Native American Church
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The Native American Church (NAC), also known as Peyotism and Peyote Religion, is a Native American religion characterized by mixed traditional as well as Protestant beliefs and by sacramental use of the entheogen peyote. The religion originated in the U.S. state of Oklahoma in the late nineteenth century after peyote was introduced to the southern Great Plains from Mexico.[1][2][3] Today it is the most widespread indigenous religion among Native Americans in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with an estimated 250,000 adherents as of the late twentieth century.[4][5][6][7]
Contents
History of the peyote religion[edit]
Development of the movement[edit]
Ceremony[edit]
The rite characteristically, but not always, takes place in a tepee around a crescent-shaped, earthen altar mound and a sacred fire. The all-night ceremony usually commences about 8 pm Saturday and is led by a peyote "chief." The services include prayer, singing, sacramental eating of peyote, water rites, and contemplation; they conclude with a communion breakfast on Sunday morning. The way of life is called the Peyote Road and enjoins brotherly love, family care, self-support through steady work, and avoidance of alcohol.
Roles[edit]
Roles within ceremonies include the Fireman, Drum Chief, and Cedar Chief. The Road Man, or Road Chief, is a title given to the leader of the peyote ceremony in the Native American Church.[8] Examples include, Truman Washington Dailey, Victor Griffin, and John Wilson.
History of persecution[edit]
Peyotism has had a history of persecution. Although peyote was banned by government agents in 1888 and later by 15 states, Congress, backed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the churches, and some Indian groups, resisted repeated attempts from 1916 to 1937 to have its use prohibited. In self-defense, peyote groups sought incorporation under state laws—first in Oklahoma as the First-born Church of Jesus Christ in 1914, then as the Native American Church in 1918, and by 1960 in some further 11 states. In the 1960s appeals by peyotists in the name of constitutional freedom of religion were supported by anthropologists and others and upheld in several state supreme courts.
See also[edit]
- Eagle-bone whistle
- Employment Division v. Smith
- Freedom of thought
- Hair drop, Native American Church regalia
- Indigenous peoples of the Americas
- The red road
References[edit]
- ^ http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/jms089/Z-Unpublished%20Work/Shields-Christ%20&%20Cactus.pdf
- ^ Catherine Beyer. "Peyote and the Native American Church". About.com Religion & Spirituality. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
- ^ "Native American Church". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
- ^ "Native American Church". Retrieved 5 March 2015.
- ^ "World Religions & Spirituality - Native American Church". Retrieved 5 March 2015.
- ^ "University of Virginia Library". Religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu. 2006-09-07. Retrieved 2011-07-09.
- ^ "'A Brief History of the Native American Church'". CSP. 1996.
- ^ Fleming, Walter C. (2003). The Complete's Idiot's Guide to Native American History. Penguin Group. p. 282. ISBN 0-02-864469-7.
Bibliography[edit]
- Hayward, Robert. The Thirteenth Step: Ancient Solutions to the Contemporary Problems of Alcoholism and Addiction using the Timeless Wisdom of The Native American Church Ceremony. Native Son Publishers Inc., 2011. ISBN 0983638403. -- Describes the Native American Church Ceremony.
External links[edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Native American Church. |
- Listing of Native American Churches
- Native American Churches
- American Ethnography – The use of Peyote by the Carrizo and Lipan Apache tribes
- "Native American Church, Encyclopedia of the Great Plains
- Swan, Daniel C. (2009). "Native American Church". Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society.
- Cowger, Thomas W. (2009). "Pan-Indian Movements". Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society.
