The Colonial Compromise: The Threat of the Gospel to the Indigenous Worldview

This book explores the different types of compromises Indian people were forced to make and must continue to do so in order to be included in the colonizer’s religion and culture. The contributors in this collection are in conversation with the contributions made by Tink Tinker, an American Indian scholar who is known for his work on Native American liberation theology. The contributors engage with the following questions in this book: How much of one's identity must be sacrificed in order to belong in the world of the colonizer? How much of one's culture requires silencing? And more importantly, how can the colonized survive when constantly asked and forced to compromise? Specifically, what is uniquely Indian and gets completely lost in this interaction? Scholars of religious studies, American studies, American Indian studies, theology, sociology, and anthropology will find this book particularly useful.

Table of Contents:
Preface……………………………………………………. A “Real Blanket Indian”: A Short Biography of Tink Tinker Loring Abeyta …………………………………………………………………. Chapter 1: Christianity, Compromise and Colonialism as Existential Threats to Indigenous Peoples Edward P. Antonio…………………………………………………………………. Chapter 2: Faith and Facts: Dismantling Colonial Constructions Natsu Taylor Saito……………………………………………………………….. Chapter 3: “Words Have Meaning” Reflections on a Vector of Tink Tinker’s Indigenist Scholarship Ward Churchill………………………………………………………………….. Chapter 4: At Cross-Purposes: Conversion, Conscripted Compromise, and the Logic of Eurochristian Religious Poetics Roger K. Green………………………………………………………………………. Chapter 5: I’m an Indian Too Miguel A. De La Torre……………………………………………………………. Chapter 6: Niin Naandamo: The Cultural Logics of Kingship and the Theological Detour of Prayer Mark D. Freeland………………………………………………………………….. Chapter 7: Impostor God: De-Christianization Barbara Alice Mann……………………………………………………………… Chapter 8: On the Use of the Bible for Mental Colonization Steven T. Newcomb………………………………………………………………… Chapter 9: Jesus, the Gospel, and Genocide Tink Tinker…………………………………………………………………………… Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………. About the Contributors ……………………………………………………………………..

About the Author :
Miguel A. De La Torre is professor of social ethics and Latinx studies at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver.