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Essay on Indigenous religions
Essay on Indigenous religions
Native american dance colonization
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Agnimel, Akaffou
Sonya L. Armstrong
RDG 1300
06, February 2017 Native American and Indian Dancing Talent
Dancing holds a special thing that require passion and other skills. Wovoka, also called Jack Wilson is the leader of the "ghost dance". He is an American religious leader from the Paiute Indian tribe (Nevada). This dance came after a personal spiritual vison that Wovoka had. It was an answer to the trouble that native Americans and Indians faced by the united state government. James Money, an ethnologist, was the one who investigate on this dance in 1891 and then obtained a copy of the Wovoka's message called "the messiah letter". Wovoka in this letter is bringing Christianity combining with native American culture. The message claims
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I think He clearly illustrate that by saying " (1896) do not tell the white people about this" meaning he was seeing the white people as those who would not be saved because of their behavior toward the Indians and also they were seeing the whites as non-believers. But, at the same time he was also encouraging his fellow native American to always obey to the whites as he mentioned "do not refuse to work for whites and do not make any trouble with them until you leave them". This is also a proof that his message was not meant to harm anybody but to make the Indians and whites leaving in a best environment. he was not preaching any violence. Wovoka, also talked about peace. He acknowledged the Indians that they should not fight but do right all the time. He is actually bringing in Christianity combining to native American. From this, Wovoka starts now to teach the Indians' the Ghost dance associated to his vision. The Ghost dance, a promise of fulfillment text is the explanation in depth of how this dance should be done. They use a certain types of clothes where men wear a ghost shirt. The text also describes the intense of this dance. Parker said "they kept up dancing until fully 100 persons were lying unconscious" meaning this dance was almost a terrible ordeal for these
He proclaimed his new name to be Tenskwatawa meaning "The Open Door." White settlers began to call him The Prophet because he said the gods had shown him the path to salvation for his people. This new religion called upon Natives to reject white culture and return to the traditional way of life. Tenskwatawa gave up alcohol and urged his followers to do the same. The distinguished changes apparent in Tenskwatawa immensely supported his new way of life. When those sent by The Master of Life took Lalawethika in his dream, they showed him a very fertile land full of game as well as a large wigwam where eternal fires burned. "The Master of Life had chosen him to lead the Indians back down the road toward salvation" (p. 76). At the heart of these new teachings was the belief that the land was held in common by all the tribes.
The book Under the Feet of Jesus by Helena Maria Viramontes shows you the story of Estrella and her family and the struggles they face as migrant workers. Among all the symbolism in the book the one that stand out the most is Petra’s statue of Christ, which symbolizes the failure of religion and the oppressive nature of the Christian religion especially in minorities. Throughout the book, Estrella’s mother, Petra relies on superstitions and religion to get her through the hardships in life. In tough times, she turns to the statue and prays for guidance. Her thirteen-year-old daughter Estrella is the first of her family to realize that she needs to stop relying on religion and take control of her life. This brings in a wave of self-empowerment, not only for Estrella but eventually for all the characters as well. In the book, you’re able to see how religion exemplifies the failures of religion in minorities and how it hinders the growth of the characters while helping some of them.
In this way the religion practiced by the Native Americans was taken as contradictions to Christianity. The natives were informed that Christianity was designed to be an eternal rule of significance and a means from which they could use to return to God from their religions that had deviated (Eliot par. 3). Through sermons given by Whitfield, the minds of the natives were engaged in religion and making religion the subject of most of their discussions. They embraced all the opportunities to hear what was been taught on Christianity. The Christian revivals were attended by the young and old alike (Edwards par.
The peyote religion is ancient in its origin and spread from Mexico, North in the mid 1800's at a time when Native Americans were desperately in need of spiritual strength and enlightenment, Native Americans were confined to reservations which were overseen by military authority, while many of their ritualistic practices and traditions were deemed as illegal. Origin stories regarding the practice of peyote ritual vary, however all encompass a common theme, namely that the 'Supernatural' took pity on those persecuted and communicated spiritually to the Native Americans through the journey experienced while under the chemical effects of peyote (Steltenka...
The American version of history blames the Native people for their ‘savage ' nature, for their failure to adhere to the ‘civilized norms ' of property ownership and individual rights that Christian people hold, and for their ‘brutality ' in defending themselves against the onslaught of non-Indian settlers. The message to Native people is simple: "If only you had been more like us, things might have been different for you.”
Most of the women and children in Big Foot's tribe were family members of the warriors who had died in the Plains wars. The Indians had agreed to live on small reservations after the US government took away their land. At the Wounded Knee camp, there were 120 men and 230 women and children. At the camp, they were guarded by the US Seventh Cavalry lead by Major Samuel Whitside. During the year 1890 a new dance called the Ghost Dance started among the Sioux and other tribes. The Sioux's Christ figure, Wovoka, was said to have flown over Sitting Bull and Short Bull and taught them the dance and the songs. The Ghost Dance legend was that the next spring, when the grass was high, the Earth would be covered with a new layer of soil, covering all white men. Wild buffalo and horses would return and there would be swift running water, sweet grass, and new trees. All Indians who danced the Ghost dance would be floating in the air when the new soil was being laid down and would be saved. The Ghost Dance was made illegal after the Wounded Knee massacre though. On December 28, 1890 the Seventh Cavalry saw Big Foot moving his tribe and Big Foot immediately put up a white flag. Major Samuel Whitside captured the Indians and took them to an army camp near the Pine Ridge reservation at Wounded Knee. Whitside took Bigfoot on his wagon because it was more comfortable and warmer, and Big Foot was sick. Whitside had orders to take the Indians to a military prison in Omaha the next day, but it never happened. That night Colonel James W. Forsyth took over. The Cavalry provided the Indians with tents that night because it was cold and there was a blizzard coming. The next day, December 29, 1890, the Cavalry gave the Indians hardtack for breakfast. There was a seize of arms and the soldiers took all the Indian's guns away. A medicine man named Yellow Bird told the Indians to resist the soldiers and not give up the guns, he did a few steps of the Ghost Dance.
In The Meaning of Jesus N.T. Wright and Marcus Borg present different views on issues relating to how Jesus is viewed. While Borg and Wright do agree on central ideals of Christianity, Borg tends to have more liberal views, whereas Wright holds more conservative views.
The religion of the Ghost Dance started with a man named Wovoka. On January 1, 1889, he had a ‘vision’ during a solar eclipse in Nevada (Peterson 27). It brought a message of hope to the oppressed Indians of only the Indians living. The Indians called Wovoka the ‘Messiah’ (“The Ghost Dance” par. 1) and it was believed that he would bring a “day of deliverance” (Phillips 16) to the Indians. The messiah was said to return to the earth so that all the white men would vanish and the buffalo and their ancestors would return (Peterson 27). Wovoka’s vision was that:
Mooney, James. The Ghost-Dance Religion and the Sioux Outbreak of 1890. London: University of Nebraska Press, 1991.
- Wovoka's visions were of resurrection of tribal members who had died, restoration of game animals, a flood which would destroy only the white settlers, and a time that is coming which would be free of suffering and disease.
This paper is a review of Jeansonne Glen’s biography “Messiah of the Masses: Huey P. Long and the Great Depression”. To the reader, the biography seems like more of a tall tale filled with corruption, manipulation, and deceit. Unfortunately for the citizens of Louisiana, in 1928 Huey Pierce “Kingfish” Long became the governor of the state of Louisiana. The author doesn’t believe Long to be a saint nor a sinner; however, he does believe Long’s biggest priority wasn’t the people but himself.
Illusions is a book that questions the ideas of capabilities of a Messiah. The author, Richard Bach made this book fiction but states in another book that the events that took place in Illusions, were noted facts from his diary. The main characters in this book are Richard and Donald Shimoda. Richard met Donald just north of Ferris, Illinois. The characters throughout the book taught and spiritually challenged one another. Richard didn’t realize that he was in training to be a Messiah himself. All of the miracles that Donald performed was evident for Richard to witness and attest that he has the same capabilities as Donald. Donald challenged his way of thinking. He did it in a way that Richard started to think outside of the box eventually realizing that there is no box and thinking is limitless. This book is a testimony of how everyone is capable of being a Messiah. Throughout the journey of the airmen, they both come to the realization that a Messiah can dwell not only on a physical plane, but on a spiritual plane as well. A Messiah can do anything if his/her faith is in place. As Richard is taught by Donald,
“In August 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. October 12th, they sighted land, and set their feet upon new sand” is a saying taught to many children, even today. While this well-known quote initially has a positive connotation, the vast majority do not know the horrible actions that followed this saying. European immigrants forcefully entered the United States and proceeded to make the Natives abandon their tribes, all while forcing their religion of Christianity on them. Over the past four hundred years, the failing of Native American beliefs and traditions has led to a revitalization movement known to many as the Native American Church, also known as Peyotism (Editors).
...t the missionaries were getting a lot of people to join their tribe and gaining influence in the tribe. He should have said something about the tribe becoming smaller and losing power. He waited too long to speak up and by that time the tribe was unraveling way to quickly to stop it.
The one who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do what pleases Him.” John 8:29 NIV