|
PART ONE
begins with an exploration of Native
American concepts of God, Creation and Spirituality.
"I think God has many names. We might call him the Creator.
We might call him God. We might call him Allah. He has many names,
but there’s only one God."
Dale Phillips, former Chair, Cocopah tribe
"Our God is a living God. He is the creator of everything.
Even us. And we have to respect the sun, wind, rain, the fire,
the water. We have to respect everything because it belongs to
God."
Edgar Perry, White Mountain Apache, Elder; educator
"...today, people are trying
to define the concept of the Great Spirit, the concept of the
Creator ...in Navajo...We call that the inherent supernatural
qualities. ... there are spiritual entities in all four directions
that’s how we try to maintain, our sane-ness and maintain a sense
of harmony and balance." Our concept of God is directly associated
with the cycle of life. You know, with the four seasons... the
four parts of the day... That’s what regulates our mind, our behavior;
our attitude."
Dr. Anthony Lee, Dine College, Tsaile Arizona
TRIBAL SPECIFIC
...I am the eagle that flies.
And I fly all over the world.
And the chants of hi-yuh, hi-yuh,
I am all around, like the eagle.
(song) Rupert Encinas , Spiritual leader - Tohono O’ohdam Nation
The spiritual foundation of many
tribes involves respect for Earth, Water, Air and Fire (or in
some cases sunlight.) But there are numerous examples of specific
differences: The special role of the saguaro cactus among the
Tohono O’ohdam... The role of dreams and visions among the Cocopah...
The relationship with the rocks and layers of The Grand Canyon
among the Havasupai.
CONTRASTS
There is an identifiable contrast
between Native American spirituality and traditional Christianity.
"there’s a bigger concern about
the souls of the people (today) as they live:
How to keep the human community going well,
than it is (concern about) souls after they’re dead..."
Professor Donald Bahr, Ph.D.
Anthropologist Arizona State University
THE MIXTURE
And yet, the most common thing is
tribal-specific spirituality mixed with Christianity, as seen
in the nature and trappings of the Catholic Mass at Santa Rosa
village.
"And so there’s many people - just about everybody -
baptized a Christian, and just about everybody is
buried a Christian."
Professor Donald Bahr, Ph.D.
Anthropologist Arizona State University
NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH
The other significant phenomenon
is the growth of the Native American Church (examined in detail
in Part Two,) a significant element of the Pan-Indian movement
- It is an inclusive religious entity that crosses traditional
tribal and non-tribal theological lines; and emphasizes a strong
social and emotional support system for those who participate.
THE TALKING CIRCLE
A personal support system is a critical element of the Pan-Indian
movement, a valuable practice is called a Talking Circle.
THE SWEAT...
has historically been a practice
of many tribes, although it’s use has spread significantly during
the past thirty or forty years with the pan-Indian movement. It
is a purification ceremony As with many Native American activities,
the sweat ceremony is divided into four parts; or has four rounds.
THE URBAN INDIAN: SOMETIMES
A DILEMMA
"...And a lot of times,
Native American Indian people move to the city because there are
no jobs on the reservation. So they come and move to the city,
they live here, they bring up their families. And at one time,
they had the cultural teachings and they knew a lot about their
tradition, as when they move into the city and they raise their
kids in the city, their kids don’t get it."
Heidi Quintana, Navajo
Such youngsters can have a difficult
time with the dilemma of trying to be part of two worlds.
A YOUNG WOMAN REMEMBERS...
"I never knew my Indian
language.. I never even knew half of the cousins that I met, or
my uncles or my aunts. I didn’t know about any of the ceremonies
or any of those things. ...and moving back to the reservation
- having to walk to school every day, having to live without electricity,
having to haul water, having to, not having running water having
to build fire, having to do my homework by kerosene lamp..."
Heidi Quintana, Navajo
PART TWO
BREATH...
The creation stories of many Native
American tribes, as well as Judaism, Christianity and Islam -
as written in the book of Genesis - tell of God forming man from
the elements of earth, and breathing in to him, life. But, more
so, in many native beliefs, breath is a medium for carrying prayer
to the Creator; particularly breath given scent and visible form
when mixed with smoke - often the smoke from tobacco. In other
cases, smoke alone - not mixed with breath but made by ceremonially
burning certain plants, plays a spiritual and protective role.
SMOKE...
"And I always think that, you know, God has a line to his place
and nobody ever sees that line but I realize that the key is that
smoke because the smoke has no limitations - it can reach all
the way into the heavens. "
Dinna Uqualla, Havasupai, Supai Village
MYTHOLOGY OF THE "GIFT" OF
TOBACCO
"...they only had one leader
at that time which did all the talking. And so the Coyote is always
doing something. He was the supernatural - ...the next time they
met, he brought this tobacco... So when they start using this
tobacco in this round house and they passed this tobacco, it gave
the chance for every man who was present at that time to express
themselves, to say something..."
Rupert Encinas, San Xavier District, Tohono O’ohdam
'JUNITKAJA' (O’ohdam word)
"We call it JUNE IT KA JA. JUNE IT KA JA in our language means
to smoke; to come together and smoke, and talk about the importance
of things that were going on, give them personal expressions."
Rupert Encinas, San Xavier District, Tohono O’ohdam
PURE TRADITIONAL TOBACCO,
NO ADDITIVES
"The old timers never had
any problem with it because it was pure tobacco... Tobacco of
the coyote... It had no other additives to it... And there was
probably not as much addiction as there is now..."
Emmett White, Gila River Pima
SMOKE FROM OTHER THAN TOBACCO
The Navajos certainly use smoke.
But according to Dr. Anthony Lee it is not from tobacco, but from
various plants that grow naturally on their huge reservation.
These sacred species are treated reverently.
DIFFERENT PLANT'S SMOKE FOR
DIFFERENT AILMENTS
"...We go to geographic
locations and we make offerings. And we tell the plant exactly
why.... .......we’re taking the plant and in what way the plant
is going to be used. And of course it’s for the purposes of healing;
to heal a person."
Dr. Anthony Lee, Dine College, Tsaile, Arizona
NORTH AMERICAN CHURCH MEETING
(Peyote Sacrament)
When we asked if we could observe
a meeting, we were told, "No, but you may fully participate in
one." To which we agreed. As with any church, a primary purpose
of a gathering is prayer. It has its own liturgy of rituals, and
last from dusk to beyond sunrise. In our case - in early summer
- that totaled eleven-and-one-half hours. Participants sit on
the ground, usually on pillows, around the parameter of a teepee.
Men and women participate together - this in contrast to some
Native American ceremonies which are separated by gender. Meetings
usually involve members of multiple tribes, and often a sprinkling
of non-Indians. There are protocols regarding how one enters and
exits the teepee; and always facing the fire. Tobacco and corn
husk paper is passed around; rolled, and smoked. Blessings are
offered. Throughout the night individuals have the opportunity
to offer songs, typically in their native language... and to speak
to the gathering....
"The significance of peyote
in the Native American church ceremony is that we become one with
God. In other churches, you TALK to God. But with the peyote,
it helps you, it enlightens you, it helps you to meditate. It
helps you to focus on concerns which you may have... But symbolically
it’s the same as sacramental wine or the host in other churches."
Austin Nunez, Chairman San Xavier District, Tohono O’ohdam
HEALING / CURING
In the 1960s, Professor Donald Bahr
began forty years of study of O’ohdam spirituality, including
practices relating to certain sicknesses believed by O’ohdam people
to be exclusive to them. In the process he developed a friendship
with a Tohono O’ohdam Medicine Man named Juan Gregorio, who in
his native language, explained on audio tape, the causes, diagnoses,
and cures for what are called Staying Sicknesses. From these recorded
conversations - included, in part, in this program - Bahr, Gregorio
and others authored a book titled, Pima Shamanism and Staying
Sickness.
CURING PROCEDURES
"So... the person usually
doesn’t know what it is that’s making him sick; what kind of dangerous
object. For this he has to go to a Medicine Man ....who may be
able to find out in a hurry; sort of like a quick check up event
that’s called Kulanmada. Or it may take all night in a big long
ceremony which is called Duajida. During the ceremony the Medicine
Man sings, and studies things.... After the Medicine Man finds
out what’s the matter, then the sick person has to find someone
who knows how to do a cure; a singing cure, and also a blowing
cure for that kind of dangerous object. It’s not the same person
as the Medicine Man. And it’s done at a separate occasion. This,
too, could take all night; although sometimes it just takes, ah,
a few hours for a cure, which is called in O’ohdam Wusota - which
means, the blowing The blowing is sometimes done just with the
breath alone. And sometimes it’s breath accompanied by tobacco
smoke. But it seems like it’s the breath, and not the smoke that
really makes the difference. Although it’s understood that what
smoke does is add visibility, and also a scent to the breath ....
so that a person’s breath can be detected farther away that if
it were just breath without any smoke mixed into it. And the idea
is that wherever the smoke is, so is the breath there, too....
And for these people breath is really the same as soul."
Professor Donald Bahr, Arizona State University
SMOKING COMMERCIAL TOBACCO
"Smoking for Native Americans
is especially dangerous because of the fact that we have so much
sugar diabetes and when we are diabetic, our body is having a
hard time maintaining its balance anyway. So when we put the chemicals
that are in cigarette smoke into our bodies, we’re harming that
natural health that we already have that is trying to counteract
the effect of diabetes, and so that adds to our problems if we
smoke. "
Vikki Stevens, MD, San Carlos Apache
CULTURAL PRESERVATION
"There’s a lot of things
that we use here from the earth and from the trees that help us
in our healing that was given to us by our Jiosh, what we call
him today, and of course Elder Brother before he left said, I
will give you these things. I will give you these things and I
will leave them with you. If you don’t take care of them and you
don’t use them, then I will take it back."
Emmett White, Gila River Pima
SONGS
Some tribal songs are strictly social...some
tell stories of history and mythologies... Others are sacred,
and might only be sung during certain seasons of the year, or
at certain times of day. Many old tribal songs have been lost
altogether. In other cases the song itself may be known and sung,
but the exact meaning or significance is lost.
DANCE
As with song, Some tribal dance are strictly social... some tell
stories of history and mythologies... Others are sacred. Many
tribes dance in this program. At Supai Village, a dance group
called The Guardians, performed the Ram Dance for our cameras.
GAMES
Through the ages, Native American
tribes developed and participated in their own sports and games.
These activities often included elements to build and test strength
and endurance, particularly in young people.
LEGENDS
All American Indian tribes have their own legends handed down
through the years. We are told several, including those of the
Blue Heron... the Owl...and the Guardian Rocks.
LANGUAGE
The cultural asset most at risk,
and the focus of perhaps the greatest effort, is language! Historically,
the number of Native American tribes was in the range of five
hundred, speaking as many separate languages or dialects. Today,
that number is greatly reduced. We see Apache Elder/educator Edgar
Perry teaching the Apache language to kindergarten children. Among
the Havasupai at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, their native
language is well known.
"Well, almost all the tribes are losing their language. This
is the ONLY tribe that is still - at least 90% of the people are
completely bilingual, including the children, which is really
rare in this day and age."
Professor John Martin Arizona State University
| 
![[JGAA]](havasupai.jpg)
Download
RealOne Video Player
