Native Americans Use Of Peyote example essay topic

Kevin Baber 12/02/2003 David Machree Intro To Cultural Anthropology Anth. 135 9: 30-10: 45 Native American Culture Native American culture is one of the many different types of cultures in the United States today. I feel it is one of the most well known cultures throughout America, because it has been around for so long. There are many different aspects of the culture that can be examined. I will be going through just a few. I will be looking at how Native American culture is affected by th United States government today.

I will also be going through how they have had to struggle with many different aspects of life such as ownership of their land and of the us of peyote. Native Americans' religion and spirituality was central to their lives. Most native Americans, regardless of tribe shared many of the same beliefs, including the existence of unseen powers or spirits, sacred traditions that teach morals and ethics, the teaching of how to pass on sacred practices, and a form of worship that reinforces someone's commitment to the source of life. (Celi, 2002) Some Native Americans believe in one God or creator.

Others believed that there are many Gods or creators who created humans as well as everything else on Earth. No matter how many Gods the Native Americans believed in, all of them thought that everything from insects to mountains were spiritual and sacred. In other words, there is nothing that can be labeled as nonreligious. Therefore, most Native Americans maintained a spiritual relationship with every natural object. (Celi, 2002) 2 Native Americans preformed many types of ceremonies. Many of these focused on the stages of the human life cycle.

Some ceremonies focused on what is known as the rites of passage which is part of the human cycle. In Native American ceremonies they use many types of things to enhance their beliefs. Peyote being one of them. Peyote is a hallucinogenic plant that the Native Americans use in there ceremonies.

Peyote like tobacco was used to help the Native Americans to get closer to the Great Spirits. Peyote was first used around the 1800's, and by 1918 a peyote religion was formally accepted as part of the Native American church. Peyote was normally ingested by eating the "buttons" or the top of the cactus. Peyote in many tribes is used during an all night ceremony that involves many things such as prayer, singing, ingesting peyote, and contemplation. These ceremonies are very religious and usually take place in a tipi. (Evans, Hoffman, 1992) Although the ceremonies the Native Americans practice may seem strange and unusual to people who are unfamiliar with the Native Americans culture in the United States, they are actually highly religious.

Many Native Americans believe strongly in there worships and practices. Peyote to the Native Americans is a representation of their God, which helps the to better worship their god... The United States government, despite the feelings of the Native Americans, have been trying to ban the use of peyote, among many other things that the Native Americans practice. Now understandingly, it is hard for some people of other religions, who have been brought up to believe the use of hallucinogens is wrong, to accept a religion who believes in the use of peyote. But others must realize that peyote does have other uses, like medicine for example. Native Americans feel that is has healing power and can be used to treat people.

It is also "designed to 3 promote moral living and sobriety, and it's foremost tenet is "to do good to one's fellow men". (Curtis, vol. 19) In any case, how is it morally right to take something away from a culture that is so sacred to them? This may be a minute example, but take for instance the wine used in some churches for their communion. Some people feel the use of alcohol in general is wrong, therefor why should the use alcohol in church. But who are we to judge and tell the church to stop using their wine in their sacred practices? Well the same goes for Native Americans.

Who is the Government, to tell them what they should believe in and how they can and can't practice their beliefs? (Anderson, p. 90) Yet there still has been many objections against the use of peyote in the Native American culture. The Native American culture is very different from American culture. Our traditional judicial and legislative thinking is not adequately geared towards dealing with the complex issue inherent in such a society. So, when congress tries to deal with Native American culture they are facing something they are not capable of dealing with.

(Anderson, p. 93) For example, congress has a problem with peyote. They feel the "Native American Church" is misleading because it implies an organized church when in fact it is not. This means there is noone to dictate polices. (Anderson, p. 93) Another thing that hurt the Native Americans use of peyote was the ruling against it's interstate shipment. This meant that Native American's would have to physically go get the peyote, if they wanted it. The government felt by doing this it would cut down on the use of peyote.

(Curtis, vol. 19) You can see that there are many discrepancies still to overcome when it comes to Native 4 American culture. But, congress is trying to find a solution. Until a solution is found, the lives of Native Americans is still very unfortunate. Because of how the government reacts to situations like the use of peyote, Native Americans have been restricted to reservations, resulting in a loss of much of their cultural heritage. Native Americans being restricted to a particular area almost makes me think of a caged animal. They can only practice what the government say's the can, and when and were the government says they can.

It's as if they have no freedom at all, to make there own decisions, and practice their beliefs freely. Native Americans were pushed out of their home land. That forced rapid change upon the Native Americans, which they are still struggling form today. Many Native Americans started to identify with Christianity. Many Native Americans classify themselves as being both Christian and Native, side by side but separately. Native Americans have actually in some cases reshaped Christianity.

Because of the fact that Native Americans helped to reshape Christianity, some of the Native Americans have some of the same beliefs that Christians do. "Among peyote leaders you can find Catholics, Mormons, Mennonites, Baptists, and Methodists. In fact among it's members are representatives of every Christian denomination in the tribe in which the cult is practiced". (Curtis, vol. 19) The fact that Native Americans were forced into Christianity, helps many of them to understand both sides of the debate.

This may be why the Christians who have only experienced the one type of religion, feel the way that they do about the peyote use. But that is still no excuse to try and ban something that they know very little of nothing about. By the 1880's The United States was trying to ban the Native American religious rituals 5 including many of there ceremonies and the peyote cult. The Native Americans have had to fight for a long time to keep not only their land that they lived on, but their culture alive as well. Just recently the United States passed a law that actually supported the practice of Native spirituality. (Worhten, 2000) This gave the Native Americans hope, because practices once considered on the verge of disappearing were revived.

In more recent years the struggle still continues, despite many attempts to gain their culture and practices back as their own and to be able to practice them. (Evans, Hoffman, 1992) According to the Federal Government "Free exercise clause is not a license in itself to enter property, government owned or otherwise, to which religious practitioners have no other legal right of access". So Native Americans are having trouble trying to defend and keep their sacred land and places of worship. Why? Most feel it is really due to a type of prejudice against Native Americans or at least the Native American values, which goes back to what I had said about one religion not accepting another religion because it was different than their own.

(Worthen, 2000) Clearly there are still many discrepancies in how and where Native Americans should practice their beliefs. The government is still trying to decide what is right and wrong and what should be done. Hopefully in the near future a resolution can be found to benefit and satisfy both the Native Americans and the government in which they have to live.

Bibliography

Anderson, Edward. Journal of Public Law. University of Arizona: 16 Vol. XVI. Schultes, Evans & Hoffman, Albert. Plants of the Gods- Their Sacred, Healing and Hallucinogenic Powers. Healing Arts Press, Vermont: 1992.
Worthen, Kevin. Protecting the sacred sites of indigenous people in U.S. courts reconciling Native American religion ad the right to exclude. St. Thomas Law Review 13 no 1239-58: Fall 2000.
Celi, Ana & Boiero Maria. The heritage of stories: A tradition of wisdom. American Studies international 40 no 2 57-72: 2002 Curtis, Es.