Why do Native Americans believe nature is sacred?

Answer 1

it is not just the native americans everyone should believe it as this is where we all come from

Answer 2

If you really want to understand aboriginal belief systems, the first thing you need to do is stop thinking in western societies terms. You need to forget concepts such as god, religion, sacred, holy, and the whole dicotomy of mono-theism (ie Christianity,Islam) vs poly theism (Greco-Roman paganism).

To make a broad generalization, in most traditional aboriginal belief systems there was a creator from which the world and all the life in it came. Now although this being was/is superior to all others, he/she/it was not a god. That concept denotes both creation and a continuing dominion over that creation. The creator in aboriginal belief systems was exactly that; a creator. Sometimes he passed on. Sometimes he continued to live. No matter what though, his presence was everywhere in the world which flourished under the conditions the creator initially set out.

After that, there was other beings, which perhaps could be best labelled as potentialities that existed in the world. They too are not gods, but simply beings of power who held influence in the world and were seen often as a parent or sponsor of animals, plants, or forces of the natural world. Whatever they did however, they left their mark on elements in the world just like the creator had on everything. It is this supernatural imprint that is respected in tradition aboringinal belief systems and rather than being treated as "sacred" such as western society would have it, this respect is much more one of non-interference. Things are the way they were meant to be for a reason. To contrevene that reason is to question powerful beings and perhaps aggravate them. That is why all of nature is "sacred" because all of nature has that imprint.

Hope I helped and didn't confuse

Answer 3

Don't believe that crap about the Native American Church as being the biggest - not around here it ain't. Sound like that guy had too much peyote.

Nature is sacred because it surrounds us at all levels. We live it, we breathe it. Many miracles out there in nature if you're willing to see it. Not much different from other religions.

Answer 4

Native American societies subsisted off of what their environment provided them with. The development of tools and other implements was only possible if the environment had such material for it to be provided to them. Given the need to live off what was around them, they started harboring and instilling a deep respect for the provider of all that they needed. Their ceremonies before a hunt were to seek the guidance of the spirits to have a bountiful hunt as well as to seek protection of the ones who would go out and do so. If there was a kill, offerings and prayers for the spirit that resided within the animal as well as the spirits that had provided this kill were honored and remained as as important role in all that happened next. The belief that all the parts of the animal were useful in some way is an extension of honoring the spirit of the animal that was killed to procure all the meat, bones, skin (fur) of the animal. It lies in history to see that because all they have was provided (and in some cases still is) by nature that you hold that which is all in your society as sacred.

Answer 5

I think you need to use the past tense in your question. While I'm sure some Natives still feel that nature is sacred (many, many non-Natives do as well), I'd say that the majority of Natives consider nature to be as sacred as the rest of us do.
When you see bands stretching nets across entire rivers, killing every salmon they come across and letting other 'lesser' fish rot on shore, you question how sacred they find nature. When you hear of entire herds of buffalo being run off cliffs, you wonder how sacred they find nature. When they bury nuclear waste on their reserves without telling their band members where, you wonder about a lot of things.

Answer 6

The most widespread religion at the present time is known as the Native American Church. It is a syncretistic church incorporating elements of native spiritual practice from a number of different tribes as well as symbolic elements from Christianity. Its main rite is the peyote ceremony. The church has had significant success in combatting many of the ills brought by colonization, such as alcoholism and crime[citation needed]. In the American Southwest, especially New Mexico, a syncretism between the Catholicism brought by Spanish missionaries and the native religion is common; the religious drums, chants, and dances of the Pueblo people are regularly part of Masses at Santa Fe's Saint Francis Cathedral.[25] Native American-Catholic syncretism is also found elsewhere in the U.S. (e.g., the National Kateri Tekakwitha Shrine in Fonda, New York and the National Shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville, New York).

Native Americans are the only known ethnic group in the United States requiring a federal permit to practice their religion. The eagle feather law, (Title 50 Part 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations), stipulates that only individuals of certifiable Native American ancestry enrolled in a federally-recognized tribe are legally authorized to obtain eagle feathers for religious or spiritual use. Native Americans and non-Native Americans frequently contest the value and validity of the eagle feather law, charging that the law is laden with discriminatory racial preferences and infringes on tribal sovereignty. The law does not allow Native Americans to give eagle feathers to non-Native Americans, a common modern and traditional practice. Many non-Native Americans have been adopted into Native American families, made tribal members and given eagle feathers.

Many Native Americans would describe their religious practices as a form of spirituality, rather than religion, although in practice the terms may sometimes be used interchangeably.

Answer 7

Nature is the most powerful force of the planet. It can bring life and it can destroy. Nature has destroyed the entire planet , only to rebuild it again. Everything comes from nature from illness to the cures of illness. Native Americans believe in the balance of nature. If you take from the earth you must put back. If every culture namely American culture practiced this we would not have such problems as polution, rain forest depletion and oil crisis.

Answer 8

Because they believe life is sacred and nature sustains life. It is from nature that the Natives got their food, their clothing, and their shelter. Because they 'lived off the land' all things/items/living creatures of the land became sacred.

Answer 9

Native Americans believed spirits existed in everything in nature, and basically everything they used & ate came from the nature.

Answer 10

not being an american or a native indian, but having read a little upon the subject, ifeel that i can have a go at answering your question, they were at one with the land, it fed them, clothed them
sheltered them, and most tribes were migatory, they followed the seasons, the spiritual beliefs were that all natures bounty had a spirit within, they offered thanks to the tree spirit when the felled a tree, ect. LF