New Religions and Old Ways
Nova Religio The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions May 1, 2022 Sarah Dees
Three recent books examine how the Kiowa people of Oklahoma adapted their religious and cultural practices under U.S. assimilation policies after the 1867 Medicine Lodge Treaty. Jennifer Graber's The Gods of Indian Country shows Kiowas selectively incorporated new rituals like the Ghost Dance and peyote while maintaining existing forms of sacred power. Benjamin Kracht's Religious Revitalization Among the Kiowas analyzes Kiowa adoption of Christianity, peyote traditions, and the Ghost Dance through anthropological theory. Jenny Tone-Pah-Hote's Crafting an Indigenous Nation explores how Kiowa expressive culture—art, jewelry, dance—helped preserve identity and sovereignty. Together, these works demonstrate that religious innovation was not new to the Kiowa and that they drew on both old and new spiritual sources to resist colonial pressures.