Eleventh International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

This discussion explores the assertions that changes in form, function, practice, and perceptions of puha primarily arose from the dispossession of landscapes and oppression of specific religious practices due to reservation confinement. Rather than arguing for a depravationist catalyst for change, the discussion argues that puha is an ancient concept of healing and power reflected within the archeological record that displays fluidity, adaptability, and continuity. These reflections of puha — as seen in the Dinwoody Tradition — are delineated through rock art, iconography, mythology, and ecology, which builds a hierarchy of puha attainment and transference that solidified in a distinct set of ceremonial and ritual practices manufactured in the material culture of the Eastern Shoshone.