Native American Spirituality and Traditions

Paper Summary:

The Woodlands people lived in three main areas, the upper Great Lakes and Ohio River valley, the Lower Great Lakes, and the coastal region. This paper examines some of the traditions of these Native American groups, as well as their spiritual beliefs. It looks at their connection to the land, their reverence for all living things, and naming traditions. The paper also touches on the artifacts that accompanied their spiritual rituals.

From the Paper:

"But for Native Americans, names referred more to spiritual qualities. Lakota men might receive their adult name because of a dream or from something they saw in a "vision quest," a purposeful spiritual retreat. Or they could be named for a wondrous deed or a horrid misdeed. No matter how the adult name arose, however, it meant more than Tom, Dick or Harry. The name was meant to draw a connection between the physical person receiving the name and the spiritual things inside and outside of that person."

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