Native American religions, Native American faith or American Indian religions are the indigenous spiritual practices of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Ceremonial ways can vary widely and are based on the differing histories and beliefs of individual nations, tribes and bands. Early European explorers describe individual Native American tribes and even small bands as each having their own religious practices. Theology may be monotheistic, polytheistic, henotheistic, animistic, shamanistic, pantheistic or any combination thereof, among others. Traditional beliefs are usually passed down in the oral tradition forms of myths, oral histories, stories, allegories, and principles. Nowadays, as scholars note, many American Natives are having a renewed interest in their own traditions.
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👉 Native American religions in the context of Pueblo Revolt
The Pueblo Revolt of 1680, also known as Popé's Rebellion or Po'pay's Rebellion, was an uprising of most of the Indigenous Pueblo people against the Spanish colonists in the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, larger than present-day New Mexico. Persistent Spanish policies, coupled with incidents of brutality and cruelty such as those that occurred in 1599 and resulted in the Ácoma Massacre, stoked animosity and gave rise to the eventual Revolt of 1680. The persecution and mistreatment of Pueblo people who adhered to traditional religious practices was the most despised of these. Scholars consider it the first Native American religious traditionalist revitalization movement. The Spaniards were resolved to abolish pagan forms of worship and replace them with Christianity. The Pueblo Revolt killed 400 Spaniards and drove the remaining 2,000 settlers out of the province. The Spaniards returned to New Mexico twelve years later.
- ⭐ Core Definition: Native American religions
- 👉 Native American religions in the context of Pueblo Revolt
- Native American religions in the context of Freedom of religion in the United States
- Native American religions in the context of Canadian Indian residential school system
- Native American religions in the context of Religion in Canada
Native American religions in the context of Freedom of religion in the United States
In the United States, freedom of religion is a constitutionally protected right provided in the religion clauses of the First Amendment. The Bill of Rights supports freedom of religion as a legally-protected right, reading that, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...". George Washington stressed freedom of religion as a fundamental American principle even before the First Amendment was ratified. In 1790, in a letter to the Touro Synagogue, Washington expressed the government "gives to bigotry no sanction" and "to persecution no assistance." Freedom of religion is linked to the countervailing principle of separation of church and state, a concept advocated by Colonial founders such as Dr. John Clarke, Roger Williams, William Penn, and later Founding Fathers, including James Madison and Thomas Jefferson.
The way freedom of religion is interpreted has changed over time in the United States and continues to be controversial. The issue was a major topic of George Washington's Farewell Address. Several American states had their own official state churches both before and after the First Amendment was passed and various Native American religions have been banned for most of US history. Illegal Native American religion was a major cause of the 1890–1891 Ghost Dance War. Starting in 1918, nearly all of the pacifist Hutterites emigrated to Canada when Joseph and Michael Hofer died following torture for conscientious objection to the draft. Some have since returned, but most Hutterites remain in Canada.
Native American religions in the context of Canadian Indian residential school system
The Canadian Indian residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. The network was funded by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs and administered by various Christian churches. The school system was created as a civilizing mission to isolate Indigenous children from the influence of their own culture and religion in order to assimilate them into the dominant Euro-Canadian culture.
The system began with laws before Confederation and was mainly active after the Indian Act was passed in 1876. Attendance at these schools became compulsory in 1894, and many schools were located far from Indigenous communities, in part to limit cultural contact. By the 1930s, about 30 percent of Indigenous children were attending residential schools. The last federally-funded residential school closed in 1997, with schools operating across most provinces and territories. Over the course of the system's more than 160-year history, around 150,000 children were placed in residential schools nationally.
Native American religions in the context of Religion in Canada
Religion in Canada encompasses a wide range of beliefs and customs that historically has been dominated by Christianity. The constitution of Canada refers to 'God'; however Canada has no official church and the government is officially committed to religious pluralism. Freedom of religion in Canada is a constitutionally protected right, allowing individuals to assemble and worship without limitation or interference. Rates of religious adherence have steadily decreased since the 1960s. After having once been central and integral to Canadian culture and daily life, Canada has become a post-Christian state. Although the majority of Canadians consider religion to be unimportant in their daily lives, they still believe in God. The practice of religion is generally considered a private matter throughout society and the state.
Before the European colonization, a wide diversity of Native religions and belief systems of the Indigenous peoples in Canada were largely animistic or shamanistic. The French colonization beginning in the 16th century established a Catholic French population in New France. During the colonial period, the French settled along the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, specifically Latin Church Catholics, including a number of Jesuits dedicated to converting indigenous peoples.These attempts reached a climax in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with forced integration through state-funded boarding schools run by both Catholics and Protestants that attempted to assimilate Indigenous children.