Native American

Beliefs

Terminology

• Where did the term “Indian” originate?• American Indian• Amerindian• Native American• Native• First Nation• Indigenous• ndn

Who Were These People?

• 550 different languages and societies identified in North America

• Five major language groups: Algonkian, Hokan-Sioux, Uto-Aztecan, Athabascan, and Penutian

• Nations vs. Tribes

Did They Have Anything in Common?

• Worldview• Sense of relationship • Sacred is personal to the tribe/nation• Geography• Harmony• Trickster figure

Northern Hunting Religion

Southern Agricultural Religion

Northern Hunting Religion

• Identification with a spirit animal• Supernatural aid in hunting came

from animals• Shaman• “Fearful” of women’s fertility power

Migration Timeline

12,000 BC

11,000 BC

10,000 BC 9,000 BC 8,000 BC 7,000 BC 6,000 BC 5,000 BC 4,000 BC 3,000 BC 2,000 BC 1,000 BC 0 1000 AD 2000 AD

Southern Agricultural Religions

• Evolved from the Northern Hunting Religions

• People came from the ground/holes in the ground

• Petition to the sun and seasons• Worship focused on seasonal rituals

Some Creation Myths

Potawatomi

Hopi

Native American Religion

Disney Style!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oavSum61gA