A Brief History of Saskatchewan First Nations Tribes Saskatchewan as a geographical area was over time home to many indigenous cultures. Social and environmental conditions forced human migrations across the Americas. The three main tribes were the Cree, Assiniboine, and the Saulteaux (Curtis xi). The Cree were split in two tribes, the Plains Cree and the Woods Cree. The Saulteaux tribe was also referred to as Plains Ojibwa (Curtis xii).
He hypothesized that cave art represented sexual symbols (Feder 238). Of the several theories relating to the meaning of Paleolithic art, the claim that cave paintings were created by shamans who mediated between the earthly and spirit world is most logical and persuasive. Shamanism, according to Richard Noll, “in some form, has appeared on all inhabited countries.” It is an “ecstatic healing tradition which, at its core, is concerned with the techniques for inducing, maintaining, and interpreting the experience of enhanced visual, mental imaging.” The shaman is a power figure in his society. He is a healer, mediator between the earthly and spiritual realm, and “purveyor of his culture” (Noll). There are several defining characteristics of Shamanism.
Throughout history, religion has been instrumental in developing response to the ultimate search for meaning in human existence. Understanding such ancient religions as those of the Celtic and Norse influences us in recognising the religious inclinations that seem to define human beings, and the existentialisms which continue to remain present within civilisation. For the Celts, a group of ancient peoples that once occupied lands in the British Isles between 2000 and 50 BCE, the search for meaning in life is fundamentally recognisable within their religion and the inextricable connection they hold to the Earth. The Ancient Nordic religion is one that once formed the backbone of Scandinavian culture in particular Viking society and in turn their search for meaning in life is made evident through their beliefs and rituals. While no written records surround the origins of the ancient Celts, the archaeological evidence available to us in conjunction with interpreted historical accounts surrounding their origins and beliefs have been used to reconstruct ideas about their religion.
Structure: I. Traditional Shamanism (the first part of this paper briefly answers the following questions concerning traditional shamanism): • A.What is a shaman? This section discusses the definition (and issues of defining) the traditional concept of a shaman. It provides a brief overview of the origin and distribution of shamanic practices around the world throughout history. • b.
Animals were strong symbols in the Olmec religion. They practiced the animistic religion of shamanism, the belief that all things, whether animate or imamate, had an animal spirit. Mayas believed that every aspect of nature was controlled by a separate god. They even believed that each day had its own god. 1 Because of this, Mayas strived to live a life that would follow the cycles of the universe, in conjunction with the cycles of time.
The system emphasizes the nuclear family, identifying directly only the mother, father, brother, and sister. All other relatives are grouped together into categories. The Eskimo system is defined by its "bilateral" emphasis - no distinction is made between patrilineal and matrilineal relatives. This kinship system distinctly impacts the Inuit gender roles, marriage, and traditional beliefs. First off, the division of labor in traditional Inuit society had a strong gender component, but it was not absolute.
A basic definition of Indigenous knowledge is “the vibrant relationship between the people, their environment, and other living things and spirits that share their land... it is knowledge contingent on the social, physical, and spiritual (not religious) understandings that have contributed to native peoples' sense of being in the world and to their survival”. (Alfred 2002, 41) Indigenous knowledge focuses on an individuals beliefs and perspectives of their surroundings. Indigenous knowledge is inner space and determined by a persons own spiritual views, where as Western knowledge is outer space, focusing on applying science to everything within the world. For centuries only Indigenous knowledge was known and societies survived simply by this way of life alone. Traditional knowledge systems adopted a more holistic approach, and do not separate observations into different disciplines as does Western ways.
When we hear the word “inuit” we inevitably think of people living in igloos, fishing in a hole made in the ice and wearing fur coats. Though it’s true that the Inuit have long been living such a traditional life, essentially nomadic, in strong relation to nature, the last decades provided huge changes in the way these peoples’ lives were ruled and especially through the last major change, occurred less than ten years ago, the creation of Nunavut territory. Nunavut has become the largest and newest territory of Canada when it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999 via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act. It resulted in the first major change to Canada's map since the incorporation of the new province of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1949. Nunavut means 'our land' in Inuktitut, the language of the Inuit.
Both believe in one ruler over all, both believe in a good place (heaven) and bad place (hell) after death, and both believe in guidance through spiritual leaders(prophets), to name a few. Another reason I believe Natives practices have not been abandon is because their culture is inextricably linked and connected with Mother Earth. The land, the plants, the animals, and all around contain their culture, spirit, and identity; all working together to create a balance of harmony (Page 68). How can a culture’s spiritual identity gets lost when it is rooted into everything living and non-living? Lastly, spirituality was designed without written rules to be edited and manipulated, without limits and boundaries, without segregation and prejudice.
The Old Norse Religion or Norse Paganism were practised traditions by the Norsemen prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, dating as far back to roughly 793-1066 CE. This religion was separated, and categorized into three different families; the Æsir, Vanir and Jotnar; these were all polytheistic groups. The Æsir tribe contained some of the best-known Norse Gods and goddesses such as Odin, Thor, Frigg, Tyr, Loki, Baldur, Heimdall, Idun, and Bragi1. These Gods represented kingship, order, craft, etc. The Vanir were Gods and Goddesses such as Freya, Freyr, Njord and the Germanic Goddess Nerthus.