The Study of Indigenous Religions in North America

Abstract This chapter considers the limits and possibilities of thinking with the words religion, spirituality, Indigeneity, and North America within the anthropology of Indigenous religions in North America. The chapter considers how the colonial roots of anthropology and more recent decolonial methods shape how scholars recognize and theorize religion in their scholarship. Throughout the chapter we emphasize the collaborative nature of knowledge production by calling attention to the long history of research relationships between anthropologists and Indigenous knowledge holders. Finally, the chapter argues that acknowledging the long history of religion and spirituality as colonial and Christian categories is critical for future anthropological studies of Indigenous religions. So too are respectful and reciprocal relationships between scholars and the Indigenous Peoples on whose lands they work.