The Peyote Road: Religious Freedom and the Native American Church. By Thomas Constantine Maroukis. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2010. xii, 281 pp. $29.95, ISBN 978-0-8061-4109-1.)
Christopher Vecsey
Journal of American History December 1, 2010 DOI: 10.1093/jahist/97.3.888 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mescaline |
| Keywords | Faith Religious studies Spirituality Appeal Indigenous Theology Law |
| Key points | Argues that the Peyote religion, coalescing under Christian influence, became a pan-Indian faith with its own theology and ethics, and that the Native American Church was established in 1918 to defend religious freedom against governmental and church opposition. |
Abstract
The Peyote religion is one of the most important historical developments among the Indians of the United States. For thousands of years natives of northern Mexico have ingested the hallucinogenic peyote cactus, which grows wild in specific locales, for its medical and inspirational qualities. In the 1800s peyote use spread to Indian Territory, and under Christian influence it coalesced into a religion with identifiable mythology, theology, ritual, ethics, and organization. As Indians in the United States became Peyotists, governmental and church agencies launched an “assault on their faith” (p. 3). To defend their religious freedom, Peyotists in 1918 established the Native American Church of Oklahoma, the “mother church” of Peyotism (p. 212). Despite prohibitions, it continued to grow as a movement: pan-Indian, yet rooted in tribal spirituality; distinct, yet ecumenical. Many Indians saw it as “an indigenous faith” (p. 69). Its ethical teachings—the “Peyote Road”—served as a guide to people in social distress (p. 87). Its repute in curing alcoholism heightened its appeal. Today the Native American Church (nac) of North America has approximately 300,000 Indian members.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mescaline, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schizophrenia: A New Approach. II. Result of a Year's Research | 1954 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Thought insertion as a self-disturbance: An integration of predictive coding and phenomenological approaches | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Entactogens: How the Name for a Novel Class of Psychoactive Agents Originated | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Steric and Electronic Relationships among Some Hallucinogenic Compounds | 1970 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| EFFECT OF DRUGS One individual | 1952 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | n = 1 |