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Red Indians


seeking8

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Hello

Just would like to explore the red Indians beliefs and if they still practice? also would love to learn something about their culture :)

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Do you mean the Native Americans here in the United States? Or do you mean the peoples who are native to India?

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Do you mean the Native Americans here in the United States? Or do you mean the peoples who are native to India?

I meant Native Americans sorry I am still learning.

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That's a huge topic! My favorite book about their spiritual traditions is Frank Fool's Crow: Wisdom and Power. His nephew, Ed McGaa, has also written some great books. And Frank Water's has written a series of books about the Hopi prophecies that are very readable.

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That's a huge topic! My favorite book about their spiritual traditions is Frank Fool's Crow: Wisdom and Power. His nephew, Ed McGaa, has also written some great books. And Frank Water's has written a series of books about the Hopi prophecies that are very readable.

Thank you so much I shall look these books up now! :)

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Don't forget about the Yaqui, Zuni, Apache.

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Hello

Just would like to explore the red Indians beliefs and if they still practice? also would love to learn something about their culture :)

What interests you specifically in Native spirituality? There are many aspects, some of which are no longer practiced (because they are illegal).

Native believed you could gain power by consuming pieces of human organs and flesh (the heart especially). You could also gain power just by obtaining a piece of your enemy (scalps). And of course it was customary to inflect cruel tortures on their helpless prisoners.

Is this the kind of info you wanted?

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What interests you specifically in Native spirituality? There are many aspects, some of which are no longer practiced (because they are illegal).

Native believed you could gain power by consuming pieces of human organs and flesh (the heart especially). You could also gain power just by obtaining a piece of your enemy (scalps). And of course it was customary to inflect cruel tortures on their helpless prisoners.

Is this the kind of info you wanted?

To be fair, scalping was rarely practiced among Native Americans until the Europeans arrived. Even after their arrival, it was mainly the Europeans doing the scalping and encouraging it.

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to clarify on a point.....

history is written by the victors....

the history of the native population is handed down to the next generation...

passed from mother to daughter...

father to son....

i know much from my background (as with any native) that you wont find in any history books...

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I like to learn new things thats why I am looking for information. I am drawn to this subject of native Americans because I have had dreams about them. I would like to learn about their beliefs :-)

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There's a book called Native American Myths and Legends. It's a decent, accessible introduction to many beliefs and a very good read. I'll look the author's name up while I'm home this weekend.

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a six gun in one hand and a bible in the other justifying rape, murder and mayhem was kinda sorta maybe confusing to the kin folk

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I like to learn new things thats why I am looking for information. I am drawn to this subject of native Americans because I have had dreams about them. I would like to learn about their beliefs :-)

Up here (Canada), they're called the 'First Nations', because they were largely 'nations'. A Haida has nothing in common to a Huron, nor an Inuit to an Incan. In the 'new' world there was at least a thousand separate cultures and linguistic groups before my 'explorer' ancestors set foot here. You think that Europe is a patchwork?

Seeking8, if you're asking a question about their belief system you're going to have narrow your focus. :)

Edit to add: From my neck of the woods, a short novel that captures some of their belief system (and a clash of cultures) is 'I Heard the Owl Call My Name', by Margaret Craven.

Edited by Likely Guy
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wow...... holy crap.... what to say to this....

being of native decent i see a lot of misinformation in this....

I am a status Native too. The point is irrelevant.

gaining power by consuming human organs?

where did you get this idea?

Ritual cannibalism was common. I did a quick search, here's the first book result;

uh.... read your history.....

scalping was started by the Dutch....

the reason it was started was as a proof for a bounty when the US govt put a price on the heads of all natives....

a piece of the scalp was used as proof that the native was killed...... so the reward could be collected....

Not so. From wiki; "Archaeological excavations revealed about 486 skeletons within a fortification ditch on the periphery of the habitation area. The site represents the Initial Coalescent period and dates to about 1325. P. Willey's analysis revealed that 90% of the individuals had cut marks characteristic of scalping."[8]"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalping

(emphasis mine)

I believe the OP is thinking of North American Indians, so I'll leave out the even more gruesome practices of the Central and South American Indians. History is not always written by the victors, sometimes it's engraved in stone by the losers. Aztec rituals come to minds.

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If you want to learn about Native people the best way is to go the tribal websites. They all maintain one. The tricky part there is a lot of BS out there. New Age people who peddle pseudo Native American beliefs. There are more of them than Natives who active in the culture. The native peoples of the Americas were like people everywhere, some things they did weren't so good and some things were great. I once read something about any culture, 10% of the people work to maintain the culture, the rest are waiting for Mc Donalds to appear on the corner. Good luck.

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Up here (Canada), they're called the 'First Nations', because they were largely 'nations'. A Haida has nothing in common to a Huron, nor an Inuit to an Incan. In the 'new' world there was at least a thousand separate cultures and linguistic groups before my 'explorer' ancestors set foot here. You think that Europe is a patchwork?

Seeking8, if you're asking a question about their belief system you're going to have narrow your focus. :)

Edit to add: From my neck of the woods, a short novel that captures some of their belief system (and a clash of cultures) is 'I Heard the Owl Call My Name', by Margaret Craven.

I am a status Native too. The point is irrelevant.

Ritual cannibalism was common. I did a quick search, here's the first book result;

Not so. From wiki; "Archaeological excavations revealed about 486 skeletons within a fortification ditch on the periphery of the habitation area. The site represents the Initial Coalescent period and dates to about 1325. P. Willey's analysis revealed that 90% of the individuals had cut marks characteristic of scalping."[8]"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalping

(emphasis mine)

I believe the OP is thinking of North American Indians, so I'll leave out the even more gruesome practices of the Central and South American Indians. History is not always written by the victors, sometimes it's engraved in stone by the losers. Aztec rituals come to minds.

The Aztec are classified as being North American. The Maya on the other hand are not.

The Aztec language is part of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Comanche and Shoshone are both part of that same family. Comanche are actually Shoshone who decided to get horses. Hopi is also within the Uto-Aztecan family.

So there, not all the tribes were distant and remote, many spoke similar languages, trade networks existed, as did nations. The myth is that all the Native Americans were independent and unique tribes who were constantly at war.

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a six gun in one hand and a bible in the other justifying rape, murder and mayhem was kinda sorta maybe confusing to the kin folk

It's not that hard to understand. While there is as much lore between groups as there are other religions. The common theme is that there is a spirit that exists in all things. We are related to everything and everyone, and the great spirit ( Wakan Tanka or the great mystery for the sioux ) resides in everything. There are spirits that are aspects of Wakan Tanka and a spirit world that underlys the physical.

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What interests you specifically in Native spirituality? There are many aspects, some of which are no longer practiced (because they are illegal).

Native believed you could gain power by consuming pieces of human organs and flesh (the heart especially). You could also gain power just by obtaining a piece of your enemy (scalps). And of course it was customary to inflect cruel tortures on their helpless prisoners.

Is this the kind of info you wanted?

You are severely misinformed. This is pure propiganda. Native life had its standard human issues, but this crap probably comes from some sort of extreme white apologist rhetoric.

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You are severely misinformed. This is pure propiganda. Native life had its standard human issues, but this crap probably comes from some sort of extreme white apologist rhetoric.

My great-great-great grandfather was a war chief in the war of 1812. In that war he is documented to have eaten a heart from a Yankee he had killed.

Native Americans historically have had problem with causation. They believed they could garner strength or power by consuming certain animals or sometimes people. That this kind of ritual cannibalism occurred is a fact, and it is indisputable.

They also ascribed mental states (i.e. anger) to natural phenomenon. This is common in primitive cultures.

.

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My great-great-great grandfather was a war chief in the war of 1812. In that war he is documented to have eaten a heart from a Yankee he had killed.

Native Americans historically have had problem with causation. They believed they could garner strength or power by consuming certain animals or sometimes people. That this kind of ritual cannibalism occurred is a fact, and it is indisputable.

They also ascribed mental states (i.e. anger) to natural phenomenon. This is common in primitive cultures.

.

Please... anything that happened and beliefs during war do not reflect the populace anymore than guys in Vietnam keeping ears do for the rest of us, or that white people comitted genicide against the NA so that makes the white culture genocidal. Yes, consuming animials will give you power for battle... In fact it's a necessity. It's called eating ;)

Spend some more time in the books my friend I recommend "ishi in tow worlds". A native culture straight from the horses mouth.

Edited by Seeker79
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