Some of these features are that all the Native American religions seem to believe in the existence of a high god or vital force along with lesser gods and spirits. They also believe that certain individuals possess sacred power and therefore can act as intermediaries between the tribe and the deities. Shamanism, (individual sacred power), was a common form of religious practice, in which individuals sought control of these spirits through the use of magic. Other traits characteristic of most traditional Indian cultures was a richness of myths, legends, ceremonies and sacred objects. Other common traits was the quest for visions and the use of psychotropic plants to facilitate those visions. Music and dance was a part of the rituals and the notion of sacrifice to gain the favor of the gods or spirits. I should state that not all Native American cultures participate in sacrifice. It can be said that for Indians the natural world was inseparable from the super-natural. Myth was a way of understanding reality. Apart from these shared traits, however, Indian religion presents a wondrous variety of beliefs, sacraments and systems. Different tribes or related groups of people had different views of the supernatural world, with varying types of deities and spirits. Some Native Americans societies believed in monotheistic and omnipotent universal spirits, some did not. Indian peoples had variegated mythologies and lore concerning the creation and structure of the universe. They had an array of rites, ceremonies, sacred objects and differing systems of religious organizations. In order to obtain more clarity on the Native American religion, it is necessary to understand the religious diversity at the time of European contact. According to scholars, the religious beliefs, rituals, and myths of aboriginal American seems to arise from the diffusion and cross-fertilization of two indistinct cultural traditions: the Northern Hunting traditions and the South Agrarian tradition.
