ABSTRACT
Non-Indian spokespersons for American Indian spirituality are also influential, especially among non-Indians. Distinctions between authentic spokespersons and pretenders are a persistent theme in discussions about American Indian spirituality. Some direct connection with tribal cultures is essential to the religious movement of American Indian spirituality because its function is one of mediation between tribal and middle-class western cultures. This mediating function accounts for the role difference between religious leaders of tribal cultures and tribally sanctioned spokespersons for American Indian spirituality. The function of American Indian spirituality as a bridge between tribal and middle-class western cultures explains both the importance of tribal representation in the movement and the difference between this representation and tribal leadership. The American Indian spirituality movement is the historical successor of the Indian revitalization movements that began in the late eighteenth century with religious visionaries like the Delaware prophet, Neolin.
