Native American Church

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In one sense, the Native American Church began in 1918, when James Mooney, an anthropologist from the Smithsonian Institution, testified before congressional hearings held concerning the issue of sacramental use of peyote by indigenous people in the American Southwest. As a result of those meetings, he advised members of various Oklahoma tribes to obtain a legal charter to protect their rights as an organized religion. The Native American Church was incorporated that very year.

But incorporation just expresses the official legal definition of when a religion begins. To better understand what the church is all about, we have to go back about ten thousand years to discover the first use of peyote.

Peyote is often called a mushroom, but it is actually a small, spineless cactus native to the American Southwest. Chances are it began to attract attention as soon as the first hunter-gatherers discovered that brewing it in a tea or chewing very small amounts produced an altered way of thinking that seemed to place the user in a heightened spiritual state. Peyote cactus buttons found in ancient human-occupied caves have been carbon-dated back as far as seven thousand years. The Huichol Indians of Mexico were making peyote-collecting pilgrimages into southern Texas by at least 200 bce as part of a religious quest.

Some people view peyote simply as a hallucinogenic used by people who want to "get high" while using religion as their justification. Timothy Leary's reputation in the 1960s certainly gave that impression to folks in suburbia. But a careful study of the history of peyote use reveals a deeply sacramental ritual hedged in by religious rules and regulations going way back into ancient times. Some of these customs, adapted and filtered through Christian symbolism, have been rediscovered by the Native American Church, which now boasts some eighty chapters comprising members of at least seventy Native American nations.

Every state west of the Mississippi has at least one chapter, and the total membership of the church is estimated to be about 250,000 people. Much of the church's worship centers around singing, accompanied by small drums and gourd rattles. The singing is usually in a native language and dialect, but sometimes phrases like "Jesus is the Savior" will be heard in English. At these meetings, it is explained that peyote is a gift from God, a sacrament that not only places minds otherwise cluttered with cultural baggage and "busyness" into a spiritual state, but also counters cravings for alcohol and relieves day-to-day tensions. It is believed to cure various illnesses, many of them induced through the anxiety of poverty and hopelessness that has for so long been a fact of reservation life.

Peyote is not, however, usually taken just to induce visions. As a weak peyote tea is passed around, always clockwise according to Native American symbolism, participants are free to interpret Bible passages according to their own understanding, share their thoughts and beliefs, and express community through prayer vigils that usually last through the night. The idea is that the mind normally works in a manner conducive to everyday, waking reality. To contemplate spiritual things, it has to be moved out of its groove, so to speak, and elevated to a higher plane.

A typical response from non-Indian people is, "Sure. One big group trip!" It's difficult for people to respond to that which they have not experienced in the normal course of their daily lives. Perhaps it is impossible. So most Native Americans are justifiably careful when it comes to talking about their church meetings. It doesn't help, either, that certain well-publicized criminal court cases have been launched by Indian prisoners who may or may not simply be exploiting religious freedom to gain a temporary chemical release from prison drudgery. It would be a mistake, too, to think that peyote use among people of all races and religious traditions is limited to sacramental expression. Certainly it has a recreational following as well.

But ingesting peyote, to Native American Church members, is no different from Catholics drinking wine at Mass. Peyote is not just a plant. It is believed to be the very heart of the Creator, just as wine symbolizes the blood of the Creator in Christianity. The Creator had great compassion for his people. Christianity teaches that through his great love he entered the world as a man. Ancient Huichol belief was that the Creator died and was reborn as the peyote plant so that the people could obtain wisdom and understanding not possible in normal daily life. The Aztec people, culturally related to the Huichol, named the plant peyoti, which denoted the pericardium, or the lining of the heart. This reflects the Huichol belief that peyote embodies the Creator's heart.

When Spanish priests discovered what peyote was, they instituted the laws of the Inquisition to punish those who used it. It was strictly forbidden, but people kept secretly using it anyway. The religion migrated to the north, to the Apache, the Commanche, and the Kiowa people. By 1880 two religions were spreading throughout the Indian nations. One was the Ghost Dance (See Ghost Dance). The other was the peyote cult.

Perhaps it is easiest for people of non-Indian cultures to understand when they try to put themselves into the mind of a people who were defeated, slaughtered, and forced to live in what amounted to detention centers. Their religion was totally wiped out, and they were forced to daily bear the indignities of lost freedom and cultural identity. They searched for their roots, asking the question, "What do we do now?"

Their practical answer, like that of the African slaves in the American South, was to accept from Christian culture that which they felt was important, while at the same time adapting their own cultural symbols and producing a spiritual philosophy that satisfied them.

The Native American Church today stresses certain cultural truths and ethics. Abstaining from alcohol is one. Faithfulness to one's spouse and fulfilling family obligations is another. It is, for example, simply impossible for some Native Americans to understand how affluent white folks can leave grandma in a rest home somewhere. Self-sufficiency is an important doctrine, as are praying for the sick and, above all, praying for peace.

Sources: Fikes, Jay. “A Brief History of the Native American Church.” Council on Spiritual Practices. http: //www.csp.org/communities/docs/fikes-nac_history.html. September 14, 2003. Smith, Huston. One Nation Under God. Santa Fe, NM: Clear Light Publishers, 1998.

The Native American Church, a development that evolved out of the Peyote Cult, is a religion combining some Christian elements with others of Indian derivation. It features as a sacrament the ingestion of the peyote cactus, which may induce multicolored hallucinations. Christian elements include the cross, the Trinity, baptism, and some Christian theology and eschatology. The peyote rite is an all-night ceremonial, usually held in a Plains-type tipi.

Prominent rituals include singing, prayers, testimonials, and the taking of peyote. First incorporated in Oklahoma in 1918, the Native American Church has become the principal religion of a majority of the Indians living between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, and it is also important among the Navajo in the Great Basin, in east-central California, and in southern Canada.

Peyotism's legal standing met a serious challenge in 1990, when the U.S. Supreme Court decreed, in Employment Division v. Smith (1990), that the free exercise clause of the First Amendment did not exempt Indians from criminal prosecution for the use of peyote in states where its use was outlawed as a controlled substance. The decision placed minority religions in jeopardy. In response Oregon passed a 1991 law permitting the sacramental use of peyote by American Indians in the state, and Congress passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 1993, which required the government to demonstrate a compelling state interest to justify any measure restricting religious practices.

Bibliography

LaBarre, Weston. The Peyote Cult. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1989.

Slotkin, James Sydney. The Peyote Religion: A Study in Indian-White Relations. New York: Octagon Books, 1975.

Stewart, Omer C. Peyote Religion. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987.

Vecsey, Christopher, ed. Handbook of American Indian Religious Freedom. New York: Crossroad, 1991.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2007)

Native American Church insignia

Native American Church, a religious denomination which practices Peyotism or the Peyote religion, originated in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and is the most widespread indigenous religion among Native Americans in the United States. Peyotism involves the use of the entheogen Peyote, a spineless cactus.

Contents 1 History of the peyote religion 2 United States law 2.1 Federal law 2.2 State law 3 The Native American Church Movement 4 The Peyoteros of Southern Texas 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

History of the peyote religion

Peyote road

Peyote was used in the territory of modern Mexico in pre-Columbian times to commune with the spirit world and also as a medicine. From the mid-15th century, the use of peyote spread to the Great Plains area of the United States primarily through the efforts of the Apache people. Peyotism is now practiced in more than 50 Indian tribes and has probably around 250,000 adherents.^[1][2]

Peyotist beliefs vary considerably from tribe to tribe, belief in Peyote personified as a god called Mescalito by some practitioners, but often include belief in Jesus as a Native American culture hero, an intercessor for man or a spiritual guardian; belief in the Bible; and association of Jesus with Peyote. Peyotists believe in a supreme God. The "Peyote Road" calls for Indian brotherly love (often taking the form of Native American nationalism), family care, self-support through work, avoidance of alcohol, and avoidance of recreational drug use.

Peyote buttons in the wild.

Traditionally, peyote is used in pursuit of bona fide religious faith in daily ceremonies, and at all times. Peyote rituals can be conducted by oneself and (it is believed) with the Creator, or with a guide, or in a group, and at any place or time the Spirit or Creator and the participant deem them necessary. Peyote ceremonies are not conducted only in tipis or hogans however, in some cases ceremonies may be limited to a certain number of people but this varies from tribe to tribe.

For some chapters of the Native American Church, the peyote ritual begins at 8 p.m. Saturday and continues through the night. The ritual includes prayer, the eating of peyote, Peyote songs, water rituals, and contemplation. It ends with breakfast Sunday morning. The peyote ritual is believed to allow communion with God and the deceased, and to give power, guidance, and healing. The healing may be emotional or physical, or both.

Those Church members who feel that they need structure believe that the communal ingestion of peyote and the ceremony of the Church meeting help participants get into a proper relationship with each other and with God. In turn, they believe, this leads to an ability to live a good day-to-day life. A good life is considered to be one that is kind and responsible, and embodies love.

United States law

Federal law

Peyote ceremony tipi

Members of the Native American Church are exempt from federal criminal penalties for religious use of peyote. Where there is exclusive federal jurisdiction or state law is not racially limited, peyote use by NAC members is legal under a racially neutral regulation. This exemption is as old as federal criminal penalties against peyote use and predates the Controlled Substances Act.^[3]

The Code Of Federal Regulations reads:

Special Exempt Persons: Section 1307.31 Native American Church. The listing of peyote as a controlled substance in Schedule I does not apply to the nondrug use of peyote in bona fide religious ceremonies of the Native American Church, and members of the Native American Church so using peyote are exempt from registration. Any person who manufactures peyote for or distributes peyote to the Native American Church, however, is required to obtain registration annually and to comply with all other requirements of law.^[4]

U.S. v. BOYLL, 774 F.Supp. 133 (D.N.M. 1991) addresses the racial issue specifically and concludes:

For the reasons set out in this Memorandum Opinion and Order, the Court holds that, pursuant to 21 C.F.R. § 1307.31 (1990), the classification of peyote as a Schedule I controlled substance, see 21 U.S.C. § 812(c), Schedule I(c)(12), does not apply to the importation, possession or use of peyote for bona fide ceremonial use by members of the Native American Church, regardless of race.^[5]

State law

Currently, laws regulating peyote use by Native American Church members vary by state.

The Native American Church Movement

This article appears to contradict the article Quanah_Parker. Please see discussion on the linked talk page. Please do not remove this message until the contradictions are resolved. (April 2009)

Quanah Parker

Quanah Parker is credited as the first big leader of the Native American Church, which was introduced to North American tribes in the 1880s, and was formally incorporated in 1918 in Oklahoma. Parker adopted the peyote religion after being gored by a bull in southern Texas and surviving the attack with the help of peyote. Peyote is reported to contain hordenine and tyramine, phenylethylamine alkaloids which act as potent natural antibiotics when taken in a combined form. Parker was given strong peyote tea by a Coahuiltecan Indian curandera who healed him and showed him the proper way to run peyote ceremonies. Therefore, the genesis of modern NAC ceremonies have deep roots in Mexican Indian culture and ritual, due to the natural locality of Peyote and the dissemination by Parker to the Comanche and other plains tribes located in Indian Territory.^[6] This key aspect of medicine history is often overlooked with the various generational outlooks of Northern American Indians.^{[citation needed]}.

Parker taught that the Sacred Peyote Medicine was the Sacrament given to all Peoples by the Creator, and was to be used with water when taking communion in some Native American Church medicine ceremonies. Parker learned the "half-moon" style of the peyote ceremony from the Lipan Apache leader Chiwat. The Lipan Apache learned the ceremony from the Carrizo Coahuilteco tribe of Southern Texas(Peyote Religion by Omer Stewart). The "cross fire" ceremony (originally called the "Big Moon" ceremony) later evolved in Oklahoma (initially among the Kiowa Indians) due to influences introduced by John Wilson, a Caddo Indian who traveled extensively around the same time as Parker during the early days of the Native American Church movement.

The Peyoteros of Southern Texas

The peyote religion evolved an elaborate trade network which has persisted since pre-Columbian times, in Southern Texas, with designated harvesters of the peyote in Rio Grande City, Texas, and Mirando City, Texas. The Peyoteros are a group of closely knit families of Mexican ancestry who have harvested peyote for Native Americans since the early 1700s. The modern peyoteros still harvest peyote in the same manner as their ancestors, with a machete and a very small work crew of young and sometimes old men. Peyote is harvested and dried after the crowns of the plants are removed at ground level; cut at an angle, to allow water to run off. The peyoteros never dig up peyote, but rather cut the tops of the cactus crowns at ground level with a machete. Peyote plants create large taproots with an extensive root system, and the plants slowly regenerate new heads after harvest, often producing a much larger plant after several years of regrowth. Currently, Peyote is being overharvested, seriously endangering the existence of the local populations of peyote. There are only 3 licensed Peyoteros left in Texas, due to overharvesting, and illegal poaching, and strict licensing and tax regulations by the Texas Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Federal government. Two Peyoteros in South Texas are Mauro Morales of Rio Grande City, Texas, and Salvador Johnson of Mirando City, Texas.

Indians are permitted to purchase peyote to supply the Native American Church both in person and via US Mails "Restricted Delivery" procedures. Special ceremonies are performed with the harvested and dried peyote medicine in order to bless it for use as a sacrament for Native American Church rituals and ceremonies.

All three of the peyoteros are licensed by the United States Drug Enforcement Agency and operate under DEA 225 permits. Peyoteros are also required to be registered with the State of Texas Department of Public Safety, for a fee over $1,200 per year in a poverty stricken area of south Texas. Legitimate Native American Church Branches are required to register with the Texas Department of Public Safety in order to purchase, harvest, transport, or cultivate peyote. Non-Indian churches not affiliated with Federally Recognized Tribal entities are not eligible for registration with the Texas Department of Public Safety at this time.

See also

Shawnee altar cloth, ca. 1940, Oklahoma History Center

• Employment Division v. Smith
• Freedom of thought
• Indigenous peoples of the Americas
• The red road

References

1. ^ http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/nachurch.htm
2. ^ http://www.csp.org/communities/docs/fikes-nac_history.html
3. ^ U.S. v. BOYLL, 774 F.Supp. 133 (D.N.M. 1991), p.1338
4. ^ 21 CFR 1307.31
5. ^ U.S. v. BOYLL, 774 F.Supp. 133 (D.N.M. 1991)
6. ^ Stewart OC. 1989. The peyote religion: a history. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0806124571.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Native American Church

• Listing of Native American Churches
• Peyote Way
• American Ethnography -- Some early ethnographic work on peyote religion

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