The Presence and Role of Ancestors in Indigenous Cultures, Euro-American Cultures, and Democratic Intergenerational Dialogue

What does it mean for a culture to include, or exclude, ancestors as active members? How do Indigenous cultures and traditions cast light on the role of ancestors? Those are the central questions in this article. It begins by offering a general account of the role of ancestors in Indigenous cultures and traditions. These general comments contextualize specific engagement with the work of the novelist and essayist Leslie Marmon Silko (a Laguna Pueblo author) and also with the philosopher Kyle Whyte (a Potawatomi author). Having acquired from Silko and Whyte a sense for the active, intergenerational role played by ancestors in Indigenous cultures, the article then addresses the place of ancestors in Euro-American cultures and traditions, noting that due to particular forms of Christianity and secularism, Euro-American scholars and popular culture more generally tend to discount the role of ancestors. Yet, the work of Silko and others lend sight to see traces of ancestors in Euro-American cultures. Finally, the article returns to the question: What difference might it make to include or exclude ancestors in Euro-American communities and democracy? The approach in this article is transdisciplinary, drawing from the fields of religious studies (specifically its subfield, philosophy of religion and ethics), Indigenous studies, anthropology, political theory, and literary criticism.