First Nations People & Ethnic Religion media-message-mediums-vs-media-.html g_native.html

Historical Overview First Nation or Native Americans are the 1 st people to live in N. & S. America Migrate across the Bering Strait approx. 15,000-20,000 BCE Gradually expand into every part of the Americas Each tribe carries its own history

Difficult to study Pre-Columbian sources confined to archeological evidence Few surviving resources (written and/or oral traditions) Sources only 400 years old, mostly in the last 100 Validity of sources is often questioned Historical Overview of Native Religions

General Characteristics Many Native religions are henotheistic Henotheism: belief in one supreme god while accepting the existence of others Polytheistic Monotheistic Many First Nations people believed the universe has multiple levels, each of which is populated by deities/spirits

Animism Deep respect for natural world The created world is alive as a whole and is interconnected Spiritual reality is involved in all reality To revere and worship God is to revere and care for that which God creates and dwells within Goal: To live in harmony and balance within the limits of the natural order

So far this sounds like what religion?

Animist Beliefs Animist practices The Earth Mother, source of life, is alive with spirits & is sacred Reverent attitude toward all the elements of the eco-system: air, water, soil, animals, etc. Everything has a purpose and must be respected savantschoolbrian.blogspot.com

Animist Practices Practices such as agriculture, hunting, and gathering reflect the belief that everything is alive and possesses a spirit Take only what is necessary Nothing is wasted Prayers and rituals emphasize the predator-prey relationship Animals, at some level, allow hunters to take their lives

“The white people never cared for land or deer or bear. When we Indians kill meat, we eat it all up. When we dig roots, we make little holes. When we build houses, we use only what is necessary. When we burn grass for grasshoppers, we don’t ruin things. We shake down acorns and pine nuts. We don’t chop down the trees, kill everything. The tree say, “Don’t. You are hurting me.” But the white people pay no attention. When the Indians use rocks, they take little round ones for their cooking.... How can the spirit of the earth like the white man? Everywhere the white man has touched it, it is sore.” Wintu quote, TC McLuan, Touch the Earth, 1971 TC

The Spirit World Ceremonies and Rituals: important for renewing and maintaining human-spirit partnership Visions: Put people in direct contact with the spirit world Sought at specific times, especially during adolescent rites of passage, prior to hunts, battles, or difficult decisions Achieved through ritualized fasting, self-inflicted pain (a form of sacrifice), dance, and hallucinogenic plants Tobacco, Sage, and other plants were important

Religious Leadership Few Specialists Medicine men/women: men and women whose primary role was healing (psychological, physical, social, spiritual) “Sucking rituals” Teas, herbs, poultices, use of native flora and fauna Shamans: men and women whose primary role was mediating contact with the spirit world people.us/pictures/art/odd-sizes/pt/Blackfoot-Bear-Shaman-522x600.html

Death and the Afterlife Diverse attitudes among the First Nations Difficult to distinguish “original” beliefs from later adopt beliefs Native religions generally: Fear the dead No fear of death itself All beings possess many souls: the body soul (dies with the body) and the free soul (wanders the spirit world during dreams, eventually goes to live in the land of the dead)