The diversity of American Indian religions could fill whole libraries with descriptions of belief, tales of lore, definitions, explanations, and insights into spiritual practices and ceremonies. To the outside world, however, far too much of the truth remains generalized and horribly steeped in stereotypes and misconceptions.
Until around the middle of the 20th century, what most non-American Indians knew about their religions was tainted by rather racist TV shows, movies, churches and from remnants of the same old bigotry that led to the conversion attempts throughout history.
In fact, many Americans Indians have lost their religion and converted to other faiths over the generations, many incorporate traditional ceremonies and practices into modern religion.
There is no one “holy book” or set of particular laws that all tribes follow or even for the individuals. Unlike the most popular faith systems around the globe, American Indians beliefs were not intrinsically tied to politics of economies either.
Before delving into more specific information about what Americans Indians believed, it makes sense to explain that the concept of religion as an organized thing is not really a part of most traditions. Religion describes a division between the supernatural, which is ruled by one or multiple deities.
American Indians spirituality does not separate the two concepts in any real way. The spiritual or supernatural world is the same thing as the real world. Every supposed division is completely permeable and people can access everything spiritual just as easily as they can wade in a river or feel the sun on their skin.
One homogenous American Indian religion does not exist. The whole range has much more diversity than, for example, how people practice Christianity in Rome versus how they do in Haiti or the American Bible Belt. Most American Indian spiritualties are polytheistic, which means they have more than one deity, although there are some that lean toward monotheism with one major god or goddess.
In general, the American Indian concept of death matched the same path as many other religions around the world. They believe in a spirit that lives on after physical death stopped the body. It will journey on to another realm or spirit world where it would live another type of life much as it did when it was within a human body here on Earth.
The concept of journeying on to another world makes sense when you consider the idea that many tribes spent a lot of time traveling in the early days. They would see a journey as a normal progression of life. In some cases, however, the spirit would get stuck on Earth or not make it to the spirit realm.
Funeral rites and ceremonies existed to facilitate the spirit's progression to its next life. This, again, is not that much different from other religions around the world. For example, ancient Egyptians mummified their pharaohs and buried them with worldly possessions so they could “live” comfortably after death. Things like “Last Rites” and prayers at a funeral provide the same services in Catholicism.
As mentioned above, some people believe in many different deities controlling things such as weather, the underworld, or even something as specific as a particular mountain. The idea of a singular great spirit emerges throughout American Indian spirituality in many different tribes.
All older cultures around the globe have their own stories about creation, how their people came to exist, cosmology and the world and stars, the afterlife, and how spiritual power exists or is used within their culture. All of these things exist across American Indian spirituality forms, too.
Many tribes view the sun as a great power in their spiritual world. The Sun Dance practiced by many cultures is a way to honor the sun. It also allows warriors to experience awe-inspiring spiritual visions.
This ritualistic dance involves erecting a large, painted pole at the center of the dance place, fasting for the duration, painting or otherwise decorating their bodies, performing a vigorous, circular dance, and, occasionally, cutting or piercing their own skin with blades and hooks. This last part is only practiced by some of the tribes that perform this ceremony.
European settlers outlawed the Sun Dance as part of their plan to wipe out American Indian culture and religion. It took until 1970 in the United States for the laws against it to be taken off the books. This occurred when the American Indian Religious Freedom Act was passed. Today, they are commonly performed at special ceremonies and public events to help non-natives learn about indigenous peoples' unique cultural heritage.
Wovoka, a Paiute prophet, envision the Ghost Dance movement as a way to renew positive things to American Indian tribes across the country. This occurred in the latter part of the 1800s when westward expansion had forced many tribal people out of their homes, disease had spread and killed many thousands of American Indians, and cultures and religions were being destroyed in horrible ways.
The Ghost Dance was a way to fight back against the European settlers in a very spiritual way. In a way, it was a protest or movement against expansion. The general belief, born of Wovoka's spirit quest or vision, was that the dance would return ancestor's spirits from the dead, bring back the massive tribes of buffalo, and stop the white settlers from destroying the people or taking up the rest of the land.
Besides circle dancing at night and other spiritual rituals, the vision included a call to work with white settlers peacefully, remain moral in all things, and do not drink alcohol or otherwise sully their bodies. Interestingly enough, the concept of a rebirth of deceased ancestors stemmed at least partially from Wovoka's Christian upbringing.
Many indigenous peoples adopted this ritual because they dearly wanted those things to happen. They believed in the vision of the originator until the 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee destroyed that hope.
The concept of sweat lodges goes back through the generations to early days when American Indians sought out a type of physical and spiritual cleansing and vision questing combined.
Sweat lodges, which are more appropriately called purification lodges, are about renewing yourself and forming a limitless bond with the spiritual world. Different tribes have various methods for achieving this goal, but it really all starts with a small wooden frame, blankets or hides covering it, and a source of heat. They are organized and orchestrated by spiritual leaders in the community who give specific instructions based on the individual's needs or goals.
Every sweat lodge ceremony includes offerings, prayers, various types of things like tobacco, cedar, and sweetgrass to burn. A fire is built outside the lodge and heats up rocks, which are then taken into the structure for the duration. Of course, water is poured on the rocks to release the fragrant and potentially mind-altering steam. They can be done individually or in a group.
Smoke and steam in various forms play a frequent role in American Indian ceremonies. Since it rises in the air, it symbolized a connection between the earth below and the sky above. Anyone who has seen an old “Cowboys and Indians” movie or cartoon has probably seen a depiction of American Indians smoking a peace pipe as a type of ceremony. Obviously, these are rather ridiculous and simplified examples of the spiritual reasons behind pipe ceremonies.
Tobacco is likewise commonly used in rituals and spiritual events. Many tribes use different types of pipes to pass around or smoke purposefully in the cardinal directions during these ceremonies. The practices are as diverse as the tribes who do them and the particular situation it is being done for. Pipe smoking is part of peace negotiations but also naming ceremonies and personal prayers. For multi-person ceremonies, the pipe is provided by a special Pipe Carrier who helps to orchestrate the prayer ritual.
Smudging is an ancient American Indians practice where you light a bundle of sage on fire and “clear out” or “cast away” negative energy.
There have also been some medical studies showing that this ritual actually cleanses bacteria and viruses out of the air.
How to Smudge your Home
1- Get a bundle of sage. They can be found at your local health food store or even ordered online.
2- Open the windows in your home to allow for ventilation and to let negative energy leave.
3- Light the sage stick.
(Be mindful of smoke detectors and also do not inhale the smoke directly. Use caution if you have any respiratory issues such as asthma or COPD)
4- Verbally cast away any negative forces while waving the smudge stick around your home.
You can also verbally cast away anything specific you want removed from your house.
If you are struggling with arguing with your spouse/family members, cast out the spirit of division.
If you are struggling with panic attacks, cast out the spirit of fear.
If you are struggling with understanding why certain things have happened, cast out the spirit of confusion.
If you are struggling with discontentment, cast out the spirit of envy, etc.
Smudging can be a great way to renew the energy in your home
Many native cultures include the concept of vision quests in their religious or spiritual beliefs and practices. These quests exist to form or encourage a type of connection to a spirit or guide that can bestow truths or understanding on a particular person. Some of the prophets of American Indian religious history, such as Wovoka who started the Ghost Dance tradition, experienced vision quests that led to great change among their own or multiple tribal peoples.
Individuals can also have vision quests as part of religious ceremonies. In some tribes, every young person would receive a certain amount of religious instruction and undergo a questing ceremony of one type of another. This was to give them guidance for their adult life. In other cultures, only men would do this, or certain people would have a vision quest while others did not. Also, the process was occasionally kept to spiritual leaders or shamans within the tribes.
The particular practices and purposes of vision quests may differ, but there are some general characteristics. For example, many of these experiences involve sweat lodges. They can happen during ceremonies involving fasting or dancing. Sometimes, they involve going off into the wilderness by yourself and staying there until a vision happens or for a certain number of days.
It is an unfortunate truth that Christianity has waged a long-term war against all other religions, especially those considered pagan or heathenistic. Through assimilation, it has conquered or fundamentally changed many faith systems. In the Americas, it systematically set out to destroy American Indian religions.
Why? Because the people did “strange” things that did not coincide with their way of doing things.
European influences destroyed languages, stamped out cultural identity, and stole the opportunity to pass down religious beliefs on a grand scale. These days, many do not know about the depth of this historical truth.
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