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Native American Spirituality

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Two-Spirit. Two-spirit people (also two spirit or twospirit) is a modern umbrella term used by some indigenous North Americans for gender-variant individuals within their communities.

Two-Spirit

Non-Native anthropologists have historically used the term berdaches /bərˈdæʃɨz/ for individuals who fulfill one of many mixed gender roles in First Nations and Native American tribes, but this term has more recently fallen out of favour. Third and fourth gender roles historically embodied by two-spirit people include performing work and wearing clothing associated with both men and women.

Some tribes consider there to be at least four gender identities: masculine men, feminine men, masculine women, and feminine women. The presence of male two-spirits "was a fundamental institution among most tribal peoples. Terminology[edit] Definition and historic societal role[edit] First Nations. The First Nations are the various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis . [ 2 ] There are currently over 630 [ 3 ] recognized First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada , roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia . [ 4 ] The total population is nearly 700,000 people.

First Nations

Under the Employment Equity Act , First Nations are a "designated group", along with women, visible minorities , and persons with physical or mental disabilities. [ 5 ] First Nations are not defined as a visible minority under the Act or by the criteria of Statistics Canada . [ 6 ] Within Canada, "First Nations" (most often used in the plural) has come into general use—replacing the deprecated term "Indians"—for the indigenous peoples of the Americas . Individuals using the term outside Canada include supporters Cascadian independent movement as well as American tribes within the Pacific Northwest . Terminology [ edit ] History [ edit ] Native Americans: Blackfoot History and Culture (Blackfeet Indians) Native American Religion in Early America, Divining America, TeacherServe®

Native American Religion in Early America Christine Leigh Heyrman Department of History, University of Delaware ©National Humanities Center Teaching about Native American religion is a challenging task to tackle with students at any level, if only because the Indian systems of belief and ritual were as legion as the tribes inhabiting North America.

Native American Religion in Early America, Divining America, TeacherServe®

So let’s begin by trimming down that bewildering variety to manageable proportions with three glittering generalizations (which might, with luck, prove more useful than misleading). First, at the time of European contact, all but the simplest indigenous cultures in North America had developed coherent religious systems that included cosmologies—creation myths, transmitted orally from one generation to the next, which purported to explain how those societies had come into being.

Summary of Native American Religions. A Summary of Native American Religions by David Ruvolo The history of American religions is dominated by the presence of Christianity brought to the New World by European settlers.

Summary of Native American Religions

The History of Native American Religion. Native American religion is hard to explain.

The History of Native American Religion

This is because there were very many tribes the religious principles were passed down verbally. Many of these groups had their own beliefs though many of them were similar in the major aspects. Native American religion tends to focus around nature. The landscape, animals, plants, and other environmental elements play a major role in the religion of Native Americans. Many of the legends passed down were an attempt to explain events that occurred in nature. Native American religion includes a number of practices, ceremonies, and traditions. Symbolism, especially with animals, is often a common part of Native American religion. The Anasazi - White Wolf Wiki. Welcome to White-Wolf.com.

The Anasazi - White Wolf Wiki

White Wolf Publishing has produced gaming universes for over 20 years including World of Darkness, Exalted, Trinity, and many more. White Wolf merged with CCP Games to focus on translating the World of Darkness IP into a massively multiplayer experience, and the North American office is fully dedicated to making this evolution a reality. In order to continue to support our existing RPG and LARP communities, we have entered into a number of partnerships with individuals and groups who can focus their full attention on the art forms White Wolf created and lived in. Digital Publishing and Print On Demand. Sacred Texts: Native American. Seeking Native American Spirituality and Traditional Religion: Read This First! Native American Indian languages Native culture What's new on our site today! Spirit Walk Ministry - Spirit Walk Ministry, Native American Spirituality. If you have found your way to this web page in search of information on Native American spirituality it is likely that you have already visited many other sites and found little to satisfy you.

Spirit Walk Ministry - Spirit Walk Ministry, Native American Spirituality

Most of the information available on Native Americans is so distorted, that after years of malicious propaganda, unsound research and deliberate misrepresentation, most Americans know more about the people of ancient Egypt than they do about the indigenous people who live amongst them. There are many people who wish to learn about traditional Native American beliefs as part of a longing to return to a spiritual connection with the environment and Mother Nature and many of them are trying to do this on the Internet. If a true Native American Indian spiritual experience is what you sincerely seek, then your main problem is going to be in trying to determine which are authentic and reliable sources and which are only hucksters looking to take your money.

Finding Yours. Take a long, slow, deep breath.

Finding Yours

Find that quiet place inside yourself. Go into your place of inner vision. Imagine yourself as an ancient Shaman sitting on the top of a tall, sacred cliff at sunset. SPIRIT GUIDES - Part II. Manataka American Indian Council By Takatoka The ant is a very hard worker and conscientious in every detail of its work.

SPIRIT GUIDES - Part II

They live in huge communities where most tasks are delegated to individuals who form work groups to carry out various activities of hunting, gathering, nesting and nursery, habitat construction, and protection. The ant accepts its position within its community without question and is totally dedicated and loyal throughout its lifetime to the entire community. Cougar. THE COUGAR - totem animal - Blue Eagle's blog. Thursday 14 february 2013 4 14 /02 /Feb /2013 21:46 The cougar, puma, or mountain lion, is leadership medicine.

THE COUGAR - totem animal - Blue Eagle's blog

A person with cougar medicine teaches by example. It is a difficult medicine because the person is put in a position where he can be the target of the dissatisfaction of others. The cougar person being the one who shows the way, others people, because of their insecurities, can make him the target of their criticism. Symbolic Puma Meaning. Symbolic Puma Meaning These noble cats are symbols of courage and power. This falls in line with the puma/mountain lion being associated with the sun, and solar vibrancy in some cultures (South American, and Central American). Learn more about solar animals here. As it is closely related, symbolic puma meaning is also similar to the symbolic meaning of panthers, mountain lion, and cougar. Spirit Walk Ministry - Spirit Guides & Animal Totems. .A Spirit Guide is a spirit that comes forth to guide you through the trials of your life and to help you to understand the lessons that these experiences are there to teach you.

Spirit Guides often represent archetypes of behavior for facing the challenges of life and they serve as paradigms of comportment for you to emulate in times of crisis. The number of spirit guides one has various within each person's needs in facing their challenges on their journeys. Some may be with you throughout your entire life and some may appear only once to help at one particular fork in your spiritual path. Spirit guides can go by many names and appear in many guises. Spirit Guides may be someone from your past who owes you a sort of karmic debt or they may be benefic guiding spirits that come to help you in times of moral uncertainty. In actuality, Spirit Guides may be animal ,vegetable or mineral, so do not think you are going crazy if you can "hear" a tree or rock talking to you.

. ~ E.J. Sites/azrapeprevention.org/files/Navajo Philosophy3.pdf. Missouria. The Missouria or Missouri (in their own language, Niúachi, also spelled Niutachi) are a Native American tribe that originated in the Great Lakes region of United States before European contact.[2] The tribe belongs to the Chiwere division of the Siouan language family, together with the Iowa and Otoe. Name[edit] French colonists adapted a form of the Illinois language-name for the people: Wimihsoorita. Their name means "One who has dugout canoes".[3] In their own language, the Missouri call themselves Niúachi, also spelled Niutachi, meaning "People of the River Mouth. "[4] The Osage called them the Waçux¢a, and the Quapaw called them the Wa-ju'-xd¢ǎ.[5] Guide to Research in Native American Religions. Native American religion. Native American Religion.

Native Americans were the settlers who had inhabited America, long before the Europeans set foot on the Americas. It is believed Native Americans had arrived in America, sometime during the last ice age, i.e. around 20,000-30,000 years ago. Shamanic Education. Communing With The Dead - In Japan and the First Nation. Shamanism is a common term used in a variety of anthropological, historical and popular contexts to refer to certain magico-religious practices that involve a practitioner reaching altered states of consciousness in order to encounter and interact with the spirit world. Native American (Indian) Symbols. Apache Indian Symbols "Apaches were among the first Native Americans to ride horses into battle.

In preparation, a warrior would decorate his horse to reflect his personal honors such as enemies killed or horses stolen. "A left hand drawn on the horse's right hip was one of the highest honors for a horse, earned by returning its rider from battle unharmed. Other symbols such as arrowheads and thunder stripes would augment the horse's natural ability and maximize its effectiveness against the enemy.