Claude W. Chavis, Jr.
Tribal Historian
NATIVE AMERICAN RELIGIOUS
TRADITIONS
Mr. Claude W. Chavis, Jr.
Claude W. Chavis, Jr.,
•Turtle Clan of the Tuscarora Nation
•“Turtle He Dreams” or “Turtle Dreaming”
•Tribal Historian and Genealogist of the Pee Dee Indian Nation
•Appalachian State University degree in History and Military Science
•I recently completed an Academic Concentration in American Indian
Studies and a Master of Arts Degree in Teaching (MAT) at UNC-P
•Served as an Infantry and Combat Engineer officer in the Army
•Worked as a carpenter, freight handler, inspector, lab assistant, magazine
photographer, QA manager, QC inspector, technical trainer, and writer
•My photographs and articles have been published regularly in magazines
and newspapers over the past 30 years.
•Smithsonian Institute Native American Scholar
SCOS Objectives
 4.03 Demonstrate a general knowledge of
American Indian art, music and spirituality,
including the modern day powwow.
 4.05 Compare the worldviews of American
Indians and mainstream society, such as
concept of time, relationship to the natural
universe, and circularity versus linearity.
Religion
 “To bind back” to values
 A way of valuing.
Approaches to religion
 Sociology (Community or shared faith)
 Anthropology (Man and his works)
 Philosophy (Love of wisdom)
Language Groups of North America
Recurring Points
 Nature begrunden
 Nature persons
 Oral tradition
 Trickster
Begrunden = Justification
Primal Foundations
 Religion is inseparable from daily life
 Words have special potency or force (Power)
 Arts and handicrafts carry Power
 Time is cyclical and reciprocal
 Quality intense relationship with nature
Chief Seattle
 "Every part of this earth is sacred to my
people… We know the sap which courses
through the trees as we know the blood that
courses through our veins. We are part of the
earth and it is part of us. The perfumed
flowers are our sisters. The bear, the deer, the
great eagle, these are our brothers… Nature
and man, all belong to the same family."
Environment and Religion
 A tribes ability to develop extensive religious
belief systems was directly proportional to it's
ability to provide for its survival.
 A large supply of natural resources provided
more time to develop religious ideas.
Similarities
 There is little evidence of a separation
between the natural and the supernatural
 Deep religious sentiment permeated most
aspects of Native American life
 Kahlil Gibran once asked, "Who can separate
his faith from his actions, or his belief from
his occupation?”
Coyote and the Other One
Society
 A society is a group of people who live in a
particular territory and participate in a
common culture.
 We are not born knowing our culture,
therefore we have to learn it.
Culture
 Culture is a
combination of
knowledge, values,
language, and customs
passed from
generation to
generation.
 Material
 Non-material
Passing on culture
 Culture determines what people like and dislike,
believe and don't believe, and what we value or
don't value.
 It is because of culture that boys feel they need
to act manly and girls feel they need to wear
makeup or perfume.
Cultural Universals
 Cultural universals are traits that exist in all cultures.
 Example: sports, cooking, religion, funerals, language, etc.
 How these cultural universals are practiced, however, are
may times completely unique. The difference is called
cultural particulars.
 Example: child rearing is a cultural universal. However, in the U.S.
women are mostly given the responsibility of taking care of the
child, but in New Guinea the man is completely in charge of child
rearing.
Instincts
 Instincts are unlearned patterns of behavior
 Reflexes
 Drives
Norms
 Norms are rules defining appropriate and
inappropriate behavior.
 Norms help to explain why people in a society or
group behave similarly in similar circumstances.
 Example: Whispering in church, farting in public
Types of Norms
 We don't notice norms very often until they are
broken.
 Example: if someone breaks in line for the restroom at
the Cardinals game.
 There are three types of norms: folkways,
mores, and laws
Folkways
 Folkways are rules that are not of serious
importance in a society. Folkways lack moral
value.
 Example: taking your hat off indoors, placing a napkin on your lap
at a nice restaurant, not wearing shorts with a shirt and tie.
 Disapproval of those who break them is not
very great.
Mores
 Mores are norms of great moral
significance. They are vital to the well-being of a
society that they be followed.
 Some examples of mores being broken are
cheating on your husband or wife, ignoring your
children, letting your nine year old child play
outside at 11 p.m.
Taboos
 More serious mores are called taboos. A
taboo is a more so strong that a violation may
require punishment from the group.
 Example: incest.
Laws
 Mores and folkways are often unconsciously
created where as laws are consciously
created and enforced
Sanctions
 Sanctions are rewards and punishments that
encourage conformity to norms
 Formal
 Informal
 Consequences
Values
 Values are broad ideas about what most people in a
society consider to be desirable.
 Cultural diversity exists in all societies. Some of this
diversity results from social categories.
 These are characteristics like age, gender, race, religion,
etc. These social categories are expected to behave in a certain
way.
 Example: 50 cent rapping compared to George Bush rapping.
Subculture
 Subcultures exist in large, complex
societies. They are smaller cultures inside of
larger cultures.
 Example: musicians, professional athletes, the
Catholic community, etc.
Counterculture
 Counterculture is a
subculture that is
against or opposed to
the main beliefs and
attitudes of a larger
culture.
 Example: Gothic scene,
white supremacist
groups, hippies.
Ethnocentrism
 When people judge other cultures based on their
own cultural standards this is called
ethnocentrism.
 We are all probably guilty of doing this at some
point.
 Example: putting in lip plates for beauty and status
Symbols
 Symbols are things that
stand for or represent
something else.
 Example: A confederate flag
is a symbol of oppression for
African-Americans and a
proud cultural heritage for
many white southerners.
 When something is
important in a society it will
have many different words to
describe it.
Pictographs
Nez Perce′ Orpheus Myth
 Coyote’s wife dies and he is unable to
function without her.
 A death spirit tells Coyote that if he will do
exactly as he is told, he can get his wife
back.
 Coyote agrees “Yes, yes, friend. I have
been pining so deeply and why should I not
heed you?”
Nez Perce′ Orpheus Myth
 Coyote ignores the rules, rushing over to
embrace his dead wife
 She warns him by crying out, “Stop! Stop!
Coyote! Do not touch me. Stop!”
 But Coyote persists in his folly and is
punished when his wife disappears and
returns to the shadow-land.
Nez Perce′ Orpheus Myth
 Here Coyote is more human and less self-
centered but ultimately still the fool
 The reversal of the day and night in the
place of the dead is acommon Native
American tradition.
 This myth emphasizes the number 5 rather
than 4 as having a mystic power.
Trickster
 Glooscap/Napi - Old Man
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(Northeast & Blackfeet)
Coyote (Southwest &
Plains) Navajo - Mai
Raven (Northwest) and
related
Blue Jay (Northwest)
Spider (Northern Plains &
Siouian) Iktomai
Bobtail rabbit (East &
Meso-America)
Trickster as Creator
 Ironic (accidental)
 Fool or anti-hero
 Always lets his appetites rule him
 Transformation
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
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Intellectual ju jitsu
Sudden reversal of energy
Different properties
Metamorphosis, i.e. Cocoon to Butterfly
 Cultural hero (succeeds despite himself)
* Lesson is that you must respect all human and animal
beings because you don’t know who you may insult.
Power is accessed by:
 Fasting and visions
 Song and dance
 Fetishes or charms
N. Scott Momaday
 “Nothing more
powerful than words,
but he has come to
know that much of the
power and magic and
beauty of words
consists not in
meaning but in sound.”
Teaching
 All beings have intrinsic
“will”
 Children learn from
experience
 Morals are taught for
the intrinsic good
 Teach why morals are
important rather than
depending on faith.
Soul
 The breathe

Black Elk – “With visible breathe
I’m walking”
 The shadow

Object absorbs sun energy and
casts shadows
 If it has a shadow it is living
 The free soul

Sicun – used to telescope (astral
projection)
 Variation – The Great Man Consciousness
 Influence

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
Wochangi
Totem (Ojibwa Chippewa)
Guardian Spirit Helper
Sacred Pipe (peace pipe)
 Red willow bark
 Inner bark of dogwood
 Kinickinic
 Rose petals
 Tobacco
The Sacred Weed
 Four Brothers
 Nawak’osis
 Bulls-by-Himself
 Smoking in a sacred manner
Centering & meaning of place
 Power is derived from ecological place
 Know where you are to be in balance
 To call power you need a physical habitat
Directions
Sacred geography
 Everything/every place
is sacred
 Power can be
concentrated or
amplified
 Ecological diversity is
important (Ecotones)
Ecotones
 A transitional zone between two
communities containing the characteristic
species of each.
Nature Persons
 All nature holds power
 If it casts a shadow, it is
living
 Must respect all living
beings
Sitting Bull
 Every seed is awakened
and so is all animal life. It
is through this mysterious
power that we too have
our being and we
therefore yield to our
animal neighbors the
same right as ourselves, to
inhabit this land.
Blackfeet and Bears
 Black Bear (sticky
mouth)
 Grizzly Bear (real bear)
 Badger (striped face)
 Wolverine
Iniskim
 The sacred buffalo
stone
 Major medicine object
of the Blackfeet
 Usually a fossilized
shell
Amorphous Categories
 Clowns of Pueblo acted as “contraries”
 Berdaches – men who behaved like women
and vice-versa
Sacred Clowns
Hopi Natacki Man
Tumas – Mother of Floggers
Sacred Clowns
 Requires a deep spiritual experience
 Intense dream
 Vision experience (more often)
 Thunder beings or their manifestation
 Great honor
 Great obligation
Sacred Clowns
 Constantly break the tribal norms
 Upside down or backwards
 Builds teepee inside out facing west
 Crawls in under the back
 Sits upside down
 Shatter perception of routines
Sacred Clowns
 Clown is the first to break solemnity
 Element of shock increases alertness
 Communicates on a deeper level
Sacred Clowns
 Laughter reveals deeper truths with the ritual
 Shatters the structure of the ritual to get to the
essence
Lessons Learned
 Gain distance from your handiwork
 Don’t become too attached to things
 Remember things are never permanent
Berdaches
 A masculine spirit and
a feminine spirit living
in the same body.
 Two-Spirit is a term for
third gender people
 Example, woman-
living-man
Vision Quests
 Purification of body, soul, and spirit
 Black drink
 Smudge
 Sweat lodge
 Herb and/or drug (peyote) experience
 Realization of totality
 Realization of your personal virtues
 Identity with Great Mysterious
Iroquois Beliefs
 Monotheistic belief in an all-powerful creator,
“Great Mysterious” or the "Great Spirit", or
"Ha-wen-ne-yu.“
 His power was administered through
"Invisible Agents" or "Ho-no-che-no-keh."
 He-no, who appeared as a warrior, carried
thunderbolts and controlled the weather
Evil
 The Great Spirit brother, "Ha-ne-go-ate-geh",
or "the Evil-minded“
 Exists independently and controls it's own
inferior spiritual beings.
 The red race is left to choose either
obedience to the Great Spirit or submission to
the Evil-minded.
Soul
 The Iroquois independently developed the
idea of an immortal soul
 This soul was judged by the Great Spirit upon
the death of the body
 The threat of punishment in the afterlife
increased morality concerns
 This was the closest a Native American
civilization came to Christian theology
Dakota Beliefs
 The world is characterized by oneness, unity
 “Animating force" known as "Wakan Tanka“
 “Wakan people” similar to "Invisible Agents"
“Wicasa Wakan”
 Holy men served as guides for people
 Required to serve the “Wakan people”
 Most importantly, the White Buffalo Woman
Sioux Indian Traditions, Customs, Spirituality
1.
Life is centered in the four seasons and the
natural world.
2.
Traditional spirituality is an integral seamless
part of the very being of society.
3.
Traditional spirituality and beliefs are sacred.
To use them in any way other than the way
they were intended would be sacrilegious.
4.
Living 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
Common Beliefs
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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
Courage
Duty
Fortitude
Generosity
Honesty
Honor
Industry
Leadership
Love
Respect
Responsibility
Reverence
Wisdom
Rituals
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Naming Ceremony
Storytelling / Listening – Method of teaching
Vision Quest – Passage from boyhood to manhood
Pow-Wow
Renewal Celebrations
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Sun Dance – a replay of creation
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Sweat Lodge – for spiritual renewal and healing
Grand Medicine Lodge
Hunting Ceremonies – to appease spirits of animals killed
Daily Rituals
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Dwellings – oriented with the doorway on the east so a person
awakened to the rising sun.
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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.
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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
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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
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Protectors (Warriors) – Keep tribe safe
Hunters – Provided for tribe
Planners
Conducted Ceremonies
Made items for Rituals/Ceremonies
Teach older children
Traditional Roles – Women
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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
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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
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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 aspects.
In order to be healthy, all aspects 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)
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A physical disability is irrelevant to a person’s state of wellness.
Wellness can be accomplished in a wheelchair or without a leg.
If an individual follows their beliefs and choose to be in harmony
with the environment, then a physical disability is irrelevant.
• Key is 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.
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)
Traditional Leaders
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They care about people, not just family, but the whole tribe.
They respect the people around them.
They serve the people.
They are honest. They do not lie.
They are courageous. They dare to do what needs to be done.
They are not afraid to face reality and define problems.
Apache Beliefs
 “Supernaturals” are cultural figures
responsible for the Apache way of life
 Seldom interfere in daily life unless called
upon to help an individual
Apache Rituals
 Man could manipulate supernatural powers
for both good and evil reasons
 Lacked an organized belief in an afterlife
 Most common ritual was curing
Shaman
 Link to the
supernatural world
 Power based on
healing
 Influential figure in
tribe
Star Boy
Star Boy
 More - No stealing (except to save life)
 Ethic - Conservation of seed turnip
 More - Orphans must be cared for
 More – Need the help of nature persons
 More – Relationship of sexes (the woman has
the choice)
Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump
(Piskun)
A Cherokee Legend
AIS Newspaper Project