Lesson Plan—Native American Religious Beliefs
Main Objective: Students will understand the two main religious traditions in Native American
religion—the Northern and Southern tradition and will understand basic differences in beliefs
as illustrated by their creation myths.
Secondary Objectives:
 Students will understand the origins of Native American people.
 Students will understand the different terms used to refer to Native American people.
 Students will see the contrast between the Native American worldview and the
European worldview.
 Students will compare Native American beliefs with depictions in media and compare
and contrast what they see.
 Students will speculate as to the similarities between some Native American creation
stories and European creation stories.
Overview:
What do we call these people? Where did they come from? Who are they? What are some of
their basic beliefs and stories? How has our view of Native Americans been influenced by the
media?
Terminology:
Where did the term “Indian” originate?
American Indian
Native American
Native
First Nation
Amerindian
Indigenous
ndn
Show Map of USA—explain Bering Strait, etc.
Discuss the idea of Indians—550 different languages, etc. Compare to Europe. Did they have a common
religion?
Discuss the idea of the Indian worldview. Contrast this with the European world view.
“ Indian beliefs were not universal. They felt that beliefs were for a specific people group. Some Indians
called themselves names which meant “the people” in their own language. Their religious stories were
specific to their own tribes. Compare this to a specific family’s traditions and memories. Who is to tell
me that my family’s tradition that we open a present on Christmas Eve or the story of how my husband
and I met is wrong because they aren’t the same stories or traditions that another family has? They are
our family’s stories and traditions.”
Discuss the trickster figure. Tell a story. Mention Winnebago Trickster Cycle.
Show Atlas Map of Northern hunting and mention regions
Show Atlas map of Southern region. Discuss the idea of Mexican “Indians” and their beliefs—Ask “Who
were they?” Aztec, Inca, Maya. Are those American religions?
Explain that these two regions started to blend somewhat.
Share creation myths from both regions. Point out the differences. Tell a few creation myth stories and
ask which region it came from.
Show the Pocahontas video. Explain before that students will be breaking into groups to
compare/contrast what they learned with what they see.
Ask—do you think Pocahontas was from a Northern or Southern tradition. Why?
“Pocahontas was the daughter of Powhatan, the paramount chief of Tsenacommacah, an alliance of
about thirty Algonquian-speaking groups and petty chiefdoms in Tidewater, Virginia. "Algonquin" was
the French name for the tribe. The French were probably trying to pronounce elehgumoqik, the
Maliseet word for "our allies," or Algoomaking, a Mi'kmaq place name. The Algonquins call themselves
Anishnabe, which means "original person." (The plural is Anishnabek.) However, Algonquins use
Anishnabek to refer to other Indians also. So when they are specifically referring to their tribe, they
usually use "Algonquins" or "Algonkins" to distinguish themselves.”
Show second video clip of NA religions and discuss
Talk about evangelistic efforts of both British and Spanish people. How did it affect NA religious beliefs?