The Dream Seekers: Native American Visionary Traditions of the Great Plains (Volume 213)

by Lee Irwin

In The Dream Seekers , Lee Irwin demonstrates the central importance of visionary dreams as sources of empowerment and innovation in Plains Indian religion. Irwin draws on 350 visionary dreams from published and unpublished sources that span 150 years to describe the shared features of cosmology for twenty-three groups of Plains Indians. This comprehensive work is not a recital but an understandable exploration of the religious world of Plains Indians. The different means of acquiring visions that are described include the spontaneous vision experience common among Plains Indian women and means such as stress, illness, social conflict, and mourning used by both men and women to obtain visions.

Genres: Indigenous

320 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1994

Reviews

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the case for buying online: I would never have picked up this book if I had seen it in person. Book cover graphics makes it seem like it is a new age-y manual instead of the thoughtful, academic examination of first-hand accounts of dreams and visions in various Indian communities. Excellent analysis for understanding a non-western worldview.

[Emily VH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read portions of this for my thesis on dreams - I didn't read it cover to cover but I'm going back to keep reading after thesis hell is complete. It was really fascinating, beautifully written and from my limited POV seemed to be approached from a very sincere and respectful place

[Casey Babb · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit academic, so not really a "fun" read, but definitely interesting.