Native American Religions Holy Mother Earth the trees

Native American Religions Holy Mother Earth, the trees and all nature are witnesses of your thoughts and deeds. - Winnebago Proverb

Challenges in Studying Native American Beliefs • A 15 -20, 000 year Legacy of people and beliefs (Asia across Beringia) • Absence of Formal Organizational Structure • Mostly based on oral history except for the last 100+ years • Wide variety of practices due to geography, European contact, economic organization • Archeology provides some clues to Pre-European Era

The Spirit World Polytheistic? – World Populated by Numerous Spirits – Mother Earth at Heart of Nature – Deities Represented by Natural Forces Monotheistic? Monistic? – The Supreme Being – Usually uninvolved in the world – Lesser deities involved in nature and everyday life – High God and spirited world work together in uniformity as one power

Animism • • Reverence towards “Mother Earth” Nature is depended upon for survival Preservation of natural resources Soil activity (farming) seen as a religious activity Use of entire animal when hunting (ask forgiveness / “brother”) Humans must live in harmony with nature not just use objects for exploitation Native American cultural identity is preserved through its contrast with European’s irreverent attitude toward nature How can the spirit of the earth like the white man? . . . Everywhere the white man has touched it. . it is sore. - Words of a Wintu Indian

Contacts with the Spirit World • • Objective is to maintain good relationship rather than control nature Sacrifice: Gifts in exchange for assistance or to attain necessities for survival (no blood) Religious Leadership: Mainly based on personal experiences though Medicine Men/Women specialize in healings of the sick Tobacco: Ritualistic as the smoke acts as the vehicle to the spirit world (earth to heaven) – pipe to be handled only with truthful heart Peyote: SW hallucinogen plant used in seeking visions (Native American Church fuses peyote and Christianity – controversial) Dream Catchers: Hung above cradles/beds to catch bad dreams and let good dreams slip through Taboo: Protection from evil spirits Avoidance of the Dead, burial grounds, menstruating women during a hunt

Contacts with the Spirit World (continued) • • Ceremonies and Rituals: Attempts to control forces of spirit world and/or renew partnership with them (5 elements on next slide) The Vision Quest: – Vision Quest as preparation, for events through temporary exile and communing with the spirit world (battles, hunts, adulthood and marriage as rite of passage) – Communal Vision Quests (Sun Dances among Plains Indians) – Sweat Lodges

5 Elements Important to American Indian Ceremonies 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Circle: Earth, Sun, Sky, Moon, Day, Night, Drum, Winds circle the earth Drum: Rhythm Music which pleases the Spirits – Crucial in Dances 4 Sacred Directions: World made in fours (compass of N, S, E, and W) indicates sacred directions as well as balance, harmony, and goodness of the world Cedar, Sage, Sweet Grass, and Tobacco: Used to purify body and spirit, drive away evil spirits, and help in meditation Earth: Most sacred of all; Mother Earth, Creator of all things

Death and Life After Death • • • Wide variety of beliefs among Native Americans Christianity has impacted views Common Generalities: – – – – Taboos associated with corpses Lack of fear of death itself Soul of life that accompanies body Soul goes to Land of Dead after death No Heaven or Hell but Land of Dead is place of happiness or sadness, and similar to current life Soul lasts for only as long as they are remembered by the living No teachings of reincarnation

Native American Religions Today • Christian attempts to convert Native Americans have had mixed results • • Pure forms of N. A. practices have been erased – many are Christian • • • Wovoka and the Ghost Dance / Sitting Bull (late 19 th century) American Indian Religious Freedom Act (1994 peyote amendment) Resurgence of interest in Native American religions – Movies, Casinos, National Museum of the American Indian (2001) Some forms of Christianized Native American religions preserve many of their original elements • Medicine Men/Women Traditions • Blending of Native and Christian rituals and symbols • Rise of Mormonism