Native American spiritual traditions became trendy in the 1960s, when books such as "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" caused a fundamental shift in how many Americans view the westward expansion and its horrendous implications for American Indians. After whites defeated the Indians militarily, they began an assault on Indian culture. Indian children were shipped off to schools where only English was spoken and various Christian denominations divvied up reservations, building churches and seeking new converts.

Latter-day charlatons passing themselves off as medicine men is far more insidious than what the Christians missionaries did. There isn't a Lakota School of Divinity that awards diplomas that can be framed on walls. Most of American Indian tradition and history came down through word of mouth. Only in relatively recent times have some tribes begun to write these things down. Tribal Web sites contain some history, but they're obviously just hitting the high spots.

Fewer and fewer Native Americans are full-blooded, more and more live in cities away from the reservations. The mixing and the mobility that are common to all Americans are taking a toll on Indian culture. Not that many reservation Indians know their tribe's language. Making matters worse, New Age-types are exploiting the situation by setting themselves up as medicine men. There are Web sites for some of these operators, some of whom make a decent living uttering a few Lakota phrases and selling sweat lodge weekends.

There is 5-year-old effort, New Age Frauds and Plastic Shamans, which established a Web site, http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php, to expose what it sees as fraudulent exploitation of Indian spirituality. These "outings" have resulted in charges that NAFPS is a racist hate group. Without entering into the charges and counter-charges, it's fair to say that if one wants to Google "sweat lodge ceremonies," a wide spectrum of allegedly holy opportunities are out there -- some including astrology and others things never associated with American Indians. One can spend a good bit of money in some cases, although exactly what is purchased at the end of the day is another debatable topic.

Some of these activities can help you feel good, but they have little or nothing to do with American Indian spirituality. You can't blame American Indians for being upset when many of them live in poverty and they see someone making money by exploiting their rituals. It's just the latest in the Indian wars, another way to attack Indians. Singer/songwriter Bruce Cockburn famously sang:

It's not breech-loading rifles and wholesale slaughter
It's kickbacks and thugs and diverted water
Treaties get signed and the papers change hands
But they might as well draft these agreements in sand

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