Indiginous Spirituality

Smudging ceremony

A purification ritual that includes the burning of sweet grass and drawing smoke ritually over body.

Sweat lodge ceremony

A cleansing ritual meant to purify the body and to facilitate the healing and to gain wisdom and insight

Potlatch

• Celebrates a big event like brith or aa wedding

• Involves giving gifts, dancing, and singing

• Banned by the government in 1800’s because they believed that it led to poverty among first nations.

• The ban was lifted in 1951 when they realized that it was central to their identity.

• A celebration of a special event where the host gives gifts and dinner to those who attend.

Medicine Wheel

A teaching tool for the Elders to teach the Youth about life.

Animism

Belief that objects, such as plants and tree, all living things have a soul/spirit.

Residential School

Places where the Government of Canada forced young indigenous children to assimilate by learn English and Christianity and losing their culture.

Elder

An older person in a family or society who provides wisdom and knowledge

Chief

Political Leader of an Indigenous Community

Shaman

An indigenous spiritual leader who provides healings and connections to the great spirit.

Vision Quest

• A ceremony a youth does to learn about becoming an adult and their path.

• An intense, solitary spiritual experience

• Young people go through this when their parents or Elders believe they are ready

• Its purpose is to be accepted as an adult in the community.

• A young person prays, goes without food and sleep, and encounters a spiritual helper through a dream vision.

• An elder interprets your vision,

Drum

Represents the heartbeat of mother earth and played during many ceremonies.

Pow Wow

• Ceremony involving feasting, singing, and dancing that happens any time of the year.

• A celebration of renewal and for the healing of relationships and creation.

• Takes place in a circle (space within the circle is always holy)

• Dancers enter the circle from the east (the sun rises) and move clockwise as the sub moves)

• The drumbeat represents the heartbeat of mother earth.

Nature

Where Indigenous People pray, connect with ancestors and spirits.

Sacred Herbs

Sage, Sweetgrass, Tobacco, Cedar

Sun Dance

• Celebrated by the prairie people in June/July when there is a full moon.

• The purpose is a renewal or dedication to the great spirit.

• The dancers will purify themselves and fast.

• Involve piercing the body and in dance, tearing away from the piercing to symbolize a renewal of the quest for the great spirit of life.

Harvest Feast

• Celebration of the food they recieve from the land recognizing the spirits who worked on their behalf. We have adopted this ritual and call it thanksgiving.

• Give thanks to mother earth.

Indigenous

Birth and Naming

• Names are given by Grandparents or Elders

• These people go away to meditate, pray, fast, and dream.

• The “right” name is one which contains of a person’s relationship to the spirit power

The Sacred Pipe Ceremony

The Sacred Pipe Ceremony, also known as the Pipe Ceremony or Calumet Ceremony, is a significant ritual in many Indigenous cultures.

• Spiritual Connection: It serves to connect participants with the spiritual world and the Creator.

• Unity and Peace: The ceremony promotes harmony among individuals and communities.

• Offering and Prayer: Participants offer prayers and intentions, often using the pipe as a medium to communicate with the spirit world.

Components:

• Sacred Pipe: Often made of wood and stone, symbolizing the earth and sky.

• Tobacco: Used as an offering, representing respect and gratitude.

• Rituals: Involves specific prayers, songs, and the passing of the pipe among participants.

This ceremony is deeply rooted in tradition and varies among different tribes.