Traditional Native American Beliefs

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

Have you ever wonder how the world was created from another culture’s perspective? Native Americans used creation myths to explained to their people how the world was developed overtime. Creation myths are a big part of the Native American culture. they have been passed down from generation to generation. In the creation myths, harmony with nature, rituals, and strong social values are shown in each myths. The purpose of having strong social value in these myths is to teach younger Native Americans valuable lesson if they ever do something bad. These myths reveals how the rituals were created and their intentions for doing it. Creation myths has harmony with nature in it to show a very close kinship between them

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

Ceremonies and rituals are critical to the Native American culture. This culture also considers these rituals as a part of their religion. When referring to religion it’s not the same as the way

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.

Native Americans and Americans today share many values and disbeliefs also. We all have families and try to do everything to protect and help them. We also try to not discriminate against other people. Doing this helps us connect more as people and a nation. Chief Joseph said “I believe much trouble and blood would be saved if we opened our hearts more.” We have opened our hearts and live together more peacefully.

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 the Europeans came to America they impacted the Native American religions in many different ways. The Native Americans had to adapt to Europeans, but they also kept to their original ways. Even before the adaptations, the Native Americans and Europeans had similarities including: believing one god and one main evil spirit, believing in an afterlife, and they both believed in the immortality of the soul. Even though the Natives believed in one god, “Master Spirit”, unlike the Europeans, they believed that the god could assume a variety of forms and both genders; Native Americans also believed in many lesser spirits. Other differences were that Natives passed their beliefs down verbally instead of documenting everything in a book or books. As a result of exposure to Europeans, Native American traditions gradually intermixed with Christian beliefs. One example of the influence of Christianity on Native American rituals is the adaptations to the Sun Dance. Before the Sun Dance was primarily practiced in the Upper Plains and the Rocky Mountains and performed at the summer solstice. The dance was often practiced differently for each tribe, but the Eagle, helping bring body and spirit in harmony, is an important symbol for all tribes. There are many similarities for each tribe including: specific songs and dances that

Around the world, many indigenous religions exist and share their beliefs and culture with other individuals around them. Indigenous religions are unique because in the world today, a lot of people can go back in history and reveal that they came from indigenous people. When examining indigenous religions, there are a variety of cultures within this religion, but specifically looking at the Native American Indian tribes, there were many ways they practiced their culture in order to serve a purpose.

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

The North American community in today’s worlds has embraced Christianity, Muslim and other popular religious beliefs. Finding the ancient religious practices in action is rare, but not impossible. The communities had their own believes concerning gods and philosophies of good and evil before they were colonized. The communities have lost most of their beliefs and practices as they took place in the earlier community to popular religions which were introduced during and after the colonialism periods (Bonvillain and Porter 23-43).

spirit is injured or insulted, it can retaliate. Human beings must therefore show that they

It’s been said the two topics never to discuss with friends are politics and religion. This is because both seem to evoke quite a few strong emotions. Karl Marx once said, “Religion is the opiate of the people.” This is a very broad yet accurate definition of what religion is for most people. It’s something that is in common household discussion yet many do not know what really makes something a religion in the first place. Religion or the belief in some supernatural God(s), is what people use to explain the unexplainable.

Indian.org states “Soon the Native American people were only left with some small Indian reservations for their people, a vast difference from when the continent had been their home” ("Brief Glimpse of Native American History," 2015). In the Native American culture ceremonies and rituals are very important to them. Many people refer to those activities as religion. However, according to Legends of America “most Native Americans did not consider their spirituality, ceremonies, and rituals as “religion,” in the way that Christians do. Rather, their beliefs and practices form an integral and seamless part of their very being” ("Native American Rituals and Ceremonies - History and Information," 2003).

They depended on the buffalo to survive. As the buffalos herds kept across the plains in search of new grass to graze on, the Indians had to follow them