Native American/First Nations History

Posted by Jeffrey R Gudzune

For some time now, I have endeavored to present a detailed picture of indigenous life. I have made every effort to avoid slipping into talk of war and politics and have focused on tribal customs and attributes. The limitations of space prohibited a more detailed exploration of singing among other tribes, but next week we will look at how the Lakota Sioux and Plains employ singing for a variety of purposes.

Posted by Jeffrey R Gudzune

Next week, we will continue our exploration in indigenous culture by looking at other aspcects of Indian lifeways. As I have tried to stress, there is much more to historical exploration than battles and military leaders. Looking at the specific cultural traits that constitute a society is the best and only way to fully understand a different way of life.

Posted by Jeffrey R Gudzune

Philosophers and religious scholars have debated the existence of the afterlife since the advent of civilization. In this last article, I explored the concept of the afterlife as it pertains to Crow and Lakota social development. While of late I have limited my topics to only a few tribes in specific geographic areas, I have done so in order to present more detail on the topic at hand and greater explore the meat of the subject.

Posted by Jeffrey R Gudzune

This week I elected to review two particular myths surrounding the introduction of death into the mortal world. While it would be impossible to cover all similar stories I centered on two that seemed paticularly interesting to me. Next week, we will look at the afterlife and its effect on indigenous tribes.

Posted by Jeffrey R Gudzune

This week we explored dance as a form of social expression. Used to entreat the spirit world to intervene in the lives on mortals, dance is an important aspect of Indian society. While there are many more uses that what outlined in the published work, I elected to concentrait on the four most important.

Posted by Jeffrey R Gudzune

At the end of a hard day of approving loans with the hope that they will be repaid there is nothing more relaxing than lighting up a cigarette. often referr to this as a "serenity smoke." Among the tribes of the southwestern Plains, however, the ritual smoke is a conduit to the spiritual realm. It is a means of prevailing upon the creator spirit to interevene in the healing process. In religious ceremonies, smoking takes the prayers and thoughts of thge people up to the spiritual realm. Within social settings, smoking is a way for people to connect with one another and with the spiritual realm.

Posted by Jeffrey R Gudzune

I am tking the week off so that I may gather more research material and plan out the next several months worth of articles. Nex week, we will look at the cultivation of tobacco and its primary importance to indigenous culture.

Posted by Jeffrey R Gudzune

Continuity and change is at the heart of historical analysis. In order for traditions to remain a part of a society they must be fliud and open to change over time. This is the case with the seven central beliefs of the Lakota Sioux. Having their origins in the central mythology of the Lakota, the seven rituals remain to this day and are widely respected within modern Lakota society. While some are not stressed as they once were, a proper knowledge of their importance is still important. This is what makes the study of native religious and cultural beliefs fascinating. Indigenous groups have managed to survive despite all efforts to undermine and in some case erradicate them. In the modern era, there has been a new birth of native study that have kept these traditions alive.

Posted by Jeffrey R Gudzune

This week we looked at the complicated ritual of the Sun Dance. Found throughout the northwestern plaims region, the sun dance has many meanings. In the coming weeks, we will examine more facets oh indigenous life.

Posted by Jeffrey R Gudzune

This week, despite slight delays due to unforeseen circumstances, we have looked at the vision quest of the Lakota. In this concept, we see another nearly universal trait. Moreover, even in the modern era the vision quest is used to assist when an individual has reached a crossroad in life. I have decided to look at the anatomy of a vision quest to show just how complicated it can be. More than just dreams, visions contain powerful images--signs and portents that can help an individual reach important conclusions.