Going Native or Going Naive?: White Shamanism and the Neo-Noble Savage [Paperback]

Dagmar Wernitznig (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0761824952 | ISBN-13: 978-0761824954 | Publication Date: February 22, 2003

Going Native or Going Naïve? is a critical analysis of an esoteric-Indian movement, called white shamanism. This movement, originating from the 1980's New Age boom, redefines the phenomenon of playing Indian. For white shamans and their followers, Indianness turns into a signifier for cultural cloning. By generating a neo-primitivistic bias, white shamanism utilizes esoteric reconceptualizations of ethnicity and identity.

In Going Native or Going Naïve?, a retrospective view on psychohistorical and sociopolitical implications of Indianness and (ig)noble savage metaphors should clarify the prefix neo within postmodern adaptations of primitivism. The appropriation of an Indian simulacrum by white shamans as well as white shamanic disciplines connotes a subtle, yet hazardous form of ethnocentrism. Transcending mere market trends and profit margins, white shamanism epitomizes synthetic/cybernetic acculturations. Through investigating the white shamanic matrix, Going Native or Going Naïve? is intended to make these synthesizing processes more transparent.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...this slim volume includes sharp observations and scathing clarities about white imperialism...>>>> (Kathryn Lofton Religious Studies Review )

Strongly recommended for New Age Studies, Religion/Spirituality Studies, and Native American Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists, 'Going Native or Going Naïve?' is a meticulous and thoughtful dissection of motives, beliefs, andimpact.>>> (Wisconsin Bookwatch )

Strongly recommended for New Age Studies, Religion/Spirituality Studies, and Native American Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists, 'Going Native or Going Naïve?' is a meticulous and thoughtful dissection of motives, beliefs, and impact. (Wisconsin Bookwatch )

...this slim volume includes sharp observations and scathing clarities about white imperialism... (Kathryn Lofton Religious Studies Review )

About the Author

Dagmar Wernitznig is lecturer at the University of Klagenfurt, Austria.

Product Details

• Paperback: 146 pages
• Publisher: University Press Of America (February 22, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761824952
• ISBN-13: 978-0761824954
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,262,174 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thoughtful dissection of motives, beliefs, and impact, March 7, 2004

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Going Native or Going Naive?: White Shamanism and the Neo-Noble Savage (Paperback)

Going Native Or Going Naive? White Shamanism And The Neo-Noble Savage by Dagmar Wernitznig is a scholarly and seminal study of the "new age proliferation" of those born outside Native American tribes and culture who take it upon themselves to adopt the title and role of "Shaman." Wernitznig provides his readers with an evenhanded exploration of tangled issues of identity; devaluation of religious believes when those outside of the religion claim its titles; the purposes pursued by non-natives who consider themselves shamans; New Age eclecticism and environmentalism; women who adopt the role of shaman, and so much more. Strongly recommended for New Age Studies, Religion/Spirituality Studies, and Native American Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists, Going Native Or Going Naive? is a meticulous and thoughtful dissection of motives, beliefs, and impact.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For people who read shaman books, September 10, 2004

By 

Edward B. Holman (Presidio, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Going Native or Going Naive?: White Shamanism and the Neo-Noble Savage (Paperback)

This one is the best one out there! The author has put together a very important study on the phenomenon of white shamans, the latest neo-colonial model for the replacement of the proverbial noble savage with his bleached out clone from the suburbs. Now that Castaneda has been thoroughly debunked and people are starting to wake up to how much time a money they have wasted trying to find the Garden of Eden on the shelves of the New Age spiritual supermarket, maybe they can "find their roots" by taking a proverbial "look inside themselves" and see how they got let down the rosey path by hucksters with feather decorated drums and beaded chokers.

By the way, there are no Toltecs. They disappeared from history some 700 years ago.