CH 3 Aboriginal Spirituality PDF

CH 3 | Aboriginal Spirituality Potential Questions True/False 1. Canada’s Aboriginal Population is growing at a faster rate than the non-Aboriginal population. →True 2. An elder is always one of the oldest people in an Aboriginal community. →False 3. Most indigenous peopl...

CH 3 | Aboriginal Spirituality Potential Questions True/False 1. Canada’s Aboriginal Population is growing at a faster rate than the non-Aboriginal population. →True 2. An elder is always one of the oldest people in an Aboriginal community. →False 3. Most indigenous people prefer the word “religion” to describe their spiritual practices. →False Multiple Choice 1. The stem of the sacred pipe represents a. Truth b. Peace and Justice c. Nature d. Harmony and Balance 2. The vision quest usually takes place at a. Birth b. Puberty c. Marriage d. Approaching death 3. Aboriginal people consider time to be a. Non-existent b. Circular c. Square d. Linear Aboriginal People - broad term referring to people who are First Nations, Metis, and Inuit When are Prayers of Thanks given? -before and after actions such as waking, sleeping, hunting, planting, and harvesting -when an animal dies Fill in the Blank 1. The word “Inuit” means “the people”  2. The identification of the spirit with objects it inhabits is called animism. 3. The Seven Fires refers to an Objibwa prophecy that the people would suffer and forget their traditional ways. Matching 1. Discussions and debates within a religion Intra-religious dialogue 2. To absorb one group into the culture of another Assimilate 3. A ritual used for purification Smudging Ceremony → SMOKE, not ashes Test Outline True/False - 15 Marks Aboriginal populations statistics ○ Growing at a fast rate, 45% aboriginal compared to 8% non-aboriginal ○ 8 in 10 live in Ontario and Western provinces ○ Aboriginal people are less likely to live in urban centres, 54% live in urban centres, 80% non-aboriginal Canadians live in urban centres ○ 10% of winnepegs population is indigenous Elder ○ Aboriginal men or women who are recognized, respected, and consulted for their wisdom, experience, knowledge, background, and insight ○ not necessarily one of the oldest people in the community Spirituality – What does it mean to Aboriginal people ○ "Aboriginal spirituality is defined as at the core of Aboriginal being, their very identity. ○ It gives meaning to all aspects of life including relationships with one another and the environment. ○ All objects are living and share the same soul and spirit as Aboriginals. There is a kinship with the environment. Potlatch ○ “Giveaway” ○ Celebrates special event, ie a birth, wedding, commemorating a death ○ Involves giving gifts of blankets, beadwork, crafts to family, friends, or visitors, and ceremonial dancing and singing ○ On West Coast, Aboriginal peoples, ie the Haida, have potlatches Giveaways marking significant events in a family, such as the birth of child, death of a relative, or chief taking office HOWEVER they also increase the host’s standing in the community and highlight the host’s generosity, wealth, and power 2009 – Pope Benedict XVI  ○ Pope Benedict XVI expressed his sorrow over the abuse suffered by some at residential schols ○ Assembly of First Nations Chief Phil Fontaine, Aboriginal elders, and survivors met with the pope Sweat Lodge ○ Aims to purify body, mind, spirit, and heart, restore right relationships with self, others, the Creator, and all creation ○ Thus, considered sacred space – spiritual refuge and healing ○ Sometimes called the womb of Mother Earth ○ Closed structure built around a pit, with heated rocked placed during ceremony ○ Sweat leader pours water onto the hot rocks to create steam ○ In dark, moist setting, participants return to the womb & innocence of childhood ○ Sing, pray, talk, meditate, sit in silence, reflect on creation stories ○ Ceremony can last for several hours Hair ○ Long, uncut hair, worn by men/women = sacred ○ Generally braided; among some men, three braided strands = body, mind, spirit ○ Length and style not uniform, but braids or uncut hair generally signify the style worn is of spiritual or cultural importance to individual, reinforcing sense of belonging to particular First Nation ○ For some, cut hair = sign of mourning Death ○ Death rituals and beliefs vary among Aboriginal peoples ○ Those who have died need to relearn what it is to be a spirit, varying for each person, but tradition requires a waiting period of one year ○ In that time, Death Feast is held for spirit of person ○ Today, Ojibwa celebrate the Feast of the Dead each autumn to remember all who died during the previous year Traditional Objibwa each family who has lost someone during the past year holds a banquet for the entire village. Food is not necessarily placed on table, but open area outside to allow space for the deceased’s spirit to remain with family ○ Cree, honouring the circle of life, also honours death Body undergoes physical transformation, but spirit remains unchanged Ascends to realm to join ancestors who have come before in death  Separation from body ≠ all ties to people are gone; Cree believe spirits have power to reveal themselves an communicate with humans in dreams/visions, called upon in sacred ceremonies (ie, sweat lodge/sun dance) The wake -- ceremony for returning body to Mother Earth, and the round dance – ceremony to commune with spirits who have passed to spirit world = important parts of Cree grief and healing process → round dance is celebrated so that family and friends who remain behind will allow the spirit of the deceased to fly free so that it can dance with other spirits who make the Northern Lights Thanksgiving celebrations ○ “Harvest Feast” ○ Celebration of harvest from field and forest ○ Way of recognizing spirits that acted on their behalf to give them food, and of renewing the earth by prayers, chants, and dances ○ Celebrated particularly by Aboriginal people who are farmers, adopted from non-Aboriginal “Thanksgiving” ○ Similar celebrations follow a successful hunt or fishing expedition Potlatch Creator ○ Also known as the Great Spirit ○ Inhabits all things: rocks, land, water plants, animals, fish, birds, and people ○ Highest God ○ Reveals itself in many manifestations in nature – encountered in everything, particularly the unusual around them (found in vision quests) ○ Similar to angels in Christian tradition, spirits become guardians of people’s spirit lives. Kateri Tekakwitha ○ Beatified in 1980 by Pope John Paul II ○ The first Aboriginal person to be declared blessed ○ Patron of the Tekakwitha Conference: annual gathering, established in 1939, of Aboriginal Catholics in the United States and Canada Goal: begin discussion of how the Catholic Church could erspond better to tradiitonal Aboriginal beliefs and practices Multiple Choice - 13 Marks Time – what is it considered? ○ circular, and divided into 4 seasons Residential Schools – level of government overseeing it  ○ Federal Govt. ; run by Anglican, United, Presbyterian, and Catholic churches. Names of the Great Spirit ○ Wakan Tanka = the Great Spirit Wankan = energy - Siouoan peoples ○ Orenda = Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) – distinct spirit that attaches itself to an object/animal ○ Manitou - Algonkian-speaking peoples ; “Great Mystery, Great Mysterious One, Great Spirit” ○ Often referred to as Creator A Sun Dance ○ Celebrated by peoples of the Prairies in June/July, at the time of the full moon ○ According to tradition, sun dance began when a warrior’s vision quest showed a new way to pray to the Great Spirit ○ Participants take part in four annual dances to prepare for the final stage of the rite ○ Four days before the ceremony, dancers purify themselves (ex, sweat lodge ceremony) and prepare ○ Sun dance itself takes another four days, in which dancers fast ○ Final stage of rite involves piercing the body and, in a dance, tearing away from the piercing to symbolize the renewal of the quest for the spirit in one’s life. Census figures from 2006 of Aboriginal People ○ -more than 1 million aboriginal people in canada ○ -aboriginal population grew by 45% from 1996 A Powwow ○ Dance of renewal for restoration of right relationships and healing of all creation ○ Community celebration – time to sign, dance, celebrate one’s identity, heritage, and language ○ Takes place in a circle (as all Aboriginal rituals) ○ Always blessed by a spiritual leader, space within circle is holy ○ Generally, dances and singers enter circle from the east, where Sun rises, and move in a clockwise direction (same direction as Sun) ○ Drumbeat (accompanies many other events) = solemn rhythm of creation, heartbeat of Mother Earth and the rhythm of the mother’s heartbeat all hear in the womb Ojibwa Feast of the Dead  ○ Ojibwa celebrate the Feast of the Dead each autumn to remember all who died during the previous year Traditional Objibwa each family who has lost someone during the past year holds a banquet for the entire village. Food is not necessarily placed on table, but open area outside to allow space for the deceased’s spirit to remain with family Vision Quests ○ Intense, solitary spiritual experience for seeking direction in life for young people ○ Preparation for a year, only to go when parents/elders think they are ready ○ Search for spirit helpers for 3-4 days in the wilderness without food and little water ○ Traditionally, young people undertake vision quest to be accepted as adults in the community The Creator Sacred Pipe ○ One of the most power and sacred spiritual rituals for Aboriginal peoples in Canada ○ Pipe symbolizes unity and harmony of the world ○ Smoking a pipe = give back unity, peace, harmony to world ○ Before lighting, carrier prays the whole universe and all it contains is transferred to the pipe → delivered to the fire: the Great Spirit ○ Everything is dissolved into the cosmic unity fo the Great Spirit Parts of the Sacred Pipe ○ Stone bowl = truth ○ Stem = way we are to live in harmony and balance with all creation ○ Bowl, with hole for accepting the wooden stem = woman, stem = man. Joining bowl to the stem symbolizes union and balance between male and female aspects of the world. ○ Involves all elements of earth, fire, air, and water (condensation in stem) = stresses oneness and unity of all creation Fill in the Blanks – 12 Marks Longhouse ○ In southern Ontario, five or six families might live in each Inroquoian longhouse ina village of a hundred longhosues Inuit The Seven Fires ○ Period of time where people would suffer and forget the way they had received fire from the beginning of creation and how to recover the fire  ○ Seven prophets came to the Anishinabe when they were living a full and peaceful life on the northeastern coast of America ○ Prophets left people with seven predictions about their future, each called a fire, referring to a particular time to come ○ Aboriginal peoples express their hope and confidence about the return of Aboriginal traditions and how it could live alongside non-Aboriginal traditions ○ Given new life and new sense of responsibility to many Residential Schools ○ Set out by Indian Act (1876), the responsibility of the federal government for the education of Status Indian children from 6-18. ○ Led to decline in use of traditional languages, loss of traditional skills, and tremendous pain and grieving over abuse and loss of cultures Medicine Wheel ○ Circle represents the continuous cycle of life and connection among all species ○ Cross points in all four directions ○ Power of four directions organize everything that exists: Seasons (winter, spring, summer, fall) Races (red, white, yellow, black) Elements of the universe (water, fire, air, earth) Stages of life (child, youth,adult, elder) Aspects of the human personality (spiritual, physical, mental, emotional) ○ Elders use medicine wheel as tool for teaching younger generations who they are, where they come from, their place in the world, and how they are related to each other and to all that lives and breathes Eagle Feathers ○ Elder Noel Knockwood’s revival of Aboriginal spirituality in NS and NB – allowing Aboriginal spirituality to be a official religion in NS ○ Eagle feather project – allowed for eagle feather to be used in the provincial justice system in place of a Bible ○ Importance: sacred because the eagle is viewed as a divine messenger ○ Represent: power and protection ○ Why are they sacred?: because it soars high in the skies, it is believed to have touched the face of the creator Shaman ○ Aboriginal spiritual leader ○ Also known as medicine person in some areas  ○ Men and women who possess a greater quantity of power than others; more able to deal with powers than others in community ○ Pass on knowledge of the spirit powers through teachings – mainly oral ○ Perform rituals to keep the world in balance ○ Traditionally uses powers for the benefit of the community: helping hunters find their prey, making it rain for farmers making love chams, but especially healing the sick ○ Functions as a physical and spiritual healer and performs ceremonies for healing and spiritual needs of other people using special knowledge of approporiate medicines and herbs ○ Also remembers and tells the spiritual teachings of the community, ex, by telling in chant how the Earth was created – sacred teachings Not taught to non-Aboriginal peoples, as if shaman presides over creation of Earth in their chant, similar to an incantation or formula, the Earth is recreated Nunavut Legislature ○ Creation of Nunavut in 1999 was the largest land claim settlement in Canada’s history ○ Three official languages: Inuktitut, English, and French ○ Territorial government favours making decision by consensus–traditional practice among Inuit Animism - The identification of the spirit with the object it inhabits Smudging Ceremony ○ Sacred herbs burned in shell/earthen bowl, SMOKE is brushed/washed over eyes, mouth, ears, hands ,heart, and whole being of participant ○ Purifies people and places, important events (ex, wedding, powwow, or healing) ○ Smudging & Ashes = holy; thus as sign of respect, ashes are returned to Earth in area not walked on ○ Variety of different plants ○ Meetings of Metis people often open and close prayer with smudging ceremony Vision Quest Naming Ceremony ○ Name-giver (often child’s grandparent/elder) enters time of fasting, meditation, prayer, or dreaming ○ Name is revealed by the Spirit, then given to child in special ceremony where child’s family, relatives, and friends attend ○ Name may change as person matures  ○ Name expressed identity of person, consisting of their relation to the spirit power Matching – 10 Marks Aboriginal Peoples – Define Elder Indigenous – Refers to native, original, or earliest-known inhabitants of a region Assimilate – Absorb one group into the culture of another Intra-religious dialogue – dialogue within a religion ○ happens to aboriginal canadians who are christian and struggling to reconcile their identities Smudging Shaman Sacred Pipe Vision Quest Potlatch