Gender, Power, and Spirit in Indigenous Cultures
School of Consciousness and Transformation PARW 6167 1.00
This class will explore the legacy of Native American Indian women on a path of power (leaders, healers, shamans, ceremonialists) and the spiritual images and stories of the cultural contexts in which they exist. Because there are no male Creators in Native thought, a unique opportunity presents itself to understand the sacred in a way that is not possible with the spirituality of the Eastern Hemisphere. The emphasis of the class will be on going beneath the overlay of prevailing worldviews and values to uncover recurring indigenous themes, many of which are strikingly of global relevance today. These themes will be elucidated didactically and experientially, and there will be opportunities to dialogue in a manner consistent with Native American oral tradition.
