Gr. 11 World Religions - History of Indigenous People and Spirituality

The United Nations state that there is no official definition of “Indigenous”. Indigenous refer to the people of pre-settler societies (French and English in Canada) who have a strong link to territories and surrounding natural resources

• Distinct social, economic or political systems

• Distinct language, culture and beliefs

• Resolve to maintain and reproduce their ancestral environments and systems as distinctive peoples and

communities.

There is no one person or origin that can be pinpointed for Indigenous Spirituality. Many Indigenous creation stories have people "rising out" of the fertile North American soil, sea, or sky. They believe that they have always been here.

Archaeologists would disagree. Archaeologists believe that the first Indigenous people were of Mongolian descent. They believe that a band of nomadic Mongolians crossed a land/ice bridge that spanned the Bering Strait some 35,000 years ago while tracking herds of animals. They continued to head south, east, and west establishing tribes from the Arctic - Mexico.

Indigenous cultures have been oral ones (no written tradition of sacred texts).

Traditionally, Indigenous peoples have relied on memory and memory keepers- people who have received the sacred teachings from the elders (highly valued members of society), and other spiritual leaders. As a result, the history of spiritual traditions is contained in teachings and practices passed down orally through the centuries.