I have been learning the past years to be a Healer. Right away I noticed how similar we are to witchcraft. Witchcraft is very much apart of Native tradition in fact it's hard to separate the spiritual belief from the witchcraft although we call it medicine instead. I want to say right off every Nation is different each has its own vibrant tradition and individual history, because of that I'm giving a fairly broad overview and even then I know that it will not resonate with everyone.
First most of what people think of when they think of Native's is actually based on drastic changes brought about by European influences. There where no powwows, shamans or full feathered headdresses ,Originally there where ritual celebrations for all kinds of things a good hunt a good harvest or a raid or healing we where called pau wau which means his dreams in some languages these celebrations included the medicine man or/and woman dancing and smoking and sweating into a state where they crossed over into dream land where they learned many things from the spirits.
Another important term is medicine, there is good medicine and bad medicine and its pretty easy to differentiate the two. Medicine encompasses many many things from emotional, physical and spiritual it includes conjuring and dream walking. Like with any language some things don't translate well. Not all medicine men are good something that's often over looked today there are those who deceive or hurt instead of heal that's bad medicine although sometimes bad medicine is in fact practiced by good medicine men. One reason deciphering Native herbals can be very difficult is that we often named herbs and trees good medicine or bad medicine bark and since regionally the plants are different.
One basic premise that binds all Nations together is that everything is connected, the plants, animals and even rocks are all part of the same thing as is the spirit world . The energy from all of these things is in us therefor we are connected to everything and everything is connected to us. This is why owning land is such a hard concept for us because how can you own something that's part of everyone. That's why if someone was very sick we would hold a pau wau so that everyone came together to help heal the sick person. These rituals are long affairs even today when I do a healing there's much more to it than handing them a herbal tea. We believe in order to heal you must heal the whole person not just a part of them. Its almost impossible to separate spirituality from witchcraft or medicine. When healing some one it involves prayer by the whole village enlisting the power of the land around us and the spirits which as in all crafts must be done carefully. In order to heal someone you must not only heal the body but the mind and spirit as well.
In the past Medicine was practiced by every member of the village , medicine bags of herbs and minerals are tied to necklaces and braided in the horses manes . Before battle we would paint ourselves and we took strong medicine to avoid injury that we even gave to our horses when horses arrived of corse. Each nation had our own special blends for this and contrary to populate belief we where shared among other nations to figure out what worked best. Dream walking and conjuring was only practiced by medicine men or women and while I have seen some refer to shamans and medicine as being different most tribal members dislike the term shaman because its inaccurate and was foisted upon them . In fact if you ask a tribal elder who the shaman is they are likely to stop talking to you immediately or give you some false answer.
Cultural Genocide
Christian missions and newer troubles
Steadily stealing away our sense of being
Conquered, contained and forced to convert
Some of us still cling to what we have left
Surviving cruel priests and maniacal ministers
Churches of Spain, France, England and America
Old Adversaries
Founding fathers cloaked in Christianity
New Age purveyors, seemingly in the church's shadow
Turning their attention upon our ancient homelands
Seeing us as obstacles as do now their descendants
Having us either killed or methodically assimilated
Starting before George Washington and continuing today
Capitalistic Supremacists
Now forcing a new religion upon us all
Specially crafted to fill needs and coffers
The clergy of grifters, hucksters and frauds
Beholding to a greedy god's all seeing eye
Stirring in impure and artificial ingredients
Not all that picky, they will stew Christians
Spiritual stew
A huge, shiny new age trade kettle
Cooking fires fueled by bones of their dead
People's knowledge and beliefs stewed into lies
Adding in the choice cuts of our spiritual being
Spiced with gaudy trappings and counterfeit objects
Carefully tended by chain restaurant managers
These charlatans
Plastic shamans and medicine people
Still robbing us as did their ancestors
Shameless greed, never are they satisfied
Of privileged lives and gluttonous appetites
Quack swindlers and their attack dog acolytes
Prodding old wounds, they mock our beliefs
Their temples
Once inside they all look the same
Measured unfairly according to status
The love and life within a caste system
Their perpetual ascent to the top of nowhere
Spiritualists channeling fictitious native spirits
Feathers, wolves, buckskin and buffalo hide dreams
Positive energy
More like cannibalistic hags passing gas
Against a backdrop of mute sylvan greenery
Plastic shamans along with propaganda priestesses
Aside from evil spirits, mouthpieces and vestments
Little different from the Christian missions of old
The great lie over truth, reward and punishment
Rainbow Chiefs
Deviant warriors defending their pots of gold
And flocks of white sheep all bleating the same
Chants, mantras, or anything else they are told
Watchful shepherds who have a taste for mutton
When not preying on us they will eat their own
Their cloying scent transcending space and time
Uncle Tomahawks
Sell outs and those of sordid convictions
Spreading the great lie, they whore for glory
What they have been tricked out of is tainted
Knowledge that these new age charlatans misapply
Attempting to cheaply sell what never should be sold
We will contend with these traitors in the next world
Remaining indomitable
Although many of us do good just to exist
Some still enduring their lot in stoic silence
Others snarl, growl and howl at this violation
The plastic shamans, grifting and card turning
Mockingly unable to summon our revered ancestors
Sometimes successfully seducing our weakest kin
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