Chapter 21: Maker of All Things

Brother, we do not wish to destroy your religion
or take it from you. We only want to enjoy our own.
Red Jacket, 1805
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The dominant American society prefers to ignore the religious discrimination forced upon Indians, both past and present. We spoke of freedom of religion, but denied Indians the right to practice their ancient and honorable religion. Our historical accounts of the “Indian Wars” glorify genocide, and justify the slaughter of heathen men, women and children who were defending home and heritage. Defining Indians as “heathen” was a way to justify mass murder, and remains a way to belittle the character and human worth of non-Christians.
The world’s great religions (add the Native American religion to your list) look at God in a variety of ways, and call “He, She or It ” by many names. If you accept that the rest of the world, beyond yourself, has some worthy ideas, then you can allow for a “place-ness” to God, and diverse ways to express reverence. I feel that praying around a camp fire, and thinking that the smoke carries prayers aloft, is appropriate in Indian Country. That’s the idea presented by the “peace pipe”.
Just what is “heathen” in seeing the American Eagle as God’s messenger, in the way that some Catholics direct their prayers to a Saint for intercession? Many Crows combine all this. They can pray to Jesus Christ in a Catholic or Baptist Church, and at the Sundance implore Eagle Spirit to carry their prayers to God. There is nothing nasty about that, and they are not worshipping animals or the sun by appreciating the glory of all creation.
You can see the carryover of the European mind-set at the time of Columbus. The idea was that if the “natives” would convert to Christianity by peaceful means, fine. If not, force should be used to convert them. If neither method worked, then it was appropriate to slaughter them, except where they might have financial worth as slaves.
I am not going to try to define American Indian religious beliefs, since I am not Indian and my knowledge is second-hand. You must allow for the great variations to be found among several hundred Indian tribes. There is absolutely nothing bad about being “pagan” or “heathen.” Pagan describes a person who is not a Christian, Jew or Moslem, and heathen is often used to mean the same. Both words are misused to imply objectionable behavior. People who do happen to be pagan or heathen are most often not atheistic (although even that is their right), but instead have some other conventional (or perhaps non-conventional) belief system. It is bigotry and egocentric to place judgment on this, that their system is of less value and worth than yours. America’s Indians are religious people who have a respectable “belief system”. Even if they did not, our constitution supports their right to believe (or not) as a matter of personal freedom.
Here is what I learned from talks with several traditional Indian religious leaders. They take a liberal approach to religion, and see Christianity (and other religions) as narrow (but acceptable) ways to approach the concept of God.
Each European religion defines God as “this” or “that,” and by so doing they place narrow limitations on God. All religions attempt to understand and relate to the Great Mystery, so all have worth, but what if God is greater than human understanding? Having beliefs that are set in concrete and defined narrowly just might belittle the Great Mystery.
With this in mind, you can see how an individual might be both Baptist and traditional, for instance, or traditional only. Perhaps God has many faces, answers to many names, and hears all prayers offered from the heart.
I suggest that the traditional Native American view of God is sophisticated, relatively benign and tolerant. It was the Christians who sponsored the Holy Inquisition, witch-hunts and Crusades, not the “heathens”. Red Jacket (quoted above) said it well.
Indians can view heaven as the Other-Side Camp, and find comfort in the thought of loving reunions with those who have already moved their camp to that final place. Heaven is what you make it, and America’s Indians have a right to their beliefs, whether or not they relate to the Bible. Maker of All Things is alive and well, and very active in Indian Country.