#  Native American Traditions Glossary Terms 

 



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  [### Ghost Dance

 ](/ghost-dance) The Ghost Dance was a religious movement among the Native peoples of the Plains and Rocky Mountains. It was initiated in 1870 by the spiritual vision of a Paiute prophet named Wodziwob, in which he saw the dead resurrected, the wild game returned in their... 

 

 

   [### Green Corn Ceremonies

 ](/green-corn-ceremonies) Green corn ceremonies have played an important role in the ritual life of the Native American tribes of the southeastern United States. These agricultural rites celebrate the ripening of the corn harvest, marking the New Year and the renewal of all life... 

 

 

   [### Medicine Leader

 ](/medicine-leader) The English term “medicine man” is used to refer to a shamanistic spiritual leader in one of the Native American traditions. Although the term is considered outdated by most scholars since it only refers to one aspect of the activities of these ritual... 

 

 

   [### myth

 ](/myth) Myths are stories human beings tell about the nature of reality: how the order of things we know came to be and by what deep truths the this order operates. Myths may concern the events of creation, the divine dramas of God or the gods, or the discoveries... 

 

 

   [### Native American

 ](/native-american) Each of the many Native American nations has its own distinctive life-ways, although there are some widely-shared characteristics. Most Native life-ways are primarily transmitted through oral traditions; they are oriented toward living in relation to a... 

 

 

   [### Native American Church

 ](/native-american-church-0) The Native American Church integrates Native American spiritual and ritual traditions involving the sacramental ingestion of hallucinogenic peyote with Christian teachings. Visions are not sought for their own sake, but are searched for the meanings they... 

 

 

   [### peyote

 ](/peyote) Peyote is the popular name of the cactus Lophophora williamsii, which was called peyotl by the Aztec. The hallucinogenic buttons of the cactus are ritually harvested and ingested by various Native peoples of the Americas. The Native American Church... 

 

 

   [### pipe ceremony

 ](/pipe-ceremony) The sacred pipe plays a key role in the spiritual and cultural vitality of many Native American peoples. Each part of the pipe—stem and bowl, tobacco, breath, and smoke—is symbolic of fundamental relationships that keep the cosmos in motion. In ceremonies... 

 

 

   [### powwow

 ](/powwow) A powwow is a gathering of dancing, singing, drumming, and socializing that Native Americans generally consider to be more celebration than ceremony. Today they are a central expression of an intertribal Native American identity that complements tribal... 

 

 

   [### Religious Freedom Restoration Act

 ](/religious-freedom-restoration-act) The Religious Freedom Restoration Act was passed by Congress in 1995 to ensure that the government show a “compelling governmental interest” in any restriction of religious freedom. 

 

 

   [### Sun Dance

 ](/sun-dance) The Sun Dance is a ceremony of purification and renewal widely practiced among Native American Plains tribes. Although the various rites often described by the term differ from one another in many significant ways, they all include a rigorous marathon of... 

 

 

   [### sweat lodge

 ](/sweat-lodge-0) The sweat lodge of Native Americans consists of a lashed structure o. bent poles covered with blankets, hides, or tarps to hold in the heat, which is provided by hot stones brought into the lodge. The prayer offered by those who enter the lodge is... 

 

 

   [### vision quest

 ](/vision-quest) Among Native Americans, vision quests are a common means of establishing contact with the spirit world and seeking the guidance of a special manifestation of the divine power. The quest is often associated with coming to adulthood, though it may take...