Significance Of Ritual In North American Indian Religion Essay

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.

Identity in Native America is directly associated with culture and language. As a result, some of the issues today which are important in shaping the identity of modern Native Americans include: representations of native people by the media in sports and popular culture; how indigenous languages are being revitalized and maintained; and identity reclamation. The Native American lifestyle has changed significantly during the last half of the 20th century and that is because views on the Native people have drastically changed over time. They have had many hardships that have greatly impacted their culture over the past few centuries leading up to today.

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

Due to the wide range of habitats in North America, different native religions evolved to match the needs and lifestyles of the individual tribe. Religious traditions of aboriginal peoples around the world tend to be heavily influenced by their methods of acquiring food, whether by hunting wild animals or by agriculture. Native American spirituality is no exception. Traditional Lakota spirituality is a form of religious belief that each thing, plant and animal has a spirit. The Native American spirituality has an inseparable connection between the spirituality and the culture. One cannot exist without the other.

The Eastern Woodland Indians was an Indian tribe that was located around the stretch from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean. Usually the Woodland Indians had settled west from the Atlantic. The Eastern Woodland tribe also settled from Canada in the North all the way to The Gulf of Mexico in the South. The Indians of The Eastern Woodlands tribe had spoke several different languages and dialects. According to www.indians.org, “Additionally, there were many groups such as the Cayuga, Mohawk, Onondaga, and Seneca tribes”. Many different parts of the Eastern Woodlands economy encouraged them to become a civilization such as the habitat of the Eastern Woodlands, the shelter, the food, and the culture of the Eastern Woodlands Indians.

Native American, or American Indians, have a rich culture comprised of struggle, strife and success. For this paper, i will discuss the Native American Culture and it's history.

Every country and nation has they own special festivals and music, and Native American is no exception. First, the native music related many aspects such as ritual, life and work. They like to combine music with dance, and the Native American music always created rich percussion instruments. For example, the hand drum, log drum, water drum and rattle, etc. Powwow is an important festival and ritual for the Native American, and it is a symbol for the tradition culture of Native Indians. Powwow, is a social gathering by the Native American tribes, and they singing and dancing. Powwow is not only a method that the Native American expresses the enthusiasm of the life and peace, but also enhances the sense of identity and cohesion. Hence,

Native American culture is particularly distinct and different from the European American culture that most people are aware of that live in the United States or elsewhere. Discernible aspects of the Native American cultural group include a modified nursing assessment of a client of this culture, common health problems, biomedical explanations for illnesses, medical or herbal remedies used, religious beliefs and social norms, and traditional foods most common of this cultural group. Having an understanding, and respect to some degree, of the Native Americans and their ways of life, will facilitate a superior health care experience for the client, and promote a therapeutic relationship between the client and the nurse.

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

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The religion of Native Americans varied depending on the tribe they were affiliated with so it is difficult to generalize the religion to a specific doctrine. However, when Europeans first began colonizing in the west, the religious systems of the culture included cosmologies, the idea of an all-knowing and powerful creator, as well as the immortality of the human soul. These ideas made relating Christianity to the Natives easier for evangelists at the time. There were many factors that made evangelizing difficult as well. For example, the belief that even non-human specimens had souls and needed to be accounted for was not understood nor explained in Christianity. Also, the language barrier could make conversion challenging due to the fact

Traditional Native American ceremonies are still practiced by the tribes. Theological belief systems are still held by many of the native people. The spiritualities spirit may accompany adherence to another faith, or represent a person's primary religious identity. While much Native American spiritualism exists in a tribal-cultural continuum, and as such cannot be easily separated from tribal identity itself, certain other more clearly defined movements have arisen among "traditional" Native American

The Sacred Pipe The pipe ceremony is a sacred ritual for connecting physical and spiritual worlds. Native Americans used a pipe, also known as a calumet, to connect to the spiritual realm. It was also used to create peaceful relationships, end disputes, and to help strengthen alliances. These pacts amongst each other would be as relevant as a contract in today’s modern world.

Patricia, great post. I do think that a culture that needs some attention is the Native American culture. There are many reasons why this culture needs attention from the medical community. Some of the issues that could be covered when seeing the Native American culture are mental health, heart disease, stroke, infant mortality, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, and cancer.

In these cultures (Native American, Puritan, African) and including mine, we all have a religion and in these religions we believe in a God. We all have similar beliefs in are religions. Such as another place we go when we die like Heaven. These beliefs aren’t the exact same because the Puritans believe in one God and one God only. But then there is the Native Americans that believe in their God and sprits. But believing in a heaven isn't the only thing are cultures have in common. We also believe that if you do something bad there is a consequence and if you do good things you will be rewarded eventually. A lot of people think that are cultures are completely different but in reality we are very much a like. I am part Native American in