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New Age Medicine Men versus New Age Noaidi: Same Neoshamanism, Different Sociopolitical Situation

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Nordic Neoshamanisms

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Abstract

As a movement, neoshamanism has propagated the idea of a universal shamanism as being the traditional religion of all indigenous people. And whether this portrayal is accurate or not, neoshamanism has become a global phenomenon. However, some academic observers have articulated certain themes about the politics of essentialized indigenous identity and spirituality that paint the production of neoshamanism as artificial and inauthentic. This has particularly been the case with certain forms of North American neoshamanism in which Euroamericans have adopted/ adapted Native American spiritual traditions, a pattern that has been harshly criticized as cultural colonialism.

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Authors
  1. James R. Lewis
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Editor information

Siv Ellen Kraft Trude Fonneland James R. Lewis

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© 2015 Siv Ellen Kraft, Trude Fonneland, and James R. Lewis

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Lewis, J.R. (2015). New Age Medicine Men versus New Age Noaidi: Same Neoshamanism, Different Sociopolitical Situation. In: Kraft, S.E., Fonneland, T., Lewis, J.R. (eds) Nordic Neoshamanisms. Palgrave Studies in New Religions and Alternative Spiritualities. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137461407_8

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