Sometimes known as the Peyote Religion, the Native American Church is a Native American religion that blends Christianity with traditional Native American beliefs and practices.
The largest single religion practiced among Native Americans in North America is Christianity, in one form or another. The oldest church building in the United States is the San Miguel in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was built by the Tlaxcalan people in 1610, while the oldest church in continuous use as a house of worship is the Mission of San Esteban Rey on the Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico.
Like many other forms of Christianity, Native American churches tend to incorporate elements of traditional religion and local culture with Christian beliefs and symbolism.
When Europeans first came to North America, many of the Native American tribes had religious leaders who were skilled in the healing arts. Sometimes called shamans, these men were adept at learning from other tribal religions and appropriating their magic. In this manner, Christian practices and symbols were sometimes taken over into Native American religions.
After the Europeans came to dominate the continent, both Catholic and Protestant denominations sent missionaries to convert the tribes to Christianity. Often this was done through cooperative efforts of the government and the church, who forcibly removed Native American children from their families into order to raise them in a Christian-state government operated system of boarding schools where Native American beliefs were suppressed. Forced conversions and the suppression of Native American religions continued through the 1970s.
A series of Acts passed in 1978, 1990, and 1993 restored freedom of religion to Native Americans in the United States.
Today, many Native Americans are members of Christian churches of various denominations, while others have formed churches that combine elements of both.
The Indian Shaker Religion was influenced by the Waashat Religion, and founded in 1881. Still practiced in the Indian Shaker Church today, it is a blend of Native American, Catholic, and Protestant beliefs.
The Longhouse Religion was founded in 1799, blending elements of Christianity with traditional Iroquois beliefs, and is still practiced by Six Nations people.
The Native American Church is a religious tradition that involves the ceremonial use of peyote, a Native American practice that is thousands of years old. The NAC is the largest indigenous religion among Native Americans in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and the central focus of sites listed in this category.
The NAC is monotheistic, believing in one supreme being, who they call the Great Spirit.
The ceremonies, celebrations, and practices used in the Native American Church differs from group to group. Some NAC groups use the Bible for sermons, while others reject the use of the Bible, although both teach a similar Christian standard of morality.
NAC members do not generally meet weekly, as in Sunday worship services. Rather, services are held by special requests by a family celebrating a birthday or graduation, funeral services, memorial services, or Christian holidays. Services will begin at sundown, usually on a Friday or a Saturday, and end at sunrise. These all-night ceremonies are characterized by chanting, drums, and the use of peyote.
However the peyote is not used for individual pleasure, but as a communal ritual that is regarded as a sacred and holy sacrament, and a means of communicating with the Great Spirit.
The central figure is the shaman, who is believed to be gifted with psychic abilities, while other males will fill the leadership functions.
The Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 provides legal protection for the use of peyote, which is otherwise a controlled substance. Only card-carrying members of the Native American Church are permitted to transport, possess, and use peyote, and then only for religious purposes. The NAC leadership is conservative, and it has been effective in dealing with drug and alcohol abuse among its members.
While the primary focus of this category is on the Native American Church, other Native American religions that include elements of Christianity, such as the Longhouse Religion and the Indian Shaker Church, may also be submitted to this category. Official websites of the religious bodies or affiliated associations or organizations, as well as informational sites focused on these churches, are appropriate topics for this category.
Native American churches or associations affiliated with other denominations should be submitted to the denominational category, or to the appropriate Local & Global category representing the location of the church, however.
Recommended Resources
Households and Families of the Longhouse Iroquois at Six Nations Reserve
Project Muse, of John Hopkins University Press and the Sheridan Libraries, offers the complete text of a book by Merlin G. Myers, originally published by University of Nebraska Press, which details the lives of individuals and families at Six Nations Reserve which, by the mid-1900s, had divided along the lines of politics and religion into two social groups, those who practiced Christianity and the followers of the more traditional Longhouse Religion.
https://muse.jhu.edu/book/11608
Medicine Path Native American Church
Chartered in California in 2007, the church offers sacred ceremonies, counseling, and community support. A statement of intention is posted, along with a profile of the organization, a calendar of scheduled ceremonies, with policy information. Its counseling services and counselors are introduced. Other resources include its Pipe Makers Association, a blog, and solicitations for contributions.
https://medicinepath.org/
Native American Church of Strawberry Plains, Tennessee
Affiliated with the Native American Church denomination, the church is located in Strawberry Plains, an unincorporated town northeast of Knoxville, Tennessee. Synopses of some of the church’s publications, Indian studies, messages from the shaman, and downloadable informational texts that include a statement on peyote, the Red Path, prayers, and a biography of Dr. PeSheWa, a priest in the Native American Church.
http://www.nativeamericanchurch.com/
Native American Netroots: Handsome Lake, Founder of the Longhouse Religion
The Longhouse Religion was founded as a new religious movement among the Seneca Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy in 1799. The religion began through a series of visions received by Handsome Lake, who was born into the Seneca Wolf clan in 1735 and was in part influenced by the Quakers. Biographical information, as well as the story of his visions and the formation of the religion, are put forward here.
http://nativeamericannetroots.net/diary/610
Native American Netroots: The Indian Shakers’ Fight for Religious Freedom
As part of a three-part series on the Dark Ages of American Indian Religious Freedom, this article examines the role that the Indian Shaker Church played in bringing about religious freedom for Native Americans. Despite a constitution promising religious freedom, this was denied to the Native American population of the United States until recent decades. A history of the Indian Shaker Church is put forth.
http://nativeamericannetroots.net/diary/425
Incorporated as a non-profit church, Sanctuary on the Trail is neither a building or a charity organization, but a body of Native Americans in spirit, although the church includes people from other races, religions, and backgrounds. Affiliated with the Native American Church, and based in Bluemont, Virginia, a statement of faith is published, along with an overview of its programs and services, photographs, video, and certifications.
http://www.sanctuaryonthetrail.org/
