Vision Quest ??

Question

Recently, I have had a great need to find myself. My ancestors were Cherokee, but my family has since moved from that. I feel a great need to find that part of myself. I think that it would be a great thing for me to complete a Vision Quest. i did some research and am kind of appalled because of all the commercialism. I wish to comple a vison quest that is not commercialized and true to my ancestry. I don't know very much and any information would be helpful. Thanks in advance!!!

Answer 1

Now, there is a lot of garbage and misinformation on the Internet no matter what subject you're talking about, but American Indian religion and spirituality has got to have the worst signal-noise ratio of any of them. The 'information' out there about American Indian religions ranges from inaccurate school projects by seven-year- olds, to deeply biased generalizations about the 'heathens' written 300 years ago, to hucksters pretending to be Native American shamans to scam money off of people, to useful and interesting information about actual American Indian religious traditions past and present. Sorting through these sites can be a nightmare. I wish you a lot of luck with it. Before you start, let me give you a few words of experience.

There are two reasons to be looking for information on Native American religions. The first, and easier to address, is educational. Either because you're a student who's been assigned to or just out of intellectual and cultural curiosity, you would like to learn more about how American Indians, or a particular tribe of American Indians, view the world. If that's you, then your main problem is going to be identifying the authentic and trustworthy sources. Indians are happy to talk about their beliefs and spiritual practices, both historically and in the modern day. Unfortunately, so are plenty of ill-informed non-Indians (or people of Indian descent) who think they know a lot more than they do. And so are those unscrupulous souls willing to pretend they're something they're not in hopes of making a buck or getting a little attention. My best recommendation is to get a Native American book out of the library as well as looking on the Internet, since any quack shaman can put up a website but it's a lot harder to publish a book. I also suggest ignoring and avoiding information about American Indian spirituality presented by anyone:

1. Offering anything religious for sale. Money is never accepted by authentic holy people in exchange for Indian religious ceremonies like sweat lodges or sun dances, nor for religious items like medicine bags or smudged items. (They might sell arts and crafts, of course. Use your common sense--a devout Catholic might sell you a hand-carved crucifix to hang on your wall, for example, but he wouldn't sell communion wafers over the Internet or charge you admission to bring you to his church! Selling dreamcatchers or fetish carvings online is one thing, but don't believe information provided by anyone who is trying to charge people for smudging or blessing anything, making medicine, or letting them take part in a sweat lodge or dance. They are not authentic sources of information.)

2. Inviting you into their religion on their webpage. Authentic Indians may seek to educate strangers online, but actually adopting an outsider as part of their culture is only done face-to-face and after knowing the person for some time.

3. Claiming to be American Indian shamans , talking about tarot cards and Wiccan/pagan things, or talking about crystals and New Age things. I've got nothing against shamanism, paganism, or the New Age, but a cow is not a horse: none of these things are traditionally Native American. Shamanism is a Russian mystic tradition, Wicca is a religion based in pre-Christian European traditions, Tarot readings are an Indo-European divination method, and the New Age is a syncretic belief system invented, as its name suggests, in the modern era. None of them have anything to do with authentic Indian traditions, and anyone who thinks they do is likely to be wrong about anything else he claims about Native American religions as well. Wiccans and New Agers don't have any more knowledge about actual American Indian beliefs than you do.

4. Identifying only as 'Native American' or 'American Indian' (an authentic person would list their actual tribal affiliation). Be a little wary, too, of people trying to speak with authority who identify as "mixed-blood" or "of Indian descent" or having a "Cherokee ancestor." There are certainly some mixed-blood people who were raised in their tribe's culture, but many more were not. A person who has rediscovered his Indian heritage as an adult is a seeker, not a teacher. He is not qualified to speak authoritatively about Native American religion or culture, for he wasn't raised that way and doesn't have any more knowledge about it than anyone else learning about it second-hand--including you.

If you're trying to learn about American Indian religion because you want to become a part of it, though, you not only face that problem, but another, much deeper one as well: American Indian spirituality is not evangelistic. It is private and entirely cultural. You cannot convert to 'Native American' any more than you can convert to being black. (In fact, many Indians--myself included--are Christians in addition to our traditional tribal beliefs, just like many black people are Christian in addition to being black.) The only way to 'join' a Native American spiritual tradition is to become a member of the cultural group, and it's impossible to do that over the Internet. No one who truly believed in American Indian spirituality would ever offer to tutor total strangers in religious matters online, much less charge anyone money for such a thing. So, by definition, the people who make these offers are those who either don't really believe in Native American spirituality, or don't know very much about it. Is that really who you want to be listening to?

On our site, we have generally given people the benefit of the doubt with our links, including websites unless we are sure there is a reason not to. Regarding Native American religion and spirituality, however, we have decided to err on the side of caution instead. Anyone who is looking for a new religion or seeking spiritual truth is a needy individual and I will not contribute to their being used by irresponsible people. If you are reading this page because you are a person in need of religious and spiritual guidance, I urge you strongly to seek out some religions that are evangelistic rather than cultural (one of the many Christian churches, Buddhism, Baha'i; there are many choices) and talk to spiritual leaders there until you find one that can help you. Falling under the influence of a false 'shaman' will only hurt you spiritually.

Since I have put this page up, I have received many anguished emails saying "But my grandmother was part Cherokee... are you telling me to just forget that part of myself? How can I honor my Native ancestors if you won't share your religion with me?" The answer is simple: honor them the way they would want to be honored. Don't pay some new-age guru $250 to perform fake "Native American" rituals that would have offended your ancestors, go physically to their tribe and re-connect with their other descendants. It will be hard work convincing the people there that you are genuine but if you go with humility and patience you will eventually be accepted, and that is the ONLY way you will ever become part of the spiritual tradition you desire. There is no shortcut to that. Native spirituality belongs only to the cultural group, and anyone who tells you otherwise is trying to make some money off of you and/or to take a power trip at your expense.

You've been warned. Good luck, with whatever it is you're looking for. You're probably going to need it.

Answer 2

Define Vision Quest

Answer 3

Vision Quest Definition

Answer 4

Don't do a commercial vision quest. Find an elder, bring him an offering of tobacco, and tell him you want to vision quest. You will undergo a sweat lodge and purify yourself with sage, cedar and sweet grass burning. You will go into the wild (with someone who will watch over you, yet unseen to you) and create a sacred circle. You're not supposed to bring anything but yourself and some water, and maybe a musical instrument, and things to make fire. You should not bring blankets, you should not bring pillows, nor a tent, if you do this correctly according to tradition. If it rains, it rains, if it gets cold, it gets cold. If a wild animal comes near, you allow it to. You do not leave the circle. You abstain from food, and instead, medidate during this time of a few days. After you are done, you will go back to the elder, present him with another gift of tobacco and tell him of your vision if you had one. If you did not have one, it is dishonorable to lie and tell him you had one. Plus, he will KNOW when you are lying. You must then wait the traditional 4 days for his interpretation if you had a vision. Again, there is NO shame in NOT having a vision. But do NOT lie about it, if you didn't have one.

Remember, we ARE who we WERE, and it if we honor our ancestry, we adhere to their ways. A vision quest is more than just meditating in a canoe. And it IS a very involved ritual. Do it correctly or not at all. Traditional Vision Quests are NOT conducted in tents and tipi lodges. The sweat lodge may be conducted there, but the vision quest itself is under the naked stars.

In song,

Sparrowhawk (Cherokee Metis)

Edit: Talk to Grandfather Redwolf via email found on his site, http://www.gredwolf.com/ , and he can guide you.

Answer 5

I too am part Cherokee, and I agree with the answer before me, vision quests are simply you with nature.

There should be no reason for a vision quest to be commercialized, in fact, a simple vision quest shouldn't cost you any money.

Start with Meditating. sit comfortably, concentrate on your breathing, and the repetitive sounds around you. Traditionallly, Vision quests are in a tent or a teepee in nature, with a fire inside, somewhat like a heat box or sauna, to give yourself an altered state of consciousness. Obvioulsly, it may be hard for you to find a teepee, or to maintain a fire without burning your teepee down. ;) Sitting outside, in a park, with some incense can serve he same purpose. so can sitting in your living room with a pet and a candle. But, meditation ist he key. the first thing you want to do is clear your mind, and be open to anything your spirit guide can tell you. Even if it sounds completely off the wall. It might make sense to you later in life. Your spirit guide can come in the form of an animal, insect, past lives or even relatives that have passed before you. Just keep an open mind, and don't be surprised if it takes a few sessions to see anything. ;)

drop me a line if you need to talk. :)

Answer 6

The point of a vision quest is to become more in tune with yourself, your surroundings, nature, and how all of these things can work together to improve your life and future. A simple walk in the park a few nights a week can be very satisfying. Or, paddle a small boat out into a stream, river, or lake. Do more than look around- observe, look, listen, and become a part of everything around you.

Vision quests aren't huge rituals. They are simple, true-to-yourself affirmations of who you are and what you want to accomplish. (at least, this is all true, according to my grandfather who is 100% Blackfoot. he says that Cherokee traditions are not very different from us...)

:)

Good luck on your Quest!

Answer 7

Very proud of your son. I like it and I knew it was about a child when read the fourth line. Very good.

Answer 8

Find an active group of your people, who keep the old ways, and talk to them. It would also be of help if you take proof of your ancestry with you.

_()_

Answer 9

Try starting with some simple meditation.

Answer 10

Find your tribe...go from there...

Answer 11

not sure