Quest for Harmony: Native American Spiritual Traditions

Quest for Harmony looks at the spiritual life of Native American nations and argues that these traditions are not disappearing. They are in the middle of a notable revival. William A. Young focuses on four nations: the Lenape (Delaware), Cherokee, Lakota (Sioux) and Navajo.

For each nation the book describes its traditional homeland, its present population, its language and its social organisation, and it includes at least one account of how the people's origins are told. A historical outline follows, running from the earliest documented times to recent decades. The heart of each section explains the nation's spiritual worldview and rituals, including its cosmology and its gods and spirits.

The book gives Native American perspectives in their own voice wherever possible. It also covers wider issues, including pan-national spiritual movements and the environment. General readers, students of religion and anyone starting out on these cultures will find it a sympathetic place to begin.

Edition note: published by Seven Bridges Press,U.S. in 2001, 400 pages, ISBN-13 9781889119502.