The North American Indigenous People Nuu-chah-nulth : Religious Practices and Beliefs

This compilation thesis, “The North American Indigenous People Nuu-chah-nulth: Religious Practices and Beliefs”, examines how the traditional language, as well as the social and political systems of the Native American Nuu-chah-nulth people, function and are employed today, alongside their traditional beliefs and ritual practices. The thesis is based on extensive fieldwork and interviews, and highlights their accounts concerning the preservation and revitalization of these traditions. It explores the forms of traditional beliefs and religious practices that the informants claim to engage in and invoke, analyzing the motivations behind their practices, and how traditional religion is distributed within the community. This thesis consists of five published articles that present different parts of the empirical material, including the informants’ views of and uses of tradition, such as ritual practices and beliefs, but also as a tool for social, political, and identity formation. It also includes a comprehensive introduction, which includes additional field data and further empirical insights, in the context of relevant scholarly research. The thesis shows that the tradition has become both fragmented and heterogeneous, with individuals engaging with and practicing it in diverse ways and with different motivations. In the contemporary context, we observe shamans with congregations, individuals practicing vision quests and participating in rituals, as well as secret societies that remain active. The material points to several factors contributing to the current state of Nuu-chah-nulth traditions. Since the first contact with Europeans, these traditions have undergone transformations, influenced both by external forces and internal developments. One significant factor is the nature of missionary activity, Catholic or Protestant. Nevertheless, practices such as witchcraft and sorcery continue to exist, and their potential motivations are explored in the thesis. The thesis demonstrates that aspects of the traditional religion of the Nuu-chah-nulth have managed to survive centuries of oppression from the Canadian majority society, and in fact almost since the first contacts with Europeans, and remain alive today, albeit transformed, as traditional religion has constituted and continues to constitute an integral part of the group’s preserved linguistic, cultural, social, and political systems. The unifying theme that connects the various parts of the thesis thus touches not only on the rituals and religious beliefs of the traditional religion, but also on the strategies used to defend a traditional way of life against the pressures of the majority society. It also explores how their desire to revitalize old traditions is expressed, as well as the varying outcomes of this endeavor across different generations, groups, and individuals. The thesis shows that traditional religion today fulfills several functions, including serving as a tool for identity and politics, while also representing an efficacious reality for some informants. Central is a discussion of the concept of tradition, which recurs throughout the compilation. The study of religion among the Northwest Coast Native American peoples is a highly neglected field, and this study hopes to contribute new knowledge to it.

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