Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's):
1. Do Aboriginal people believe in one God?
2. Do Aboriginal people believe that everything has a spirit?
3. Do all Aboriginal peoples e.g. Sioux, Cree, Blackfoot all have the same belief system?
5. What are some similarities between Roman Catholic and Aboriginal views of spirituality?
6. What are some differences between Roman Catholic and Aboriginal views of spirituality?
7. What is the significance of the pipe?
9. Is Raven worshipped by the Native people the same way that the Saints, and Mary are in Christianity ?
10. What is the significance of the eagle feather?
1. Do Aboriginal people believe in one God?
Yes, they do. They have different names such as Kijemnido, Kitch Manitou, and Nota. The name varies with each separate language group.
Kijemnido is an Anishnabec term.
Kitchi Manitou
Nota is a Cree term.
2. Do Aboriginal people believe that everything has a spirit?
Yes, and no. There is certainly a 'life force' to things that Western culture would not consider as having a life force such as a rock for example. Plants, animals, people, celestial bodies, the earth and earthly beings such as the stone people are all thought of as having spirit. We believe to be composed of the same life force.
3. Do all Aboriginal peoples e.g. Sioux, Cree, Blackfoot all have the same belief system?
They have a similar belief system but the formulation of ritual and ceremony would vary as the origin stories would have come from different visions at different times under different circumstances. There is the common belief in a God or "All Power". There is the common belief in spirits that guide us through life. There is the ritual expression of the pipe and the ceremonial dances such as the Sundance or Thirst Dance. But the origin stories would vary and therefore respectively ritual and ceremony. The outward expressions of the culture such as dress, dance, beadwork, basketry, tools, and language would also be different.
4. Is there a special person like a priest who is the spiritual leader in First Nations communities? If yes, what does that person do? Are there regular services?
There is a special person like a priest in First Nations spirituality. They are called Chi'ski ninni or Medicine Man. These are people who are gifted in a spiritual way and carry the gift to heal people. The Cree would say masihkiwiyiniw. These gifted people are revered for their gift and people seek out their medicine for cure still today. The regular services you refer to in your question I believe means mass on Sundays. There are not regular scheduled services as Sunday mass would be. First Nations spirituality is an everyday integral part of our existence. The Chi'ski ninni has doctoring sweats according to need. The pipe is taken up monthly and seasonally. The sweats are made and the Chi ski ninni is prompted by dreams or messages that indicate when ceremony will happen next.
5. What are some similarities between Roman Catholic and Aboriginal views of spirituality?
Similarities:
• Belief in God/Creator
- Ritual and ceremony
- Belief in Spirits/Angels
- Prayer
- Song
- Medicine Plants/Incense, Palms, Oil, Wine, Bread
- Rites of Passage - Naming Ceremony - Baptismal Naming, Feast of Berries - Communion
- Fasting
- Alters
- Sacred Objects/Icons
6. What are some differences between Roman Catholic and Aboriginal views of spirituality?
Differences:
- Pipe
- Sweat
- Dances
- Drum
- Sacred Order
- Everyday integration of spirituality
- Sacred order of Spirits
- Origin Stories
- Culture
7. What is the significance of the pipe?
The pipe represents the people. The way the pipe is held and passed is important. The tobacco is a medicine. Inhaling the smoke connects your spirit with the cosmos. You become unified with the All Power, the wind - the breath of life. The smoke carries your prayer up towards the Creator.
8. Do the Aboriginal people think they are in the image of Manitow in the same manner as the Christian people believe that that are in the image of God?
No. First Nations people see themselves as last in the sacred order of things. In the Creation stories, man was made last. It is understood that man is the least necessary and therefore the most humble. Everything else in Creation besides man would thrive well without mans interference. We are pitiful beings who depend on everything in Creation that has come before us. Knowing our place in the cosmos keeps us humble.
9. Is Raven worshipped by the Native people the same way that the Saints, and Mary are in Christianity ?
Raven is not worshipped but respected as a teacher just as Wesakechak and Nanabozho are. These are the characters of oral story for the First Nations of BC, the Cree and Anishnabe respectively. They represent the mediator between the spirit world and the earth world. They are part spirit and part human. It is there human frailties that get them into trouble and this is where they become our teacher. The oral stories involve these characters that teach through there adventures them moral values of a culture.
10. What is the significance of the eagle feather?
The Eagle feather comes from a bird of great spiritual significance to many First Nations cultures. The Eagle is the messenger of prayer. It fly's the highest in the sky and therefore can transmit our prayers to the Creator. It is the Eagle that was given the responsibility to watch over the ceremonies. It fly's over the places that the sacred fires burn and the smoke from the sacred plants of prayer rise up as prayer and offerings are made. The eagle serves as messenger and witness to ceremony. Because of its spiritual significance, the eagle feather is treated with great honour. It is one of the highest honours that can be given to a person. The dancers adorned in Eagle feathers honour the eagle by their dance. The eagle feather is the Creators messenger of choice and therefore has the power to heal. If an eagle is scene to pass over a ceremony or a powwow Grand Entry it signifies that you have been blessed and the Creator has heard your prayers.
11. I am not sure how to put the question, but to me the primary thing that people of the "Western" culture can't seem to get their heads around is the significance of the fact that First Nations spirituality is an integral part and not separate from all facets of everyday life within the First Nations culture. What I mean is that the spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and physical being in a holistic sense. Western culture which includes the Middle East and the Far East (Christian, Jew, Islam, and in which I also include Hindu and Buddhist) reduce and separate each of those four into separate non-related towers. In my personal view, that is why the so called globally dominant Western culture is not working. Until people of this so called main stream culture start to understand that each of the four are an inseparable part of the whole (the circle), they seem to struggle with grasping the first Nations spirituality and culture. I am struggling with a question that would bring the holistic life view to the forefront. My question is then related to the circle and the four directions and how we can bring this into the forefront for better understanding of First Nations Spirituality?
The holistic base of First Nations worldview is symbolized by the Medicine Wheel. It has become a theoretical construct in one dimension to chart a complex worldview that people are trying to better understand. We speak of four directions and four as a significant spiritual number with regard to Cree epistemology. We, the Anishnabe have seven directions. The display of our cosmology has all directions or is multi-dimensional, alive, always moving. All of it really means to represent the 'all power' movement in every direction, through everything and in all things. You may have heard the term animatism. This is a European word that attempts to define a concept that is imbued in the nuances of the language to speak to things in terms of having a life quality to them i.e. a rock, a record player, a blade of grass but not a radio. The Cree would say "mamatowisowin" and Dr. Oscar Kawegley would refer to this as the "ella" consciousness. Put simply, First Nation's people understand the outside world through the incorporeal - from introspection. I listened to my new Director give her address to the teachers in the fall. She spoke about making education more holistic. Most people don't have a real understanding of what this is. It has become a buzz word but everything remains the same and our students are continuing to fail. Bringing the holistic view to the forefront and incorporating it in everything we do would change the world.