*Religion*
The most widespread religion is known as the Native American Church. It is a syncretistic church incorporating elements of native spiritual practice from a number of different tribes as well as symbolic elements from Christianity. Its main rite is the peyote ceremony. In the American Southwest, especially New Mexico, a syncretism between the Catholicism brought by Spanish missionaries and the native religion is common; the religious drums, chants, and dances of the Pueblo people are regularly part of Masses at Santa Fe's Saint Francis Cathedral. Native American-Catholic syncretism is also found elsewhere in the United States.
Native Americans are the only known ethnic group in the United States requiring a federal permit to practice their religion. The eagle feather law, says that only individuals of certifiable Native American ancestry enrolled in a federally recognized tribe are legally authorized to obtain eagle feathers for religious or spiritual use. Native Americans and non-Native Americans frequently challenge the value and athority of the eagle feather law, saying that the law is full with racial preferences on tribal sovereignty. The law does not allow Native Americans to give eagle feathers to non-Native Americans, a common modern and traditional practice. Many non-Native Americans have been adopted into Native American families, made tribal members and given eagle feathers.
Many Native Americans would describe their religious practices as a form of spirituality, rather than religion, although in practice the terms may sometimes be used interchangeably. Above all else, Native American spirituality is a land-based spirituality. The relationship between the land and the people was one of mystical inter-dependence.
“For each tribe of men Usen created He also made a home. In the land for any particular tribe He placed whatever would be best for the welfare of that tribe…thus it was in the beginning: the apaches and their homes each created for the other by Usen Himself. When they are taken from these homes they sicken and die.”- Geronimo, the Apache leader
This quote provides a clue to the reason why there should be a span of so many different festivals, rituals and rites among Native American tribes. Each tribe's rituals were tied to the specific qualities of the land the tribe called 'home'. For example, Great Plains Indians such as the Sioux and the Apache celebrated elaborate festivals worshipping the sun and the great sky they experienced in their daily lives. Native Americans who were agriculturalists worshipped the corn god, and for those peoples who relied upon the buffalo for their food, clothing, shelter and implements, the buffalo played a central role in their cosmology. One of the difficult aspects of this relationship with the land to understand for us is the literalness of the connection between the Native Americans and their land.
“I was born by these waters. The earth here is my mother,”
*Dances*
Native American dance is a very special art. Many dances are performed for family events, such as weddings and birthdays. Some dances are performed for fun, others to help the harvest, or story telling, and some for religious ceremonies.
The Native Americans in western Washington and Canada have other occasions for dancing, such as the potlatch. A potlatch is a community gathering to honor the host or to celebrate family events, such as births and marriages. A dance called Spirit Dancing is performed at potlatch festivals every year. Young men or women "catch" a guardian spirit, sometimes as if in a dream. The young people create their own song and dance to show the spirits of their guardians. New dancers choose costumes and paint their faces before they perform. Other young people who performed their dances in earlier years perform their dance again. Any close relative who remembers the dances from the year before also joins in the dance. Sometimes dancers will take on an animal spirit for a dance with the help of elaborate costumes that help them appear like a raven, a bear, or another animal of their choice. Gifts are given to visitors to thank them for coming and to ask them to remember the new dances for next year.
The Native Americans of the Plains (from Wyoming to Minnesota and the Canadian province to Texas), including the Blackfoot, Lakota, and Crow, are well known for their powwow dances. Powwows were first danced in the 1800s, and are still done today. Powwow dances can be held for fun. They can also serve as family or tribal reunions. The dances are usually performed in a certain order. They start with a Grand Entry. Then there is a Flag Song, which is similar to singing the United States national anthem before a baseball game. There can be as many as eight more dances. Sometimes non-Native Americans are invited to join in a powwow dance. There are very special rules that must be followed if you are invited to join a powwow dance.
The Social Dance songs of the Iroquois in the Northeast are performed in between sacred rituals. There are nineteen different dances in the Social Dance set. Many of the dances are short and fast and are done by a group.
The Southeast Native American groups (North Carolina to Florida and west to Texas), such as the Creek and the Choctaw, also have special dances. The Creek Stomp Dance is performed for the Green Corn ceremony. The dance is very exciting. A solo singer starts to sing while the dancers and shell shaker players, who are all men, get in line. The song leader and the dancers sing back and forth to each other. Then the dancers and shell shaker players dance and sing faster and faster while each song gets longer and longer.
There are many different Native American dances; Hope Dance, Eagle Dance, Northern Traditional Dance, Grass Dance, Fancy Dance, Southern Traditional Dance and a verity of others.
*Music*
Music is a big part of Native American Entertainment. Singing and percussion are the most important aspects of traditional Native American music. Vocalization takes many forms, ranging from solo and choral song to responsorial, unison and multipart singing. Percussion, especially drums and rattles, are common accompaniment to keep the rhythm steady for the singers, who generally use their native language. Traditional music usually begins with slow and steady beats that grow gradually faster and more dynamic, while various beets like drum and rattle tempos, shouts and accented patterns add variety and signal changes in performance for singers and dancers.
Native American song lyrics include both public pieces and secret songs, which are used only for sacred and ceremonial purposes. There are also public sacred songs, as well as ritual speeches that are sometimes thought of as music because of their use of rhythm and melody. These ritual speeches often directly describe the events of a ceremony, and the reasons of the night.Some meaningless syllables, are a common part of many kinds of Native American songs. They frequently mark the beginning and end of phrases, sections or songs themselves. Often songs make frequent use of words and other un-translatable elements. Songs that are translatable include historical songs. Tribal flag songs and national anthems are also a major part of the Native American musical corpus, and are a frequent starter to public ceremonies, especially powwows. Native American music also includes a range of love songs, dancing songs and popular American or Canadian tunes. Some like "Amazing Grace, "Dixie", "Jambalaya" and "Sugar Time". Many songs celebrate harvest, planting season or other important times of year.
Native American music plays a vital role in history and education, with ceremonies and stories orally passing on ancestral customs to new generations. Native American ceremonial music is traditionally said to originate from spirits, or from particularly respected individuals. Rituals are shaped by every aspect of song, dance and costuming, and each aspect informs about the makers, wearers and symbols important to the nation, tribe, village, clan, family, or individual. They can very slightly from year to year, with leaders recombining and introducing slight changes.
The styles and purposes of music vary greatly between and among each Native American tribe. However, a common concept amongst many indigenous groups is a conflation of music and power. For example, the Pima people feel many of their songs were given in the beginning and sung by the Creator. It is believed that some people then have more of an inclination to musical talent than others because of an individual's peculiar power.
*Stickball*
Stickball has often been called Native American Basketball. I think the name is appropriate. The equipment for this game is; a ball called the towa, which is a rock wrapped in cloth then laced with leather cord, and a tall stick, typically ranging from ten to twenty feet tall. An item is placed on the top of the stick, often a cow skull but, this is not always the case. Some tribes, like the Choctaw and Cherokee have goals similar to American football goals. The object of the game is to strike the skull, a portion of the pole, or the top of the stick with the ball. Hitting the skull is worth more points than the stick. The exact point values vary dependding on the tribe. The field may be anywhere from a few hundred yards to a few miles.
The game is full-contact. A player holding the ball is a target for every player on the other team, who will body-slam, tackle, trip, or attempt to gain back ownership of the ball. The player's own team will, in turn, attempt to hurl the other team away from the thrower so he may aim carefully.
Along time ago, these games could result in serious injury, being put in a hospital or death; its nickname, "the little brother of war," is very accurate. It is saying that it’s the little brother bevause its similar to war, but not as many deaths.Even when played today, it can result in broken bones.
This game was used as part of a strategy, by the allied tribes, in 1764 to gain entrance to Fort Mackinaw.
*Lacrosse*
Lacrosse is one of many Native American Games. It is mainly a male team sport, it is well known from the others, such as field hockey. In lacrosse you use a netted racquet to pick the ball off the ground, throw, catch and convey it into or past a goal to score a point. The main rule in all variations of lacrosse is that the ball, with few exceptions, must not be touched with the hands.
Based on the equipment and the type of goal used, along with the stick-handling techniques, it is possible to tell what tribes rules it is. The southeastern, Great Lakes, and Iroquoian. Among southeastern tribes; Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, Seminole, Yuchi and others, a double-stick version of the game is still practiced. A two-and-a half foot stick is held in each hand, and the soft, small deerskin ball is retrieved and cupped between them. Great Lakes players; Ojibwe, Menominee, Potawatomi, Sauk, Fox, Miami, Winnebago, Santee Dakota and others, use a single three-foot stick. It terminates in a round, closed pocket about three to four inches in diameter, a little larger than the ball, which was usually made of wood, charred and scraped to shape. The northeastern stick, found among Iroquoian and New England tribes, is the same idea as all the present-day sticks, both indoor and field lacrosse. The longest of the three—usually more than three feet.
Lacrosse is considered to be America's first sport. Modern lacrosse has been embraced by athletes and enthusiasts of the United States and the British Common wealth for over a century.
The sport of lacrosse is a combination of basketball, soccer and hockey. Anyone can play lacrosse. The game requires and rewards coordination and agility. Quickness and speed are two highly prized qualities in lacrosse.
Lacrosse is fast-paced and full of action. Long sprints up and down the field with small starts and stops, precision passes and dodges are routine in men's and women's lacrosse. Lacrosse is played with a stick, the crosse, which must be mastered by the player to throw, catch and scoop the ball.
Today, lacrosse is know worldwide as one of the fastest growing sports (more than half a million players), controlled by official regulations and played with manufactured rather than hand-made equipment—the aluminum shafted stick with its plastic head, for example. While the Great Lakes traditional game died out by 1950, the Iroquois and southeastern tribes continue to play their own forms of lacrosse. Ironically, the field lacrosse game of non-native women today most closely resembles the Indian game of the past. They still use the wooden stick, lacking the protective gear and demarcated sidelines of the men's game, and tending towards mass attack rather than field positions and offsides.
