1. First Nations People

2. Historical Overview
Migrations across the Bering Strait approx. 15,000-20,000 BCE
Gradual expansion into every part of the Americas
Diverse range of ecological and cultural systems
Each with its own extensive an lengthy histories
Hunting-gathering, nomadic, slash and burn agriculture, semi-agricultural, settled agricultural, settled civilizations
Not Monolithic

4. Historical Overview Difficult to study
Pre-Columbian sources confined to archeological evidence
Few surviving resources (written and/or oral traditions)
Literary sources only 400 years old, mostly in the last 100
Post-European contact raises questions of authenticity
Christian missionaries possessed a range of attitudes toward Native Americans and Native Spirituality specifically

5. General Characteristics
Henotheism
Polytheistic
Monotheistic
Many First Nations people believed the universe has multiple levels, each of which is populated by deities/spirits

6. Animism Deeply reverential attitude toward natural world
The created world is alive as a whole, interconnected, and fundamentally interdependent system
Spiritual reality pervades 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

7. Animism
Economic practices such as agriculture, hunting, and gathering reflect the belief that everything is alive with and possesses a spiritual reality
Take only what is necessary
Nothing is wasted
Prayers and rituals “frame” the predator-prey relationship
Animals, at some level, allow hunters to take their lives

8. Animism Agricultural practices
The Earth Mother, source of life, is alive with spirits, sacred
Reverent/prayerful attitude toward all the elements of the eco-system: Air, water, soil, insects, etc.
Everything has a purpose and must be respected
Agricultural practices surrounded with rituals and taboos
Crafting tools from wood, clay, stone -- even cutting firewood-- carried religious overtones

9. “The white people never cared for land or deer or bear
“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 make little holds. 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

10. The Spirit World
Bulk of NA religious attention is directed toward achieving and maintaining good relationships with the spirits of the earth upon which they are dependent
Material Sacrifice: Very rare (in general)
Taboos: Very Common, function to discourage behaviors that disrupt/harm ecological and/or cultural health
Numerous taboos surround menstruation and death

11. The Spirit World
Ceremonies and Rituals: Extremely important means of 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, Peyote and other plants were important

12. Religious Leadership Little to no formal “structure”
Basic religious functions were performed by all
Spirituality deeply personal-- between the individual and the spirit world
Still, the cultural worldview that shaped perceptions of reality reflect deep unity and social cohesion

13. 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

14. Death and the Afterlife
Diverse attitudes among the First Nations
Difficult to distinguish “original” beliefs from Christian
Generally:
Fear of the dead
No fear of death itself
All beings possess 2 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)

15. Land of the Dead Rarely discussed
Appears to be a continuation of this life, but on another plane of existence
Life is easy, bountiful, safe, and enjoyable
No belief in heaven as reward/hell as punishment; everyone goes to the Land of the Dead
When the person who has died has been forgotten in this world, the free soul fades and disappears /

16. Death and Afterlife
In some cultures, the living are obligated to help the deceased on their journey
Burials with supplies
Refraining from speaking their names
Burning/destroying objects closely associated with the deceased
While belief in reincarnation is not unknown, it is relatively rare