Aboriginal Spirituality

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Aboriginal Spirituality
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Sweet grass Ceremony

• A sweet grass ceremony is a cleansing and
  purification healing process in and of itself.
  Also referred to as smudging, the ceremony serves
  as the opening process for prayer circles,
  gatherings and for higher ceremonies.  

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Potlatch

• A ceremonial feast at which there was a
  distribution of goods and property given by the
  host.
• Gifts distributed included foodstuffs, slaves,
  copper plates, and goat's hair blankets, as well
  as less tangible things such as names, songs,
  dances, and crests.

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Medicine Wheel

• The medicine wheel represents the sacred circle
  of life, its basic four directions, and the
  elements.
• Each direction of the wheel offers its own
  lessons, color, and animal spirit guide.

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Drumming

• Drums are sacred instruments used in personal
  meditation and healing drums were often used in
  place of medicine.
• The drum with its beat represents the center of
  all life as if it were the heart providing life
  with its heart beat. Center to all things in
  creation is the drum, in the same way as the
  heart provides life for the body. 

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Sun Dance

• The Sun Dance is a religious ceremony practiced
  by a number of Native American tribes, primarily
  those of the Plains Nations. Each tribe has its
  own distinct practices and ceremonial protocols,
  but many of the ceremonies have features in
  common, including dancing, singing of traditional
  songs in the tribe's native languages, praying,
  drumming, the experience of visions, and fasting.

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Sacred Pipe

• The sacred pipe is often referred to as the
  "peace pipe". It is sacred and often used in the
  sweat lodge ceremonies. The pipe is broken into
  two pieces, symbolizing a man and a woman. When
  these pieces are joined, to symbolize unity, it
  becomes a sacred part of the ceremony.

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Eagle Feather

• Feathers are very sacred to First Nations people,
  in particular the Eagle's feather. The eagle is
  the only creature that is said to have touched
  the face of God. 

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Sources

• http//www.stemnet.nf.ca/bjeddore/sacred.htm
• http//encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/potlatc
  h
• http//healing.about.com/cs/native/a/medicinewheel
  .htm
• http//www.nativeamericandrums.net/
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Dance
• http//www.stemnet.nf.ca/bjeddore/sacred.htm