[[abstract]]The encroachment of Catholicism on the North American continent has been deemed to be the main culprit that weakens and undermines the traditional beliefs and cultures of Native Americans. The impact that Catholicism exerts on the Chippewa community and the cultural tension derived from the conflicting belief systems between Catholicism and Chippewa traditional spiritual beliefs constitute the central themes of Louise Erdrich's works. This essay draws on Erdrich's novels, Love Medicine: New and Expanded Version (1993), and Tracks (1988) to analyze the way in which bicultural, mixed-blood Erdrich depicts the spiritual malady and psychological illness of her characters in the face of belief conflicts. It is intended to discover how her characters make a religious choice in order to survive well. Detailed textual analysis demonstrates Erdrich's skepticism and ambivalence towards tribal belief and Catholicism. It shows, on the one hand, that to some Chippewas, mixed-blood Chippewas in particular, religious proselytism is merely a strategy adopted to repress their sense of identity confusion, ensuring their prosperity and pride in a mainstream society. Underlying this spiritual confusion and anxiety lies a wish to return to the reservation to seek spiritual strength. On the other hand, it also argues that Erdrich's characters, for the sake of surviving economic pauperism and cultural/religious colonialism, veil their real faith either in the tenets of traditional tribal vision or traditional trickstering humor. It contends that Erdrich transforms the traditional trickster narrative to underline the belief that only in their reliance on old-time cultures and humor can the Chippewas find the strength to counteract religious assimilationism and cultural genocide, asserting their spiritual sovereignty and freedom.
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