Sacred Hills
WITHIN THE CIRCLE:
ACCORDING
TO TRADITIONAL NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS, THINKING
IS NOTHING THAT CAN BE SEEN OR TOUCHED. LIVING OR
INANIMATE,THAT DOES NOT HAVE A SPIRIT: " WE
INDIANS LIVE IN A WORLD OF SYMBOLS WHERE THE
SPIRITUAL AND THE COMMONPLACE ARE ONE.. WE TRY
TO UNDERSTAND THEM NOT WITH THE HEAD BUT WITH THE
HEART,AND WE NEED NO MORE THAN A HINT TO GIVE US
MEANING"... A PIPE OR A PAIR OF MOCCASINS MAY
APPEAR QUAINT OR MUNDANE TO NON-INDIAN EYES BUT
THEY MAY HAVE ENORMOUS SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE TO
AN INDIAN.
THE DRAMAS AND SONGS, LIKE THE
CEREMONIAL DANCES, ARE NOT PERFORMED FOR
ENTERTAINMENT, BUT FOR ATTAINMENT OF THE BALANCED
LIFE. IN THIS , THEY ARE VERY ESSENCE OF INDIAN
LIFE....
" ALL THINGS ARE TIED TOGETHER WITH A
COMMON NAVEL CORD," AS ONE INDIAN ELDER
STATED....
The Dream Walker
THE VISION
QUEST--INDIVIDUAL RELIGIOUS REVELATIONS THROUGH
DREAMS AND VISIONS- HAS LONG BEEN THE FOCAL POINT
OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE OF MOST NATIVE AMERICANS...
VISIONS PROVIDE ACCESS TO POWER, THE CURRENT OF
SUPERNATURAL FORCE THAT COURSES BENEATH THE
SURFACE OF EVERY ASPECT OF INDIAN LIFE..." THE
GREAT SPIRIT IS IN ALL THINGS; HE IS IN THE AIR
WE BREATHE."... IT IS THE GENERAL BELIEFE OF
THE INDIANS THAT AFTER A MAN DIES,HIS SPIRIT IS
SOMEWHERE ON THE EARTH OR IN THE SKY, WE DO NOT
KNOW EXACTLY WHERE, BUT WE BELIEVE THAT HIS
SPIRIT-IT STILL LIVES. SO IT IS WITH WAKAN
TANKA. WE BELIEVE THAT HE IS EVERYWHERE, YET HE
IS TO US AS THE SPIRIT OF OUR FRIENDS WHOSE
VOICES WE CAN NOT HEAR... EVEN SO, SOME PLACES
AND OBJECTS ARE MORE HIGHLY CHARGED WITH POWER
THANOTHERS... ALTHOUGH ALL POWER SPRINGS FROM THE
GREAT SPIRIT, IT MANIFESTS ITSELF IN DIFFERENT
WAYS; FROM GREAT ELEMENTAL FORCES LIKE THE SUN,
THE MOON, AND THE WINDS TO INDIVIDUAL ROCKS,
ANIMALS, AND TREES...MOUNTAINTOPS AND PLACES NEAR
WATER ARE ALSO FULL OF POWER. CONVERSELY,
OTHER SPOTS ARE ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS-PARTICULARLY
GRAVE SITES WHERE MALEVOLENT SPIRITS OF THE DEAD
MAY LURK. IF THE SPIRITS ARE NOT APPEASED BY
CORRECT BEHAVIOR, THEIR POWER CAN CAUSE
HARM....
THE GREAT SPIRIT:
