David Ruvolo Native American Religion Analysis

According to a summary of Native American religions, written by David Ruvolo, there were three main Native American tribes that existed throughout North America during the time involving the invasion of European whites, which was between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. Each tribe, the Iroquois, the Sioux, and the Apaches, held different beliefs concerning spirituality and the afterlife, yet each belief system had one underlying similarity: nature, particularly the tribes’ immediate environment, had much of an influence. The Iroquois Nation inhabited the north eastern portion of North America, mainly occupying the area currently known as the state of New York, and also portions of Canada. This tribe of Native Americans is described

The Sioux were a less developed society of Native Americans than the Iroquois. They didn’t normally establish permanent settlements because their lives revolved around hunting buffalo and following their herds everywhere they went. The Sioux had an interesting perspective of the supernatural world – they believed it was not separate from the physical world and that it was simply too complex of a thing for humans to comprehend. There was not necessarily an all-powerful being, but there was something they referred to as the “animating force,” called Wakan Tanka, which was responsible for the existence of all things, and that all things were not “real,” but instead “manifestations” that appeared real, yet everything had a living, spiritual value, and all things were connected. The Sioux held a strong belief that they and the buffalo shared a special relationship in the grand scheme of things and for this reason, though they hunted them for food, they held a deep respect for the animals. Overall, the Sioux felt that everything was connected on a level beyond understanding and everything was unified or interconnected with Wakan Tanka. Not much else is to say about this tribe, and I can have some agreeance with the notion that all things are (or can be) connected on some

Each tribe had different views of the natural world, the supernatural and how they relate to each other. One thing that was concluded in the summary by David Ruvolo was that nature played an important role in each tribe’s religious thought patterns. The Iroquois lived in an area of the world where natural resources were plentiful and survival was not difficult, so this created more time for religious ideas, as they are the tribe who had the most similar religious views compared to that of most developed societies. The Sioux lived a lifestyle centered around their relationship with the buffalo, and their religious views concerned the unity and interconnectedness of all things. The Apaches had spent the most time and energy on survival due to their harsh environments, and didn’t have much time for other things, therefore causing them to hold the least complex view of the supernatural: that there indeed existed the supernatural forces, but it was solely an individual’s decision to entertain these ideas themselves. I generally would agree with this conclusion, however it leaves something to be desired. It is too unusual that the Apaches believed they could harness and manipulate supernatural forces for their own agendas. You would think that a society that spent so much time on physical matters and sheer survival would not be inclined to adopt such a bizarre mindset. I find it fascinating and