1. What does this clip suggest to you about Native American Spiritual beliefs?
about 10 minutes

2. What were the spiritual beliefs of the Plains Indians?
To be able to explain the spiritual beliefs of the Indians 
To describe the importance of the circle in Native American life
To identify the attitude of Native Americans towards land and nature

3. What was the sun dance?
"You're there with the spirits and they will cleanse you. You've got to prepare yourself and have faith to make it through."

4. Break down of the ritual:
The Sun Dance itself lasted for several days, during which time the dancers abstained from food.
On the first day, prior to beginning the dance, participants often spent some time in a sweat lodge, and the painted their bodies with a variety of colours.
Dancers suspended themselves from the pole with ropes attached to pins that pierced the skin.
Dancers kept going until they lost consciousness, and sometimes this could go on for three to four days.
Dancers often reported having a vision or a spirit walk during the celebration. Once it was over, they were fed, bathed, and with great ceremony smoked a sacred pipe in honour of the Great Spirit's manifestation as the sun.

5. WAKAN TANKA: The Great Spirit
Research in your books into the beliefs of the Great Spirit Wakan Tanka.

6. Attitudes towards land
Land was put here by the Great Spirit to support mankind.
Land did not and could not belong to any one person.
Land belonged to all the creatures.
Land could not be sold.
Land should be venerated because the ancestors were buried there.
Land was beautiful and should be enjoyed by all.
Land was eternal and imperishable.
Spirits lived in the earth and it was unwise to anger them.
The buffalo needed open land to migrate; fences and farms were impossible.

7. “The Great-Circle-of-Life is the circle of unity with all things in the universe, including the Great Spirit, our Creator, about which all life revolves.”
The Native Americans saw everything as a circle
The earth, the moon and the sun
They believed strongly in the circle of life
Their Tipis were circular
“Life is a circle of birth, maturity, decay, and death. All living things follow this circle in the same cycle or path. From birth, each of us begins our journey path. Life is the path we walk and we all walk the path of this circle. True wisdom comes when we stop looking for it and start living the life, walking the path, the Creator intended for us.”