Native American Spirituality
*No founder; tradition has evolved over centuries, passed down by storytelling
*More than 2 million people in 300-500 different American Indian tribal groups, each with its own culture and responses to specific situations
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Beliefs
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- Creator – some tribes use ‘God’ and ‘Creator’ interchangeably
- Fundamental inter-connectedness of all natural things, all forms of life, with the land, or Mother Earth, are of primary importance
- Basic sense of community or group/tribe
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Daily practices
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- Prayers may include using sacred objects, usually private and without strangers present.
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Dying and death
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- Belief and practices vary widely from tribe to tribe
- Body is sometimes prepared for burial by family or tribe members
- After person dies, some tribes will not touch deceased person’s clothes or belongings
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Facilitating practices
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- Provide time, space, privacy, and include tribal spiritual leader
- Do not pretend to be familiar with traditions and do not interfere with them
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Food
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- After ceremony or prayer, foods consumed will likely be provided by family
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Health
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- Health care practices intertwined with religious and cultural beliefs
- May believe that ill health results from not living in harmony or being out of balance with nature and social and supernatural environments
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Holy days and festivals
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- Closely related to seasonal changes, the moon, provision of food and other life essentials
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Pregnancy and birth
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Rituals or ceremonies
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Performed with intent of seeing, understanding, or obtaining a vision of clarity of oneself and individual issues in order to relate to oneself and others
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Prayer accompanied by burning of sacred plants, i.e. sweet grass, sage, cedar or tobacco
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Spiritual instruments, structure, and symbols
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- No written scriptures; ceremonies and beliefs learned by word of mouth and experience
- Sacred and should not be touched without permission. especially by stranger
- Medicine bag: leather pouch usually worn around neck. Do not open or question
- Religious articles carried by elders must not be touched by anyone other than the elder; if inspection is required, an elder should be invited to provide inspection services
- A woman should not come near sacred objects during menstruation
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Social Structure
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- Respect for female and male elders
- Medicine Man or Woman will probably not have identification defining member
- Include elder, medicine person, or spiritual leader as colleague to assist in healing process
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Symbols
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- A great variety of symbols which vary from one tribe to another
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Reproduced by permission from George Handzo, BCC at ghandzo@healthcarechaplaincy.org
Dictionary of Patients' Spiritual & Cultural Values for Health Care Professionals were developed by the Pastoral Care Leadership and Practice Group of HealthCare Chaplaincy, New York, NY. (Revision and update of earlier work by the Rev. Susan Wintz, BCC and the Rev. Earl Cooper, BCC)
