Indian Religions Drawing Increased Interest : Rituals: But while scholars see a deepening appreciation of an overlooked element of the country’s culture, they also see linkage to an outside cause rather than ideals being valued on their own.

Tradition calls for children to bend their ears this month to the folklore that Thanksgiving commemorates: a gathering of pilgrims and Indians in the fall of 1621 to offer thanks to God for a bountiful harvest.

The national retelling of the story serves a purpose for adults, as well. For many, it is about the only time for reflecting, however briefly, on American Indian religion.

Recently, Indian customs and religious rituals have become a topic of growing interest nationally. The curious are buying books based on Indian mythology, as well as flocking to courses, workshops and films.

Among signs of the rising interest:

* A new course on American Indian religions being offered at Princeton University has drawn 282 students this semester to early morning classes. Albert Robiteaux, who chairs the religion department, says the course is one of the most popular at the school.

* Two recent movies, “Dances With Wolves” and “Black Robe,” prominently feature Indian religious customs. Although it is too soon to measure the success of “Black Robe,” the romanticized view of Indians in “Dances With Wolves” proved highly popular with audiences.

* Indian traditions of protecting and even worshiping the Earth have become a popular topic at conferences on environmentalism and even at meetings with a broader focus. For example, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church passed a resolution in July on environmental concerns and called for study of American Indian traditions.

Indians and scholars of their cultures view the growing interest as a mixed bag--positive in that it marks a deepening appreciation of a previously overlooked element of the nation’s history and culture; negative in that beliefs are often idealized and linked to an outside cause, rather than appreciated on their own terms.

Robiteaux said that there is a tendency to perhaps romanticize Indian culture and for non-Indians to distort it for their own interests, to use Indian religions for other purposes, such as a focus on environmental protection.

Likewise, the Rev. Bill Baldridge, a Cherokee Indian who teaches Indian Christian ministries at Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, agreed, saying that to the extent that the interest stems from romanticism, “it ultimately becomes a dehumanizing experience.”

Popularizing American Indian religion at the cost of authenticity has been going on for years, complains Vine Deloria Jr., a lawyer and a Standing Rock Sioux who has spoken and written on Indian justice issues for many years. He cited books such as Lynn Andrews’ best-selling “Medicine Woman” series or Carlos Castenada’s “Teachings of Don Juan, the Yaqui Sorcerer” as works whose ties to historical reality are weak.

Such books are less about Indians and more about “what white people think Indians should be,” he said.

A related concern is that, even where groups strive to be historically accurate, or to re-create religious rituals authentically, sacredness is lost. Indians have sharply criticized activities aimed at teaching sacred rituals to non-Indians, such as the use of the “peace pipe,” the sweat lodge and medicine wheel.

Such efforts are akin to inviting non-Christians to dabble in sacred Christian rituals--to hold Communion services or “play with the Eucharist,” said the Rev. Jon Magnuson, a Lutheran pastor from Seattle who is an expert on Indian religion. “There are some things that are sacred and need to be protected.”

Experts also lament the uncritical way in which some students view Indian beliefs and practices, in contrast to the judgmental way some of the same students approach Christianity.

“I find myself in the classroom now trying to tell students to be more critical, to be more rational, to be aware of the sources, to be skeptical about claims,” says Christopher Vecsey, director of Indian studies at Colgate University.

“There is an underlying notion that victims are innocent and therefore are trustworthy,” he said. “For a lot of students, Christianity is the oppressor; Christianity is not to be trusted.”

Vecsey is author of “Imaging Ourselves Richly: Mythic Narratives of North American Indians,” recently published by Harper San Francisco.

Similarly, Robert Michaelson, who teaches at UC Santa Barbara, warns that Indian religion, a highly complex subject, is often distorted by simplification.

“One must realize that historically, we’re dealing with a lot of different groups--different tribes which for the most part spoke mutually unintelligible languages and had different kinds of religious traditions,” he said.

According to Magnuson, the interest in Indian religion has roots similar to the tradition of retelling the story of pilgrims on Thanksgiving.

It’s an “intersection” of concern for the environment, interest in mysticism and a nostalgic “search for our own history,” he said.

“The Indian community becomes a place where seekers turn to try to recover and touch the past.”