What Are The Major Native American Religions

Native American religions and culture are very complex and that is largely due to the fact that there have been many Native American tribes. In this essay, I will focus on the largest most major religions and give an idea of the Native American culture and traditions.

The first major Native American religion would be the Earth Lodge religion which originated in northern California and southern Oregon tribes such as the Wintun but then it reached tribes such as the Siletz, Achomawi and Shasta. It was known to the Pomo tribe as the Warm House Dance. The Earth lodge was in many ways similar to the Ghost Dance Religion as it warned about similar things and was influenced by it. It also impacted many religions that came after it.

The second religion
would be the Ghost Dances which would not be a single religion but rather a group of many religions that focused on connecting with the traditional ways of life, honoring the dead and predicting their resurrection. They were very widespread in the Western United Sates. An example of a Ghost Dance religion would be the religion found by Wovoka (Jack Wilson) in 1889-1890. He claimed that the world would end and that the Native Americans would soon inherit this world even the dead ones will be resurrected. They would live without suffering as Native Americans hated how land was being taken away from them. He also called on Native Americans to value their traditional ways and follow them because of his huge effect he was called as Red Man’s Christ. This religion reached tribes in the west such as the Shoshone, Arapaho, Cheyenne and Sioux.

The third religion would be the Indian Shaker religion (Tschadam).
It was heavily affected by the Waashat Religion and founded by John Slocum. The people who practice this religion usually shake in a moving motion as to get rid of their sins hence how the religion got its name. This religion blends Christianity with classical Indian
teachings.

The fourth religion would be the Longhouse religion that was started in 1799 by Seneca Handsome Lake and gave rise to Religion among the Iroquois tribe. Native Americans believed it meant Good Word. The religion blends Christianity with Traditional Iroquois beliefs.

The fifth religion would be the Mexicayotl, meaning “being Mexican” and was a religious movement influenced by Aztec religion and philosophy.
It gained traction in the 1950s when Nueva Mexicanidad was founded by Antonio Velasco Piña who had a great influence over the movement and it was based in Mexico. As you can see by its name the movement is proud of its Mexican origins and is connected to Mexican Nationalism.

The sixth religion would be the Peyote religion but also known by its proper name the Native American Church. As you can tell by the name, this religion focuses on the holy importance of the Peyote plant. The use of the peyote plant as a religious symbol existed for many years. It is believed to have come from one of these tribes Plains Cree, Carrizo or the Lipan Apache.

The last major religion would be the Waashat religion that was started the Wanapam Indian Somhalla. He claimed he got his teachings for the religion from his dreams. This religion focused on Native American dances and the original way of life the Native Americans had. The religion also blended certain elements of Christianity with Native American beliefs.

Native American culture and traditions are complex and run very deep with each tribe having its own set of customs and beliefs. I will be giving a general idea about Native American culture and
traditions.

Starting with art the Iroquois for example used wampum (strings and belts) beaded together and created artistic and religious symbols which they could tell their stories through. The Pueblos were exceptionally good at designing items for their religious reasons. They also were skilled at weaving, painting and pottery.

In agriculture Native Americans grew squash, cotton, sunflower, pumpkins, tobacco, goosefoot, knotgrass and sump weed. The most important crop to the Native Americans would be maize because it could be stored easily and it could also be used for artistic reasons. That changed though after Native Americans then planted the three sisters corn, squash, beans which were the most important to them.

Native Americans had Team sports and individual sports. Some team sports were used to end disputes between two tribes, that game could be the Choctaw very similar to lacrosse today. An individual game could be the Chunkey.

Last aspect of culture would be the music. Nearly all of Native American music is monophonic meaning to have only one melodic line but some music uses the drums and rattles along with other percussion instruments.