In the academic study of Native American spiritualties, the scholar often provides the lens through which one examines various worldviews. This lens can influence a reader’s interpretation of spiritual practices, creating a biased body of knowledge. Often, mass generalizations are then made about diverse groups of indigenous people. Whether the nature of these generalizations is positive or negative, they distort the image of the group being studied based upon the author’s approach or motives.…
Native Americans have long been interested in maintaining cultural traditions they inherited from their ancestors. For Native American tribes with strong oral traditions, the primary sense of history comes from the narratives, stories, and accounts told by tribal elders. Indigenous peoples' stories are as varied as the clouds in the sky and yet have many common elements, whether told by the Cherokee in North Carolina, or the Chimariko in California. In the assortment of Native stories, we find legends and history, maps and poems, the teachings of spirit mentors, instructions for ceremony and ritual, observations of worlds, and storehouses of ethno-ecological knowledge. They often have many dimensions, with meanings that reach from the everyday to the divine. The stories fill places with…
When the early settlers of the Americas arrived on the East coast of what is now Canada, they discovered a people that was remarkably different from their own. First impressions would deem these people as “uncivilized” (source) “savages” (source) who lived “miserable lives” (source). However, as time went on the settlers began to realize just how deeply rooted this Aboriginal culture really was. The Mi’kmaq lived a simple nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle, able to recognize the stars and changing of the seasons leading them to a variety of different sources of food dependant on the season. Culturally they were a spiritual group, one that believed to live with the earth, not…
Throughout the religions of the world, there are common practices, even among the most isolated indigenous religions, which are dramatically different to each other but hold the same basic…
There are some aspects about India that would seemingly indicate that the country would embrace and accept the idea of Western expansion. English is the official language, the government is democratically elected, and twenty percent of India is “English-speaking urban upper class” which is roughly 240 million people (Tapper, 2014). Historically, the transition has been anything but smooth for some of the most dominant Western businesses. Companies such as McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Nokia, Walmart, and Motorola have had their respective issues with attempts at infiltrating Indian culture, and subsequently the marketplace (Tapper).…
Many religions of the world have eight elements in common. The elements are a belief system, community, central myths, ritual, ethics, characteristic emotional experiences, material expression, and sacredness. These elements help shape religions and the people who believe in them. In this paper I discuss how these elements are similar or how they differ in each of a few of indigenous religions.…
Religion as defined by Merriam-Webster is, “the belief in a god or in a group of gods; an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods; an interest, a belief, or an activity that is very important to a person or group” ("Religion," 2014, p. 1). However, throughout history different people have had different views and influences that have shape their definition of religion. Most religions have leaders, organized practices, holy places, and holy books or scriptures that are followed. Religions can also include mythology, dance, festivals, death ceremonies, gods, goddesses, idols, and prayer.…
In conclusion, the Navajo tribe is one of the largest American Indian tribes who practice their rituals to show respect to deities. They value deities, “singers”, and every living organism. The Navajo myths, compared to greek myths, share the similarity of water playing a big factor in clearing evil on Earth. On the other hand, their beliefs of who created Earth differ due to greeks believing that only Gods and monsters created Earth while Navajos thought that humans also contributed to the creation of our…
The Native people are so connected to each other that they consider up to 7 generations before they make decisions that will affect the community. They are connected to their spirituality and the spirits present around them, nature (oyate) and the objects present, the animals, and definitely each other.…
Second, the religion of the Native American is remarkable. The religious of Native American is syncretism. All tribes made their centre of life is spirituality to keep a connection to religious principles through verbally. Indians believed in a mysterious force in nature or the power of Gods. It is said that the Native American can't live without the Shamans who had close contacts with the spirits. They are religious people and can treat sick people by medicine method or plant while singing and dancing around the room. If Indians would like to have enough food and rain, they would hold many ceremonies such as harvest festivals and organised rain dances. Ceremonies may be performed by feasts, music, dances, and other activities. Animals also…
Aboriginal languages provide long-lasting direct and powerful means of understanding the legacy of knowledge surrounding all aspects of Aboriginal life. Through sharing a language Aboriginal people have created a shared belief of how the world works. The sharing of these common ideals has created a collective and interconnected cognitive experience that links both the generations of the past and the generations of the future. In my research, I have found that Aboriginal knowledge extends beyond the awareness of the immediate sensible world of perception, memory, imagination, and feeling. Aboriginal people not only concern themselves with the present, but the past and future play equal roles in their lives. Eli Taylor, an elder from the Sioux Valley First Nations, eloquently explains the importance of maintaining Aboriginal languages and knowledge:…
Native Americans live in their own world and own community, owning casinos, private housing and just recently an amusement park in the makings. With approximately 2.1 million Native Americans in the United States, 566 nationally recognized and 10 separate cultures, we make up roughly 0.6 percent of the American population today. The 10 different cultures are the Arctic, the Subarctic, the Northeast, the Southeast, the Plains, the Southwest, the Great basin, California, the Northwest Coast and the Plateau. Although, there are different cultures that separate us, one aspect that binds us together is beliefs. Native Americans are deeply rooted from their past; therefore, they believe everything is sacred, from big to small. From the White Feather Navajo Medicine Man, he said “Native American isn’t blood; it is what is in the heart.…
The land on which indigenous tribes lived are of great importance to them. At the center of most Native American belief systems is the idea that religion draws heavily upon sacred lands. They have a very reverent attitude towards nature, always being respectful of it. This is because their survival was dependent on the land. So rather than changing the environment in which they lived, they lived very closely to nature. To them, nature is spiritually alive. Everything in the cosmos is interrelated. The Supreme Being manifests itself in all of its creations, the trees, the grass, the rivers and mountains, and the animals. The land is a sacred living being.The indigenous people do not own anything except their own bodies for everything else is a gift from their god. Thus, the land should never be tamed, it is not an object. The tribes are to be heedful of nature and respect it.…
There are more than 2,000 primary religious organizations in the United States, taking a number of different forms including churches, sects, cults, temples, societies and missions. Their origins are wide and derive from many sources. Before the introduction of Christianity from Europe to the United States, Native American religion was disparate, separated by tribes, clans or nations. It was unstructured but in general spirituality was inherent in every aspect of their lives; religion was characterized by a oneness with nature and the intense relationship between the indigenous people and their environment.…
Native American Religions happen to be one of the oldest and most enduring forms of religion. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups. Native Americans arrived on the North American Continent fifth-teen thousand to twenty thousand years ago. Native Americans have literally sources that exist from only the last four hundred years even though Native American life covers perhaps twenty thousand years. Over three hundred tribes have been recognized by the United States government. Native Americans are the only known ethnic group in the United States requiring a federal permit to practice their religion. In the state of Virginia, Native Americans face a unique problem. Virginia has no federally recognized tribes.…