Ch 9 Navajo Religion

The Ninth Circuit ruled that while spraying treated sewer water onto a sacred mountain was upsetting to practitioners of the Diné religion, this amounted to "mere damaged feelings." These feelings did not rise to the level of a "substantial burden" on religion because they were based on a subjective experience. In his dissent, what was Judge Fletcher's critique of this argument?

All religions are based on subjective feelings.

A Diné woman undergoes a ceremony that lasts all night during which the story of Changing Woman is told. The purpose of the ceremony is to prevent illness and misfortune and to promote long life. This ceremony was MOST LIKELY a(n) ___.

Blessingway

Which of the Holy People has been described as "totally dependable and without a side that will bring you harm."

Changing Woman

To explain the effects of the Snowbowl project on the Diné, judges were asked to imagine whether they would continue to pray at a church that the U.S. Forest Service repeatedly sprayed with treated sewage water. What is the biggest problem with this analogy?

Christians can pick a different church to go to, but the Dine's sacred mountain cannot be replaced.

Which of the following was a consequence of Oregon v. Smith?

Congress passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).

According to Michael McNally, how might it harm the Diné to put reclaimed snow on the San Francisco Peaks?

Defiling the mountain disorients the Dine from their sacred space, disrupting prayer and daily life.

Which of the following statements BEST describes the adoption of Peyotism by the Diné?

Dine leaders initially rejected peyotism, but gradually came to accept it.

Federal judges ruled that it did not burden the religious freedom of the Diné to spray snow made from treated sewer water onto the San Francisco Peaks. What is one reason why the judges struggled to understand the religious claims of the Diné?

Dine religion is closely tied to physical places, but judges typically think about religion in terms of scriptures and churches.

Which of the following factors make scholarship on Diné religion especially difficult?

Diné "religion" is not clearly separated from the rest of Diné culture. There is a danger of non-Diné scholars slipping into romantic stereotypes about "the vanishing Indian." Many Diné beliefs and practices are not revealed to outsiders.

Which of the following were arguments that spraying treated sewer water onto the San Francisco Peaks places a burden on Diné religion?

Diné will no longer be able to conduct their religious ceremonies, which require gathering resources from the mountain that have never been touched by human hands. This action is psychologically damaging to the Diné because the mountain is sacred.

A Diné enlisted in the United States military suffers nightmares after returning from active duty, so his community performs a ceremony over him. This ceremony was MOST LIKELY a(n) ___.

Enemyway

The San Francisco Peaks are a holy place to the Diné. Therefore, they visit the peaks as often as possible.

False

What is Quanah Parker BEST known for?

He founded the Half Moon Way of Peyotism.

In Navajo Nation v. U.S. Forest Service, why did Larry Foster describe Diné medicine bundles as "our Bible?"

Historically, Native Americans have only been able to gain religious rights by comparing their religion to Christianity.

What is the purpose of this ceremony, known as a kinaalda?

It is puberty ceremony for young women.

Why does this textbook discuss only the religion of the Diné instead of all Native American religions?

Native American religions are too distinct to collapse into a single chapter.

Which of the following statements is true about Navajo religion?

Navajo religion has changed over time and id internally diverse.

Because the term ___ originated with Spanish settler-colonialists, who derived it from Tewa-speaking Pueblo peoples, members of the Navajo Nation are increasingly referring to themselves in public as ___.

Navajo, Diné

Which of the following factors have helped Pentecostal missionaries gain Navajo converts? Factor(s) That Have Helped Pentecostal Missionaries Gain Navajo Converts

Pentecostal services emphasize healing, much like traditional Navajo rituals. Pentecostal ideas about the Holy Spirit share similarities with Navajo belief in Holy Wind. Pentecostal churches have Navajo pastors who speak both English and Navajo.

In Oregon v. Smith, why did the Supreme Court rule that Smith's religious freedom had not been violated?

Peyote is illegal for everyone in the state of Oregon, regardless of their religion.

Which of the following factors contributed to the Diné adopting Peyotism?

Peyote rituals promote social solidary and a sense of access to the divine. Peyote was viewed as ancient and local rather than modern and imported. Peyotism encouraged abstaining from gambling, lying, drinking, and infidelity. Peyote has a reputation for healing. Peyotists are open to multiple religious affiliations.

Which of the following BEST describes traditional Diné mourning practices?

Precautions must be taken to ritually protect the living from the dead.

Which of the following are sacred mountains in Diné religion?

San Francisco Peaks, Arizona Mount Taylor, New Mexico Blanca Peak, Colorado Hesperus Peak, Colorado

The Diné word Diyin Dine'é is often translated as "Holy People." Why is this translation potentially misleading?

The Holy People are sometimes not well behaved.

The Ninth Circuit Court was given ample information about the religious significance of the San Francisco Peaks to the Diné. Why, then, did it claim the Snowbowl project would not be a "substantial burden" on the Diné's religious freedom?

The Ninth Circuit ruled that religious exercise is burdened only when the government coerces individuals into acting contrary to their religious beliefs.

Arrange these events in chronological order, placing the event that happened first at the top.

The first Franciscans arrive in Navajoland in failed effort to convert the Apaches de Navajo. The Pueblo Revolt drives the Spanish out of modern-day New Mexico. The Long Walk, a forced march, drive thousands of Dine to incarceration at Bosque Redondo outside Fort Sumner in New Mexico.

What are the two Diné men in this photo doing?

They are Code Talkers for the U.S. Marines.

According to the Diné creation myth, where did First Man and First Woman come from?

They emerged form he lower worlds into the Earth Surface World.

Which of the following statements BEST characterizes the approach of the Franciscan missionaries who arrived in the Southwest in the seventeenth century?

They employed a strategy of confrontation and exclusion, demanding that converts turn their backs on their native cultures, languages, and kinship groups.

The Snowbowl project occupies only a tiny portion of the San Francisco Peaks. Why can the Diné not simply perform their ceremonies on a different part of the mountain?

They regard the mountain as a single, living entity that cannot be divided.

Which of the following might one be likely to see on a headstone when visiting a Native American Church (NAC) cemetery?

any combination of these.

Diné healing practices often involve a ___ who determines what is troubling the patient. The patient may then be sent to a ___ who performs a ceremony over them.

diagnostician, singer

What is the name of this traditional Diné home where ceremonies are performed?

hogan

Navajo ceremonies are typically performed in a domestic and religious structure known as a ___. A medicine person known as a ___ will sing for someone in need of a healing or blessing.

hogan, hataalii

According to the Navajo way, the central problem of human life is ___ and the solution is to revert to ___ by restoring the individual and the community to beauty, harmony, and balance.

hooch, hozho

The goal of Diné religion is often described as Sa'a Nághaí Bik'e Hózhó. Which of the following is the BEST translation of this term?

long life and happiness

Which tradition MOST often uses peyote?

the Native American Church

What event does this painting by Hopi artists depict?

the Pueblo Revolt of 1680

Navajo sand paintings display elements such as swirling snakes, rotating logs, streaming head plumes, and whirling rainbows. According to Native American artist Trudy Griffin-Pierce, what theme do these elements suggest about Diné life and thought?

the idea that everything is moving and in flux

What is a person seeking healing in a Navajo ceremony typically called?

the one-sung-over

A Diné medicine man travels for years to gather soil from each of the four sacred mountains. For what purpose is he MOST LIKELY gathering this soil?

to create a medicine bundle