Presented by
Holly Greene
Lindsey Rasmussen
Kim Roemer
 To
give you a glimpse into what the
Native American way of life was about,
prior to the arrival European Americans.
Some topics we will be presenting are:
 Spirituality, food, and
survival.
 Some customs/traditions.
 We will conclude with counseling
implications.
 There
are multiple Native American
tribes and although some were similar,
others were vastly different.
 Some of the ceremonies, traditions, and
ways of life varied from tribe to tribe.
 To be culturally competent you would
want to learn the specifics of what is
important and practiced by your client.
FRUITS, NUTS, SEEDS, ETC.
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Goji berries
Corn
Saguaro cactus
Barrel cactus fruit
Red-seeded watermelons
Wild walnuts, apples, and
grapes
Wild game and fish
Domesticated beans
Pemmican
PEMMICAN
 Rawhide, which
was
strong and durable
and was used to
make shields, trunks,
envelope like cases
to carry things,
moccasin soles, knife
sheaths, snowshoes,
bridles, stirrups,
saddles, and
saddlebags.
Born on the Heider farm in Janesville Wisconsin in 1994 and died
in 2004. In her lifetime she turned the 4 predicted colors of
white, black, brown, and red. Floyd Hand, an elder of the Lakota
predicted her birth.
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Almost all Native
American traditions
stress the necessity of
personally experiencing
that which is sacred. This
could be done by:
Entheogenic
substances such as
Peyote. When used,
had to be done so with
great respect and
sincerity.
Seeking visions
through fasting.
Running long distances.
 This
is a celebration
of creation and life,
when a young woman
would reach puberty.
 Women are thought
of as sacred because
they have the ability
to bring forth life.
 http://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=WLiKv
TQkc90
Focus
is on healing the person (making
him/her “whole”) instead of curing
disease
Based on belief that everything and
everyone is interconnected and has a
spirit or essence
Illness stems from spiritual problems (i.e.
person is unbalanced, has negative
thinking, and/or lives an unhealthy
lifestyle)
Healing practices try to restore balance,
 More
than 500 Native American Nations (or
tribes) so healing practices vary
considerably
 Information on healing practices general
and limited because sacred traditions kept
secret and passed from healer to healer
 Common rituals and practices
• Herbal remedies
• Purifying and cleansing body
• Symbolic rituals
 Treatment
a slow process
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Lakota Plains
• Healers: Bear Dreamer Society; anyone cured became member
• Leader: he who has bear dream and knows bear medicine
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Eastern Woodlands
• Healer: medicine man
• Used herbs not rituals
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Northwest Costal
• Healer: shaman
• Ritual: psychotherapeutic approach
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Southeastern/Cherokee
• Healer: medicine man
• Importance of “examining the beads” and proper formula for healing
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Navajo
• Healer: shaman
• Importance of corn pollen and corn meal
 Not
proven to cure disease but reports
suggest it can reduce pain, stress and
improve quality of life
 Very few studies support validity of Native
American healing because its based on
spirituality
 Difficult to study because practices vary too
much between tribes, healers, and illnesses
 Many Native Americans do not want
practices studied because they believe
sharing it exploits their culture and weakens
their power to heal
Dream are sacred and guidance given in dream
message must be respected
 Dreams contain crucial information that defines
one’s destiny, indicate route to be taken, and
even cure disease
 Dream catchers originated with the Ojibwa (also
known as the Chippewa) to protect children from
nightmares
 How do dream catchers work?
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• Bad dreams are trapped in the web and good ones pass
through to the sleeper
• Or, web catches good dreams and lets the bad one pass
through the hole
 Common
practice among tribes in
southwest because of summer droughts
 Ritual performed in mid to late August,
driest month of the year
 Men and women wore special outfits and
performed the dance together, in hopes
it would bring desperately needed rain
 Many southwestern tribes still perform
this ritual today
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Smudging has been used for centuries to create a cleansing
smoke bath used to purify the body, aura, energy, space, or
personal article
Performed to remove negative energy and for
centering/healing
Sacred plants are burned, each with special powers: tobacco,
sage, cedar, sweet grass, juniper, and lavender
Plant(s) placed in shell/fireproof bowl, lit, and smoke wafted
around oneself/environment with a feather, fan, or hand
Do NOT blow smoke
• Blows one’s negativity into the mixture
• Blows away effectiveness of the plant(s)
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“Powwow” literally means “the one who has visions”; term
also used to describe a meeting of different tribes or the
title given to the shaman conducting the ceremony
To understand significance of the powwow in today’s Native
American culture, you must understand its origins
• Believe when the world was created, each tribe given a unique
relationship with the world and faith strengthened through connection
with earth
• In times of need/sickness, would turn to nature and hold meeting to
pray, sing, and dance
• Europeans assumed the term “powwow” referred only to the dance
but was the word used to described the spiritual leaders conducting
the ceremony
• Powwows later used to resolve conflict and prepare/protect warriors
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Some traditional communities still practice powwows to
honor their ancestors and preserve their heritage; often
resemble powwows of the 1600s
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“Powwow” literally means “the one who has visions”; term
also used to describe a meeting of different tribes or the
title given to the shaman conducting the ceremony
To understand significance of the powwow in today’s Native
American culture, you must understand its origins
• Believe when the world was created, each tribe given a unique
relationship with the world and faith strengthened through connection
with earth
• In times of need/sickness, would turn to nature and hold meeting to
pray, sing, and dance
• Europeans assumed the term “powwow” referred only to the dance
but was the word used to described the spiritual leaders conducting
the ceremony
• Powwows later used to resolve conflict and prepare/protect warriors
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Some traditional communities still practice powwows to
honor their ancestors and preserve their heritage; often
resemble powwows of the 1600s
 Pay attention and listen
 Never refer to a Native American
dancer’s
regalia as a costume
 Never touch a dancer’s regalia
 Never enter the Dance Arbor after it has
been blessed
 Never record a Native American drum
without permission
 Alcohol and/or drugs are not permitted at
powwows
 Respect everyone, especially elders, and
watch out for children
Is there anything wrong with saying,
“Some of my best friends are Indians?”
Has alcohol always been apart of the
Native American Culture? If not when do
you think it became an epidemic?
Do all Indians have a drinking problem?
Is there a solution to substance abuse in
Indian culture?
What are the numbers exactly?
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American Cancer Society (2008). Native American healing. Retrieved
from http://www.cancer.org.
Butterfield, B. (2010). Rituals, beliefs, and customs of Native American
culture. Retrieved from http://bonniebutterfield.com/indian-culture.htm.
Native American powwow (2012). Retrieved from http://nativenet.org/na/native-american-powwow.html.
Native American rain dance (2012). Retrieved from http://nativenet.org/na/native-american-rain-dance.html.
Paper, J. (2007). Native north american religious traditions : dancing for life.
West Port, CT: Praeger publishers.
Pickering, R. B. (1997). Seeing the white buffalo. Boulder, CO: Johnson
Printing.
Schultz, B. (2011). Native American powwow etiquette. Retrieved from
http://www.powwow-power.com/powwowetiquette.htm.
Schultz, B. (2011). Smudging ceremony. Retrieved from
http://www.powwow-power.com/smudging.html.
Wolfe, D. (2009). Superfoods : The food and medicine of the future. Berkeley,
CA: North Atlantic Books.