Native American SpiritualityErin, Kellie, Shannon, and Whitney

Native American HistoryAs we all know, the Native Americans were the first people in America. Then the Europeans came and brought over numerous things including religion and disease.

The Native American religion is unique. The religion was somewhat altered due to the introduction of Christianity.

Christian symbols are often used in many ceremonies.

Native American Religion

Native American religion is spirituality. They believe that all souls( man, plant, animal) are all connected to each other.

As the Disney song “Colors of the Wind” says, “The rainstorm and the river are my brothersThe heron and the otter are my friendsAnd we are all connected to each otherIn a circle, in a hoop that never ends”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkV-of_eN2w

Native American Beliefs Dual Divinity

Creator who is responsible for the creation of the world▪ Recognized in rituals and

prayers Mythical Leader

▪ Hero/trickster▪ Teaches culture and

proper behavior.The thought is that the Creator and the Leader are connected.

Creation Most tribes believe that

when the world was created there were only people. Over time some of the people were transformed into animals.▪ This explains why Native

Americans feel their close bond with animals.

▪ Every animal has a Master.▪ Ex: The deer have a bigger

and better deer that is their master

▪ The master of humans is the Creator.

Beliefs continued

Sacred Texts Many tribes has

complex written texts

Others prefer to keep the traditional oral texts

After life1) Reincarnation2) Ghost/Other World3) No set fate/

Unknown Every tribe

believes in one of these.

Beliefs Continued Vision Quest

Young boys Encouraged to go through

a period of fasting Isolated in the wilderness,

away from the tribe During this time they

receive a vision that will help their future▪ Acquire a guardian spirit that

will continue to help and protect them through their life.

Hunting Ceremonies After a successful

hunt they perform rituals on the animal.▪ This insures that that

animal will continue to be a successful hunt.

Some tribes have hunting ceremonies before and after the hunt.

Native American Traditions and Daily Practices

Non-Indians, and thus nonadherents, who lacked any lifelong experiential basis for their analyses, have written Native American religious traditions.

It seems that now, at the end of the twentieth century, deeply held Indian traditions and beliefs have been politicized—on the one hand by academic experts, and on the other by New Age aficionados who have mistakenly seen Indian spirituality as a new trade commodity.

General Traditions The Green Corn Ceremony The Snake Dance Kachinas The Sun Dance Sweat-lodge ceremonies The sacred pipe Ceremony

These ceremonies represent specific ceremonial aspects

These ceremonies are not practiced in every tribe.

The Green Corn Ceremony

The Green Corn Dance is performed throughout the U.S. as part of Native American ceremonies throughout the year.

It doesn’t have a specific month, but the Seminole Indians of Florida put it in the month of May. This day in May represent the end of one year and the

beginning of another. The ceremony is held several weeks before the

main harvest when the corn is nearly ripe. This ceremony was considered their annual rite of renewal and purification and was dedicated to the god who controlled the growth of corn or maize.

The Snake Dance

Worship of the snake among North American Indians

The name is said to have been derived from the sinuous course of the chain of dancers, and from its resemblance to the motion of a snake.

The dance is performed at weddings and other festive occasions.

The Snake Dance Words

The Sun Dance

The Sun Dance is practiced differently by several North American Indian Nations Many of the tribes have features in common

dancing, singing and drumming, the experience of visions, fasting, and, in some cases, self-torture.

Ordinarily held by each tribe once a year usually at the time of the Summer Solstice.

The Sun Dance lasts from four to eight days starting at the sunset of the final day of preparation and ending at sunset.

The Sun Dance It showed a continuity between life and death - a regeneration.

It shows that there is no true end to life, but a cycle of symbolic and true deaths and rebirths.

All of nature is intertwined and dependent on one another. This gives an equal ground to everything on the Earth.

The most common saying one hears during the Lakota Sun Dance is "That the people might live!"

This sentiment becomes the overriding reason for and purpose of this ceremony.

The Arapaho, Arikara, Asbinboine, Cheyenne, Crow, Gros, Ventre, Hidutsa, Sioux, Plains Cree, Plains Ojibway, Sarasi, Omaha, Ponca, Ute, Shoshone, Kiowa, and Blackfoot tribes all practice the Sun Dance.

Sun Dance Costumes

Create your own head dress.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lisOKiJbApU

The Vision Quest The vision quest has been an extremely

important part of ritual. Until recent times, all young men sought this

experience, sometimes as young as 10 or 11 and never later than their early teens. Later in life, men would often return for another vision quest when seeking guidance in the affairs of life.

Women would vision quest too, but not as regularly as men. The practice, though not as prevalent, has never been abandoned by the people and is still carried on today.

The Vision Quest When it is time for a vision quest, the seeker brings a pipe to

a holy man to ask for help and counsel. If the holy man thinks this is a good idea and agrees to help, a day is set aside. Often times questors were accompanied by a holy man or guide, sometimes they went alone.

On the day of the vision quest, the holy man and assistants go into the sweat lodge with the person making the quest. The object is purification. The one seeking a vision or the holy man would have already selected a place that was rugged and remote that would lend itself to spiritual thought without distraction.

The vision quest is a ceremony that involves personal sacrifice: rigorous fasting (no food or liquids) and prayer over several days (typically four to seven) in a location removed from the rest of the community.

Ceremonies Ceremonies are primarily used for the benefit of

entire communities or nations. The communitarian nature of Indian ceremonies

represents a key distinction between Native American religious traditions and modern Euro-American New Age spirituality, with its emphasis on radical individualism

Another characteristic feature of American Indian religious traditions: spatiality. Indian ceremonial life and all of Indian existence are rooted in a profound notion of space and place. The spatial layout for any ceremony takes on paramount importance.

Arapaho Tribe Beliefs The Arapaho are a very spiritual people.

They believe in an overall creator who they refer to as Be He Teiht.

As with many Native American peoples they believe in a close relationship between themselves, the animals of their world and the land on which they live.

The Arapaho also have a deep respect and appreciation for the wisdom of their elders.

The traditional oral storytelling traditions are slowly fading away, with their rich historical and cultural heritage.

Spirituality is considered largely a private matter to be held within the Arapaho Tribe.

Arapaho Traditions and Daily Practices

Pow-wows Social gathering

Competitive dance Honoring ceremonies

They can take place within many levels

Family Community Tribal Regional National

Used in many cituations Naming and adoption of rituals Families after times of

mourning Entertainment Interaction between family

and friends

Larger Pow-wows are a statement of American Indian identity and unity between tribes

Denver has one of the largest gatherings in the country

Just a few decades ago, most took place on reservations, but now many of the prevalent Pow-wows take place in convention centers gyms, and other public places.

Pow-Wow costume

The Rabbit Dance

The Rabbit Dance is a social, and humorous dance. It was learned from the Cree Indians in about 1920. The dance similarly resembles a White American folk dance or "square dance."

Today, the Rabbit Dance is not practiced due to the popularity of other pan-Indian social dances such as the Pow-wow.

Arapaho sacred rituals The Sun Dance

› The Arapaho name for the ceremony is hoseihoowu' . This word means roughly 'give away lodge.'

› The Arapaho do not worship the Sun during this ceremony. Rather it is a time of prayer and sacrifice to the powers above. The individual who sponsors the ceremony normally does so in order to restore health to some member of his family, and to the Tribe more generally

› The Arapaho no longer allow photographs to be taken, drawings to be made, or notes to be taken at the Sun Dance. › It is their most sacred ceremony, and these restrictions are

respected on this website.› The Sun Dance is held on the Wind River Reservation in

Wyoming

Peyote Ceremony› The Peyote Ceremony is often associated with the

Native American Church› consists of a mix of native beliefs and practices along with

Christian symbolism. › God, Jesus, and Mary are offered prayers in addition to the peyote.

› Song and ritual are very important in the ceremony› Songs help the Arapaho receive the emotional, physical, and

intellectual properties of the peyote.› Throughout the ceremony, groups of four songs are

sung by every person present› Opening Song of the Peyote Ceremony, Midnight Song,

Daybreak Song, and Closing Song› Rhythm and song texts of the peyote songs are simple and melodic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSsFOvgU6mY

www.colorado.edu/csilw/arapahoproject/contemporary/history.htm

Works Cited

http://www.nativeamericans.com/Arapaho.htm

http://www.native-languages.org/arapaho_culture.htm

http://www.native-languages.org/religion.htm

 www.colorado.edu/csilw/arapahoproject/contemporary/history.htm