Garcia: Exploring Indigenous belief and that which came before us

PILAR GARCIA Columnist

Indigenous belief is cyclical. There is understanding from the Earth when we, as her children, take her gifts in the form of multitudes of things — food, animals, energy, and other resources. We will reciprocate what we’ve taken by giving thanks to her and know that we will take care of what’s left behind.

However, no single denominational “church of the Native Americans” exists which holds the answers to Indigenous religion. There’s no complete and all-encompassing book of rules of how things should be done or the correct way to be Indigenous. There are only the words of our elders, of other Indigenous peoples, and how they treated this land before we ever inhabited it.

Religions like Peyotism reflect on their beliefs of Christianity and Indigeneity as overlap, but some Indigenous peoples subscribe to Abrahamic religions while keeping their Indigenous beliefs. Native American churches exist, though their beliefs and practices depend widely on their leaders and practices, which sometimes integrate specific tribes’ beliefs or the integration of religious texts, like the Bible.

Some Native Americans find solace in reconciliation with Christianity and find the creator and Jesus Christ to be the same. Still, some hold steadfast to their critiques of organized religions’ post-colonization — it’s dependent on one’s spiritual and religious journey and how one wishes to go forward.

However, I encourage separating religion from spirituality and perceiving Indigenous belief in the light of spirituality alone. Our spirituality is a reflection of the land and our respective peoples. Every tribe and person holds a different relationship with their lands based on their needs, like how the Cherokee and Iroquois grew “the three sisters” — squash, beans and corn — based on how the plants nurtured each other as a harmony of sisters. The beans absorb nitrogen and nourish the soil for the corn and squash, the stalks of corn support the beans’ growth and the leaves of the squash provide shelter from weeds for the sisters to grow. Caring for these fertile grounds with plants that uplift each other and further feed its peoples are prime examples of how spirituality bleeds into Indigenous existence.

Sebastian Doak, a Mi’kmaq student from NSCAD University in Canada, delved into his experience with Indigenous identity and spirituality.

“The way that I look at the land, and at the plants and animals that live here, is part of a framework of reciprocity and respect that definitely comes from these embodied beliefs that my body and spirit already know,” Doak said.

Doak explained how his ancestors lived in Mi’kma’ki, reflecting his current practices. He stated his actions create a moral and ethical framework from the guidance of their parents and ancestors that reflect on his spirituality as an Indigenous person.

For some, and myself, this concept can be explained by the term “animism” by first separating the idea from organized religion and allowing the term to stand alone as a spiritual belief. Animism follows the idea that spirit resides in all beings, regardless of their sentience.

For creation tales and similar incorporations, like the Creator and Earth Mother, there is an understanding that these beings are not Gods as much as they are other ancestors. Instead, they are further divine relatives who have given us life and fire and gifted the condor the color of its wings. They’ve created the Earth as we know it, and the animals, plants and their purposes existed before us.