VisionQuest—
MedicineWheel—
"Rather than going to church, I attend a Sweat Lodge; rather than accepting bread and toast [sic] from the Holy Priest, I smoke a ceremonial pipe to come into Communion with the Great Spirit; and rather than kneeling with my hands placed together in prayer, I let sweetgrass be feathered over my entire being for spiritual cleansing and allow the smoke to carry my prayers into the heavens. I am a Mi'kmaq, and this is how we pray."
Native spiritual traditions are passed down orally through generations. Although North American Indian traditions vary considerably across the continent, they still have much in common. Central to many cultures is a belief that the Great Spirit created the Earth and its people. Others believe that humans came from a sky-world, that the Earth is the Mother of all life, and that plants and animals have spirits that must be respected, honored and cared for. It is a holistic concept of not only human life but also the life of the world and all things in it, both animate and inanimate, wherein all things are related and interconnected through a “circle of life.” The concept is reflected and explained by the Shaman’s Medicine Wheel, and are practiced and explored through the Sweat Lodge and Vision Quest.
Graphics: Andy Everson