The Native Americans comprise almost infinity of cultures in both North and South America, as well as the islands of the Caribbean. There are several language families, a multitude of religions, social systems, histories, and mythologies spread across the native peoples of the Americas. We, of course, cannot do justice to these cultures nor even cover them in the most superficial way. Rather, we are going to focus on two rather short stories from two widely dispersed cultures, the Iroquois of the eastern United States and the Quiché of Guatemala (Lassiter, Ellis, Kotay, 2002).
The Iroquois Confederacy, made up of six Nations, was formed in about 1575. The Iroquois Nation includes the Onondaga, the Oneida, the Senecca, the Mohawk, the Cayuga, and the Tuscarora. The Iroquois are from New York State. Near their pallisaded villages which were often surrounded by moats, the Iroquois planted maize, squash, and beans--the Three Sisters (Marriott, Rachlin, 1968). They hunted deer and bear, caught fish, tapped the sugar maples, and gathered a variety of plant foods. They lived in large bark longhouses, each house holding as many as sixty people and headed by a clan mother. The Iroquois have always prided themselves on diplomacy and even today the Iroquois travel the world speaking of peace (Erdoes, Ortiz, 1984).
There were over one thousand different tribal peoples indigenous to the North American continent when Europeans first arrived in that territory. Each tribe had its own set of festivals, rituals, and spiritual beliefs, therefore to write of 'Native American spirituality' as one entity would be erroneous. However, common features are apparent across tribal peoples, pointing to some of the assumptions which inform the spiritual beliefs and practices of those indigenous to the North American continent. Spirituality played a central role in the lives of many of these peoples (Marriott, Rachlin, 1968).................
