropology, indigenous studies, and anyone seeking to understand the complexities of shamanism, disability, and dependence in these regions. Lowrey's meticulous research and insightful analysis provide a valuable contribution to the field, challenging prevailing narratives and offering new avenues for understanding the rich tapestry of human experiences across the Americas.

Weight: 330g
Dimension: 152 x 229 x 16 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781646420353