have, there is much more that researchers don’t know about because a considerable amount of information has either been lost or has been

impossible to obtain. But from what we already know, historians can

conclude there are common characteristics that seem to be shared by all of

the Native Americans. I will also include the creation myth of the Osage

Indians and the afterlife beliefs of the Lakota Sioux. Although there are many

points of contrast, the beliefs of Native Americans are distinguished by some

common characteristics (p.54 Nigosian). Some of these characteristics are

that they all seem to believe in the existence of a high god or vital force along

rejoin their kin, or back to earth. If sent back to earth, the soul lives as a

peyote meeting, both physically and spiritually (Aberle, 13). The rituals of the Native American Church vary greatly in specifics from tribe to tribe. The Navajo prefer shaping their altar like a half moon, while other tribe may shape their altars differently. Some tribes conduct the peyote meetings in a tipi used especially for that purpose, while other tribes opt to use a regular room in a house. However, there is a set of basic rituals that are common to all tribes in the United States. Peyote meetings are always held for a purpose, commonly to cure, thank the Great Spirit for past blessings, to deter evil and promote good. It is hoped that the prayers of the participants will accomplish the given purpose. The participants gather at sundown for the ceremony that will last until dawn. There are generally four officiates required for the ceremony to take place. There is the road chief, who leads the meeting, a drummer chief, who does most of the drumming, a fire chief, who is in charge of tending to the fire and a cedar chief, who creates the cedar smoke throughout the night. The use of prayer, song, drumming and the joint eating of the peyote at various times throughout the night as well as the drinking of cold water at midnight and early morning are all key elements to the ritual. These practices are all believe to be forms of communication with the Great Spirit. During prayer, there is a staff passed around the meeting to all male participants. The staff is considered male, so females are not allowed to pray with the staff. It is believed that when you pray with the staff, your thoughts travel up it and messages from the Great Spirit travel back down. The drums also aid in the communication. It is said that when a man drums, you can “read his mind”. Everyone also takes part in the peyote songs. Typically, the songs do not contain words, but whether or not to add words is up to the singer. The Church members believe that with peyote to guide you, the meanings of these songs can be deciphered. The drum itself is symbolic of the Indians’ heartbeats. The Fire Chief starts a fire in the center of the gathering. It is said to represent the eternal life that passes from one generation to the next. The smoke from the cedar incense is then sprinkled over the fire at various times during the night. It is believed to represent all green, living things and to purify everything that the smoke

traditional rites that were designed to perpetuate the smooth operation of the

would have had an entirely different set of beliefs. However, they did have

important. The peyote experience is characterized by a strong feeling of personal significance of the internal and external stimuli encountered during the experience. Many find themselves asking, “What does this mean to me?” The Native American Church came to the Indians during their darkest hour. It was around the time when the last of the buffalo had disappeared from the plains. They were left starving, helpless and with little of their old lives remaining to cling to. In the words of a member of the NAC, Mary Crow Dog, “The Native American Church became the religion of the poorest of the poor, the conquered, the despoiled. Peyote made them understand what was happening and made them endure. It was the only thing that gave them strength in those, our darkest days.” It was obvious that a militant religion could not have survived under white dominance. The formation of this religion was a response to the degraded status on Native Americans. It’s goal- internal peace and harmony rather than competition. This idea was highly relevant to the socio-economic situation that these indigenous people were being faced with. For many, this was exactly what they needed to continue on. Since the beginning, there has been strong opposition to the Native

an example, the afterlife belief of the L

Some topics in this essay:
Native Americans, American Church, United Peyote, Osage Indians, David Aberle, Tacanku Southward, Aberle5 Containing, Native American, Peyote Road, Fire Chief, native americans, native american, native american church, american church, crow dog, peyote meetings, feather fan, p62 nigosian”, peyote religion, ethical code, lakota sioux, feeling personal significance, mary crow dog, native americans believed,