Native American religions

Diversity and common themes

Because religions of this kind are so highly localized, it is impossible to determine exactly how many exist in North America now or may have existed in the past. Distinct languages in North America at the time of the first European contact are often estimated in the vicinity of 300, which linguists have variously grouped into some 30 to 50 families. Consequently, there is great diversity among these traditions. For instance, Iroquois longhouse elders speak frequently about the Creator’s “Original Instructions” to human beings, using male gender references and attributing to this divinity not only the planning and organizing of creation but qualities of goodness, wisdom, and perfection that are reminiscent of the Christian deity. By contrast, the Koyukon universe is notably decentralized. Raven, whom Koyukon narratives credit with the creation of human beings, is only one among many powerful entities in the Koyukon world. He exhibits human weaknesses such as lust and pride, is neither all-knowing nor all-good, and teaches more often by counterexample than by his wisdom.

A similarly sharp contrast is found in Navajo and Pueblo ritual. Most traditional Navajo ceremonies are enacted on behalf of individuals in response to specific needs. Most Pueblo ceremonial work is communal, both in participation and in perceived benefit, and is scheduled according to natural cycles. Still, the healing benefits of a Navajo sing naturally spread through the families of all those participating, while the communal benefits of Pueblo ceremonial work naturally redound to individuals.

Thus, there is no such thing as a generic “Native American religion.” Attempts to understand these religious traditions en masse are bound to produce oversimplification and distortion. Instead, it may be useful to consider the broad characteristics that pertain to the religious lives of many indigenous North American communities.

Explore Britannica Premium!

The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.

SUBSCRIBE

In the Native American experience, place is important, and religious practices are often localized. The importance of place is revealed in the beliefs of the Menominee, who use local geography to explain the origin of their people, and the Iroquois, whose longhouses are understood as microcosms of the universe. Moreover, traditional knowledge, passed on orally across the generations, maintains the memory of visible and invisible inhabitants of a place. Access to some kinds of knowledge, however, is restricted. Actions, words, and thoughts are understood in many traditions to have power in the world. Some knowledge may be considered so powerful and dangerous that a process of instruction and initiation is required for those who will use it.

Participation is more important than belief. Arguments about doctrinal truth are largely absent from most native North American religious traditions. Good-hearted participation in the ceremonial and everyday work of the community is the main requirement. However, knowledgeable people with considerable life experience may discuss such matters informally.

Cooperation with and devotion to the larger kin group is a central part of small-scale societies, and this is true of Native American communities. Teaching proper behaviour toward others, which is defined by one’s relationship to them, is an essential part of child rearing. This instruction is religious as well, because of the expectation that the entire world, one’s life, and one’s other-than-human relatives will be treated in the same way as all human relatives.

Generosity, in the Native American tradition, is a religious act as well as a social one. The value of generosity is perhaps most dramatically figured in the northern practice known in English as giveaway or in the potlatch of the Northwest Coast peoples, in which property and gifts are ceremonially distributed. Human beings are taught to give eagerly because in so doing they imitate the generosity of the many other-than-human entities that provide for human sustenance.

A community’s oral narratives contain a record of human interaction with other-than-human beings, powers, and entities in a place. In addition to the more solemn genres, such as creation stories and migration narratives, there are moralistic stories, family histories, instruction meant to teach traditional skills, and many kinds of jokes. Moreover, joking, clowning, and other forms of entertainment are integral parts of many ceremonial events and settings, either formally or informally. Sometimes such performances are a means of shaming individuals into correcting troublesome behaviour, but they are also employed simply to spread happiness and to lighten moods.

Significant achievements and life passages are meant to be shared by relatives and the community. Various forms of coming-of-age and initiation ceremonies make up a large portion of the ritual repertoire of many Native American traditions. These ceremonies provide structures for instruction in traditional knowledge, but, more important, they reintegrate an individual into kin, community, and cosmos when new status is attained.

One of the more important life passages is death, which is understood as a transition and not an ending. Beliefs about death, and ritual responses to it, however, are among the more heterogeneous aspects of Native American religious life. Many Native American traditions appear to conceive of human beings as complex entities that bind together different kinds of essences, breaths, or spirits, which are thought to undergo divergent outcomes after death. It is believed that after death some of these essences may be harmful for living people to encounter without ceremonial protection.