Native American Spirituality
Native American Spirituality
The purpose of this essay is to present the spiritual world of the Native Americans, which is one of the oldest forms of Spirituality that exists on earth. The main reason why I have chosen this topic is because I want to find out more information about their spiritual dimension and perhaps to understand better the main differences between our religion and theirs. In order to better observe this aspect, I will be analyzing the religious beliefs of three Native American tribes, such as: The Iroquois, the Apache and the Dakota tribes.
To start with, I consider it relevant to mention that the Native American religions centers on a collection of beliefs, which vary from tribe to tribe. However, almost all tribes practice a modified monotheism , which is the belief in the Great Spirit. They also have an animistic belief in individual spirits residing in animals and forces of nature, but none of these is higher than the Great Spirit (Hirschfelder & Molin, 1992).
In other words, this means that Native American spirituality is nature-based, since it is so closely connected with the earth. As I have previously mentioned, many Native Americans believe in The Great Spirit, who is “the high deity amongst all of the spirits” (Hirschfelder & Molin, 1992). Since ancient times, the Native Americans have believed in a Supreme Being whom they called "father" and they believe this entity is either a man or an animal, especially a wolf, which has human thoughts and is even able to talk (Panther-Yates, n.d).
In order to control the forces of the spiritual world , the Native Americans used ceremonial practices, since these were considered to “renewed the bond between human beings and the spirit world” (Irwin, 2000). I will later on mention about these ceremonies and the person who is entitled to contact the spirits.
In order to have a better understanding of their beliefs I have inserted here one fragment of
The purpose of this essay is to present the spiritual world of the Native Americans, which is one of the oldest forms of Spirituality that exists on earth. The main reason why I have chosen this topic is because I want to find out more information about their spiritual dimension and perhaps to understand better the main differences between our religion and theirs. In order to better observe this aspect, I will be analyzing the religious beliefs of three Native American tribes, such as: The Iroquois, the Apache and the Dakota tribes.
To start with, I consider it relevant to mention that the Native American religions centers on a collection of beliefs, which vary from tribe to tribe. However, almost all tribes practice a modified monotheism , which is the belief in the Great Spirit. They also have an animistic belief in individual spirits residing in animals and forces of nature, but none of these is higher than the Great Spirit (Hirschfelder & Molin, 1992).
In other words, this means that Native American spirituality is nature-based, since it is so closely connected with the earth. As I have previously mentioned, many Native Americans believe in The Great Spirit, who is “the high deity amongst all of the spirits” (Hirschfelder & Molin, 1992). Since ancient times, the Native Americans have believed in a Supreme Being whom they called "father" and they believe this entity is either a man or an animal, especially a wolf, which has human thoughts and is even able to talk (Panther-Yates, n.d).
In order to control the forces of the spiritual world , the Native Americans used ceremonial practices, since these were considered to “renewed the bond between human beings and the spirit world” (Irwin, 2000). I will later on mention about these ceremonies and the person who is entitled to contact the spirits.
In order to have a better understanding of their beliefs I have inserted here one fragment of
Bibliography: Arlene B. Hirschfelder & Paulette Molin, "The Encyclopedia of Native American Religions: An Introduction," Facts on File, (1992). Charley Elkhair, quoted in M Lee Irwin, "Native American Spirituality: A critical reader," University of Nebraska Press, (2000). McGaa, Ed "Eagle Man"