#native american church

I was raised to mind certain traditional beliefs (which is what I assume you mean by Native American religion) and our family also participated in Native American Church (NAC [not what I assume you mean by NA religion]) and we also have a lot of relatives, including my dad who were boarding schooled and indoctrinated with Christian religions.

Keeping in mind that Native American religion and traditions are not homogenized or monolithic, but as a general theme, Indigenous beliefs are usually meant to explain the world around us, teach us to respect our bodies, and teach us about our own respective histories. For example one of my tribes has a creation story that involves canoes; our land is surrounded by many lakes, so why and how this story was created is fairly obvious. Another creation story I was told a lot as a kid involved a turtle - turtles are one of our clan animals so this connection seemed obvious. I was taught our stories about why the sun is bright, why we bead, why we harvest rice, among other things. There is even a story about why we tell stories. Sometimes there are milestones and events within our life that call for ceremony, which is usually private and whose structure and tradition is passed down and overseen by our elders.

When I was a tiny tot, there were these really thick and really exciting (in the way anything unexplored is) woods near our house. We were told to stay out of the woods because of the little people and what these little people would do to us if they caught us. I was slightly skeptical until I went for a walk my aunt and we heard a blood-curdling shriek from the woods. ‘That’s the little people’ she told me. I never wanted to go near the woods after that (though I did spend a summer constructing elaborate traps with some friends). How cheated! I felt once I found out about possums and their unique shrieks and put two and two together - but I must say even knowing this and being much older and hopefully at least a bit more wise, I still pause before entering the woods and will often leave an offering especially if I am taking something out (like firewood) just because beliefs and traditions, like religions, can be hard to shake. Also, it’s not even an issue of ‘shaking’ one’s religion, sometimes it just makes sense to me. By pausing before I enter, by giving thanks and being grateful that I am able to take firewood, by doing these actions I am being mindful of my actions which is a helpful practice (at least for me).

Native American Church is a bit different. Our family refers to it as a ‘meeting’, some people call them peyote ceremonies, and they are usually what gets cheaply depicted in movies when they are stereotyping Indigenous cultures. We participated as a family when we were in off the reservation, and while the city we were is fairly large and diverse, finding other Natives can sometimes be difficult, let alone finding someone from your specific tribe. The closest reservation was a few hours away and whose traditions were quite different than ours. Contrary to popular myth, we don’t all know each other or get along. So we would end up at NAC as a way to convene with other Natives. I was pretty little and mostly remember the ceremony being very different than ones back on the rez. Not just the protocols and stories but the manner of how the ceremony is held is quite different. Even later as I have attended NAC on a few other reservations I find it different than my tribal practices, but there is a similarity regardless of reservation or tribe and that in of itself can be comforting. Even at Azee Bee Nahagh meetings some of the songs I’ve heard were christian hymns. I would say these meetings are closer to the Western concept of religion than our actual tribal traditions and beliefs, but even then I don’t think an outsider would have an easy time following along if they were even allowed inside since paperwork can be required to attend.

I think it is also important to be aware that we didn’t even get the right to practice our own religion until 1978 (American Indian Religious Freedom Act) and even though the act passed - considering the many laws and policies that still prevented us from gathering or access to ceremonial objects - this is like cutting off our legs and telling us to run. There is also an entire bloody history of invasion and conversion that I won’t detail here but whose history is widely available online or just by looking around. My father was forced into a christian boarding school as a kid, as were many other relatives - so this is also going to factor heavily into traditional outlook. In 1993 the Religious Freedom Restoration Act was passed which further helped us gain access to objects used in ceremony - but again, these are major roadblocks and obstacles spanning years and thus preventing practice during those times. Even now it can be difficult to practice a religion when the things we keep sacred and revere are being carved up. The idea of having to produce paperwork and performing the ridiculous acrobatic routine that is filling out federal paperwork just to attend a ceremony can be tiring, frustrating, and upsetting.