Indigenous People Religion

The indigenous tribes of North America have much in common with the indigenous religions of Africa but there are also many differences in the belief of an afterlife, supreme deity, and the daily practices of each. Today many of these lesser known religions are hardly ever studied but they exist and are still practiced all over North America and Africa. We will discuss how these religions differ in their main beliefs and practices, and we will also discuss how they correlate with one another on smaller aspects.

the First Nations were criticized and judged for moving to Canada and keeping their own cultural beliefs. The natives held onto their religion and culture because it was a part of them and their past and they also would not give it up willingly because they have been through too much to give up. “The federal government and most non-native Canadians believed that life for the First Nations people would be greatly improved if they gave up their culture and became part of mainstream, Christian Canadian”(Freeman-Shaw, Hastings-Winner 38). Canadian society was so full of itself that they considered everyone else and their culture to be less than their own. The Canadians thought everyone would be happier if they shared to same religion and beliefs

The Indian culture was negatively changed because the Indians’ religion was based upon believing many gods controlled their way of being, while Christianity was based on one supreme being who controls the universe. Common Indian gods included a god for the Sun, Moon, land or the Earth, the creator, and water (Nature). In the Cherokee tribe, the Creator is named Unetlanvhi (oo-nay-hla-nuh-hee or oo-net-la-nuh-hee) (“Legendary”). Some of the other “Creators” in other tribes include Maheu in the Cheyenne tribe, Gitchie Manitou in the Ojibway tribe, and Ahone in the Powhatan tribe (“Legendary”). With all the different types of gods in Indian cultures, the Indians used many spiritual rituals to worship these gods (Religion). Some of the rituals included feasts, music, dances, and other performances. The relationship of the Indian to nature (spirits, land, weather) was tantamount (Religion).

During the ancient and indigenous times, their religions were a vital part of their everyday life. Ancient and indigenous religions had unique creation stories which had a meaning behind it. These religions had diverse characteristics but they all had different components. The ancient and indigenous religions have worshiped several gods and goddesses. There are different components that make up the religions such as deities, beliefs, rituals, symbols, sacred objects, holy places, sacred texts, death, and burials.

The Plains Indians religious beliefs were quite similar and interesting. The Plains Indians believed in Animism. Animism is the belief that everything possesses a spirit. Besides Animism, the Plains Indians only worshiped one other “god.” That was the Great Spirit. The Great Spirit was the mother of all things. They would perform ceremonies for her. Sacred items were also important to the people of the Plains. They would have items that they believed had spiritual or talismanic powers. The items would be located in a pouch at the person’s side. The Medicine Man would also carry around multiple pouches with different talisman. This could come in the form of a peace pipe or a calumet or something that they

Culture, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is stated as “The integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief and behavior that dpends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations. The customary beliefs, social forms and material traits of a racial, religious or social group. The set shared attitudes, values, goals and practices that characterizes an institution or organization. The set of values, conventions or social practices associated with a particular field, activity or societal characteristic.” Of these four definitions, I shall be focusing on the second one to discuss what makes up the culture of American Indians.The culture of the various tribes that made up the Native Americans is one of close knit families, highlyspiritual peoples and living together as one with the land they lived on. They believed in spirits, worshiping and honoring them. Some settled into single locations while others were nomadic, but all had a focus on working with the land around them. Because there are so many varying tribes that make up Native

The Native Americans had settled in the land years before the arrival of the Euro-Americans. Hundreds of Native American groups occupied the land, each tribe with its separate culture, language, and spiritual way-of-life. Despite the many differences, “there was also considerable interaction and dialogue among tribes about spiritual concepts. Through the common language of sign-talk, ideas could be shared and compared among Indian tribes including the spiritual concepts that are an intricate part of the Indian’s everyday experience” (Treat). The Native American culture was primarily oral. Almost all tribes believed in a cosmology or creation myth regarding how this world and the things inhabiting it came to be. Most native peoples worshiped an all-powerful, all-knowing “Master Spirit.” They also revered and placated a host of lesser spirits in hopes of receiving assistance in their daily interactions with the world around them. Often times shamans, who were believed to have supernatural powers through visions, were called upon to communicate and implore the spirits to ensure a good harvest, or victory in warfare, or healing, or interpreting dreams, or other matters of great

When Europeans first set foot upon the shores of what is now the United States they brought with them a social structure which was fundamentally based around their concept and understanding of Western European Christianity. That the indigenous peoples might already have a thriving civilization, including religious beliefs and practices, that closely paralleled the beliefs and practices of European civilization, was a concept not considered by these early explorers and settlers. This European lack of cultural understanding created tensions, between Native Americans and Europeans, and later between Native Americans and Euro-Americans, that eventually erupted into open warfare and resulted in great bloodshed between cultures. For the Lakota

As charters for the exploration of the New World were granted more frequently, the exposure of Christianity to the Native Americans increased. There were many motivations for colonists to head over to the Americas, but none was more popular than the reason of religion. People were escaping oppression through a population valve to America either fleeing oppression as a Protestant or as a Catholic depending on which nation they were coming from. Over time the colonists began to oppress the natives by gradually eliminating their culture. As noted by Virginia Colony Promoter in the 1600’s, William Herbert, “Colonies degenerate assuredly when the colonists imitate and embrace the habits, customs, and practices of the natives. There is no better

The Mandans were a Native American tribe located in North Dakota plainlands. They endured hot summers and cold winters and had many resources available to them.

If this knowledge is not reaching western citizens through the Christianity, it will be necessary to find it somewhere else. While traditional religions almost always can offer a cosmology that connects man and nature, Native American spirituality may be very accessible to a society that is increasingly interested in environmental concerns but does not have a firm and direct qualitative relationship with the natural world.

Molly related an experience with four Oglala Sioux shamans: "When asked about what was wakan ("holy," "mysterious"), said, 'Every object in the world has a spirit and that spirit is wakan. Thus the spirit[s] of the tree or things of that kind, while not like the spirit of man, are also wakan.' " (2005, p. 41) Believing that each tree has a spirit, each animal is a brother or sister, each rock and hill has a life force would alter your perception of the world. Your feelings toward those things might be changed a bit, knowing that they have as much life in them as you do. Black Elk, a Native American, said, " We should understand well that all things are the works of the Great Spirit. We should know that He is within all things: the trees, the grasses, the rivers, the mountains, and all the four-legged animals, and the winged peoples." (Goffman, 2005) Whether a tribal culture believed in a Great Spirit, or Mother Earth, or felt that a certain tree held a powerful spirit, many of the native religions worshiped the earth and held it in a highly sacred regard. "To say that nature is full of spirits can be a way of affirming the presence of both a universal life force and an essential, underlying sacredness." (Molly, 2005, p. 41) Molloy continues:

Another characteristic of an indigenous religion deals with the emphasis placed on the spiritual specialists. The general consensus is that anyone can have personal or direct access to spirits or that which is unseen, yet felt (democratized shamanism). There is no special requirement in most indigenous systems that stipulate ‘who’ can commune or interact with spirits, however, as a general rule, many feel that it is best to leave interactions with spirits to those that have been taught or trained through ritual or purification of some sort. Most indigenous religions are not written down, but based on oral

Canadian citizens understand genocide to be a terrible thing that other countries have done, or are doing. The eradication of an entire population of civilian women, men, and children along with their culture and national sovereignty is something we condemn in our media. When we see genocide happening elsewhere, we debate when we should step in with economic sanctions or military action when it is time to put a stop to a crime against humanity. Rarely, if ever, do we examine our own history long enough to understand that Canada was created by people who committed genocide against the people who were already living here.

Indigenous people are those that are native to an area. Throughout the world, there are many groups or tribes of people that have been taken over by the Europeans in their early conquests throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, by immigrating groups of individuals, and by greedy corporate businesses trying to take their land. The people indigenous to Australia, Brazil and South America, and Hawaii are currently fighting for their rights as people: the rights to own land, to be free from prejudice, and to have their lands protected from society.