History of American Indian Religion

Native Faith, Fact and Fiction

Native beliefs have too often been interpreted through the lens of western education. As a result the opinions offered in no way represented the beliefs and spiritual practices of the Native American.

Baptism of Pocahontas by John Gadsby Chapman

The Baptism of Pocahontas by John Gadsby Chapman. CC BY 2.0/Wikimedia

In the evaluation of the spiritual consciousness of Native people consider the condition of the North American Continent with the arrival of the first European. This utopian condition was what made this continent so attractive to all those who followed those original European adventurers.

The lifestyle we supported did not make it necessary to make any further inventions. Europeans, however, called that peace with the environment “lack of ambition”–the rallying cry for the occupation that followed. One needs to remember that we believed in the responsibility of protecting life and all life-giving things. The understanding that to alter any part of it was to alter our own existence and the existence of our offspring…and we were called “uncivilized.”

To read about my struggles to learn about my native faith, to find salvation through my Christian faith, and to reconcile these with the cruelties inflicted against my people in the name of Christianity, buy Dancing My Dream, available through this web site and Amazon.com.

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