Plains Indians – Traditions, Customs, Spirituality
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Overview
Beliefs
Values / Mores
Rituals
Roles
Children
Men
Women
Elders
Health & the Disabled
References
Overview
1.
2.
3.
4.
American Indian life is centered on the four seasons and the natural
world.
Traditional spirituality is not a ‘religion’ so much as it is an integral
seamless part of the very being of Indian society.
Native spirituality and beliefs are sacred. To use them in any way
other than the way they were intended would be sacrilegious.
Learning to live in the traditional ways is not easy.
Everything he’s [The Great Spirit has] given you, you have to walk
through, you have to experience it. You can’t always walk in the
grass, sometimes you have to walk through the sagebrush.
Anonymous
Beliefs Common to Most Plains Tribes
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There is a Supreme Being, a Creator, a Great Spirit, God.
Everything the Great Spirit has created is good.
Many lesser spirits wander the earth, some control weather, some
interact with humans, some inhabit the underworld.
Plants and animals, as well as humans, are part of a spirit world.
This spirit world exists side-by-side with the physical world and
often intermingles with this physical world.
Before you were conceived, before you were born, you had a spirit.
When your body dies, your spirit will live on.
Take care of Mother Earth, and Mother Earth will take care of you.
Values of Most Plains Tribes
Courage
Duty
Fortitude
Generosity
Honesty
Honor
Industry
Leadership
Love
Respect
Responsibility
Reverence
Wisdom
Rituals of Most Plains Tribes
Naming Ceremony – To give person a name
Storytelling / Listening – Method of teaching
Vision Quest – Passage from boyhood to manhood
Pow-Wow – Place to socialize with other tribes
Renewal Celebrations
Sun Dance – a replay of creation
Sweat Lodge – for spiritual renewal and healing
Grand Medicine Lodge – Good place to learn traditions
Hunting Ceremonies – to appease spirits of animals killed
Rituals of Most Plains Tribes
Daily Practices
Dwellings – oriented with the doorway on the east so a
person awakened to the rising sun. The understanding
was the Creator was sending daylight, warmth, growth
and enlightenment to each person to begin a new day.
Morning Prayers – After awakening, the individual would
pray, thanking the Creator for blessings and new
opportunities. A confession of responsibility was made
to other people. Sacrifices were given.
Sacred Path – Day began with man walking reverently along
a sacred path, among all living things on earth and
under the supernatural powers dwelling in heaven.
Traditional Roles – Children
Responsibilities
Seek Knowledge from Elders
Learn to be Quiet and Listen
Learn by Example
Respect the Elders
Learn, through play, by practicing what they see
Traditional Roles – Men
Protectors (Warriors) – Keep tribe safe
Hunters – Provided for tribe
Planners
Conducted Ceremonies
Made items for Rituals/Ceremonies
Teach older children
Traditional Roles – Women
Process food
Cook
Make garments
Set up camp or take down camp
Take care of young children
Planners
Family ties handed down through women
Traditional Roles – Elders
Mediators – Traditionally, an elder would hear both
sides to a story and mediate to solve the conflict.
Disciplinarians – Grown children often lived with
parents in an extended family situation. The
grandparents would discipline the children, not the
parents.
Teachers – Grandparents were admired for their
knowledge and wisdom which they often conveyed
through stories.
Leaders – Because of their knowledge and wisdom,
elders often make decisions effecting the tribe.
Traditional Roles – Elders
One Elder relates:
One thing I liked about the old people is that they had Indian thinking.
For example, my mother and I were driving down the highway and
saw a stand of dying birch trees. She asked me if I knew why they
were dying. I probably would have explained it as pollution or some
other technical explanation. She said the birch trees are dying
because no one is using them anymore. They are sad because they no
longer have a use. Now that, I think about it, this is kind of like the
elders – no one is using them anymore. That’s what I call Indian
thinking. They would relate themselves with the connection in
nature. (Becker, Poupart, & Martinez, 2002, The Way it Was, p. 2)
Anonymous
Health and the Disabled
Traditionally being healthy and a whole person were
essential to living a good life.
Some tribes visualized health as a medicine wheel with
four parts – spiritual, mental, physical, & emotional.
In order to be healthy, all aspects of the medicine wheel
had to be in balance.
Another concept is that man is three-fold – mind, body,
& spirit.
Wellness is harmony in body, mind, & spirit.
Wellness (or unwellness) was (and is) often a choice.
Health and the Disabled (Continued)
A physical disability is irrelevant to a person’s state of
wellness.
Wellness can be accomplished in a wheelchair or without
a leg. If the body is healthy, if the mind is sharp, if the
individual is following their beliefs and choosing to be
in harmony with their environment, then a physical
disability is irrelevant to wellness.
How to deal with a physical disability is not something an
Indian would think about. Instead, an Indian would
probably look at how to enhance an individual’s ability
to fulfill his or her role within the community.
Health and the Disabled (Continued)
We are all responsible for our state of wellness; with the
way we promote harmony between ourselves and the
people we meet.
It is not the events that happen to him [man] that
create his harmony, but his response to those
happenings. Every human chooses the responses he
makes, and thus in this way, he chooses whether or
not to be in harmony. Being able to stand firm in his
harmony is a priceless accomplishment for the
Indian, for it means the disruptions of the world
cannot affect him. (Locust, 1985, p. 11)
Health and the Disabled (Continued)
This state of harmony is like a protective shield keeping
us from dangers inherent in negative or disharmonious
situations.
In the Indian belief, it is each person’s responsibility to
keep this protective shield strong and beautiful, not only
for his own well-being, but for the well-being of the tribe.
(Locust, 1985, p. 17)
When looking for ways to help disabled people on a
reservation ask, “What can we do to help our people
fulfill their roles within the community?”
Traditional Leaders
They cared about people, not just family, but the whole
tribe.
They respected the people around them.
They served the people. The leaders often would not eat
until everyone else in the tribe had eaten.
They were honest. They did not lie.
They were courageous. They dared to do what needed to
be done.
They were not afraid to face reality and define problems.
Summary
This presentation summarizes some of the ideals,
beliefs, and values of traditional Indian ways (ways
before the Europeans colonized America).
These are the values we need to hold on to if we wish to
remain Indian people.
These are the values we must build upon if we wish to
grow as Indian people.
These are the values we must spread to our non-Indian
brothers and sisters if America is going to grow as a
country.
Overview of Methods & Sources
NOTES:
1. One of the references used to prepare this presentation consisted
of a research project (Becker, Poupart, & Martinez, 2002).
2. The purpose of the project was to reflect on traditional American
Indian ways.
3. To achieve this objective, several elders were interviewed.
4. Elders represented Ojibwe, Lakota, Dakota, and Ho-Chunk nations.
5. Both men and women, born during World War II, participated.
6. Participants chose to remain anonymous.
7. When a quote from one of these elders is used in this presentation,
the quote will be marked “Anonymous.”
Thank You!
References
Becker, T., Poupart, J., & Martinez, C. (2002). Reflections
on Traditional American Indian Ways. St. Paul, MN:
American Indian Policy Center. Retrieved February
27, 2007 from American Indian Policy Center Web
site, http://www.airpi.org/research/reflect.html
Clay, J. A. (1992). Native American Independent Living.
Rural Special Educatin Quarterly, 11(1), 41-50.
Retrieved March 14, 2007 from
http://rtc.ruralinstitute.umt.edu/Indian/NativeIL.htm
References (Continued)
Danielson, R. & Fassinger, P. (2007, January). A Focus on
American Indian Children. Inform 5(1). Retrieved
March 14, 2007 from North Dakota Kids Count Web
site at:
http://www.ndkidscount.org/publications/inform/
5_1Inform.pdf
Giannetta, J. (2002, June). The Plains Indians – Family
Life, The Children, Duties. Retrieved March 31,
2007 from SaskSchools.ca website:
http://www.saskschools.ca/~gregory/firstnations/f
amily.html
References (Continued)
Locust, C. C. (1985). American Indian beliefs concerning
health and unwellness. Tucson, AZ: Native American
Research and Training Center, University of Arizona. U. S.
Congress (1989). A report of the special committee on
investigatins of the Select Committee on Indian Affairs of
the United States Senate. Washington, DC: U.S. Government
Printing Office.
Mails, T. E. (1998). Dog Soldier Societies of the Plains. New
York, NY: Marlowe & Company, Chapter 1.
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition
(Electronic Version). (1995). Dallas, TX: Zane Publishing,
Inc. in cooperation with Merriam-Webster, Inc.
References (Continued)
Robinson, B. A. (2006, December 19). Native American
Spirituality. Retrieved January 31, 2007 from
RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE.ORG, Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance, Web site:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/nataspir.htm
Williams, R. (2003, November 20). Pride in Indian
Culture, Heritage Resurging, Says Old Elk. Retrieved
January 31, 2007 from United States Department of
Defense, American Forces Information Service, News
Articles, Web site: http://www.defenselink.mil/
news/Nov2003/n11202003_200311203.html