Native American Church
How can the Native American Church help heal Cancer?
The mid 1800's was a time of great pain and suffering to all
Native Americans who were confined to reservations. The pain and suffering was
due to the loss of their homeland and individuality. Tribes were not allowed to
speak their language, hunt, or practice their ceremonies which gave them
guidance and balance. It was during this time of agony that peyote was
introduced to Southwestern tribes, who were in need of spiritual uplifting and
cultural strength. It may be because it provided an alternative to both tribal
orientation and "missionary controlled versions of Christianity,"
that the peyote religion spread like wildfire among these tribes.
In the 1800s, two new ceremonies were popular among Native
Americans. One, the Ghost Dance, tried to bring back the old ways. The Ghost
Dance disappeared after the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890. The other was the
peyote ceremony, which allowed a connection between traditional sacred
practices and Christian elements. From the southwestern tribes, the ceremony
diffused to the tribes of the Plains, Oklahoma, as well as other tribes.
Peyote grows in the southwestern part of United States,
mainly in Texas and Mexico. This plant is considered medicine by many Native
American tribes. It is sacred and is venerated. Peyote ceremonies are held for
healing dieases such as cancer, for baptisms, for funerals, for birthdays, or
as part of a vision quest. Peyote people believe it heals and teaches
righteousness. There are two formal ritual ways to eat peyote. One is by
grating the peyote (like cheese) and adding water to make into paste or mud.
The other is by consuming it in the form of tea.
The ceremony or meeting is led by someone with leadership
capabilities who was chosen to be the "Road Man." This person is in
charge with the responsibility of overseeing the main elements of the meeting.
During the ceremony, prayers and wishes are made for healing, guidance, and
strength. These prayers are said for the individual that the ceremony was set
up for. Many prayers and wishes are said in the ceremony by each individual
person who is participating. These participants sing, pray, meditate, and
consume peyote during all night meetings. Many people can attend the ceremony.
Depending on the "road man," the meeting may take
place in a home usually a designated hogan or a teepee. The meeting will
usually have a moon-shaped altar (Figure 1). Items for the meeting include
peyote (grated and tea), fire, water drum, gourd rattle, various feather fans,
and prayer staff.
Peyote people say that through prayer and believing an
individual can heal his/her self without any medical procedures. However, there
is a time when medical doctors are needed to assist the healing process such as
in cancer. Medical doctors help heal more of the physical side, and the peyote
meeting can help heal more of the spiritual side. It depends what type of
healing the individual needs.
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A personal story of healing through peyote by Anonymous
The following story describes the way one young Native
woman was helped by peyote:
When my sister called me on the telephone and said that they
were going to set up a peyote meeting for me in four days, I was nervous
because I didn't know exactly what occurred during the meeting. I asked if I
needed to get something for the ceremony. My sister replied, "Make sure
you hurry up and get here to meet everyone before we start the meeting."
All I knew about a peyote meeting, is that it takes a lot of
time to prepare for and that there are certain things that need to be done in
sequence. Also, I knew was that I would be sitting all night on the ground.
This was the only knowledge that I had about a peyote meeting. So when my
sister called to notify me that the meeting was going to be held in four days,
it took me by surprise.
At the time my sister notified me about the meeting, I was
attending school far from home. When I got to the place where the meeting was
being held, there were already many people standing around the coffee pot and
campfire outside the teepee.
Once I met the people, we all headed into the ceremonial
teepee. During the ceremony, I went through the specific sequential steps, each
step having to do with healing of my tumor and giving thanks to the creator up
above for my presence. While in the ceremony there was a part of me that was
scared of the unknown yet I still felt I was doing the right thing. I can't
explain in words the feeling of comfort, strength, love, assurance, and peace
of mind that I had in my heart, mind, body, and soul. Prior to the meeting, I
went in the ceremony not knowing what I was going to do and had some feelings
of doubt about praying to some higher being. However, I found out that prayer
and believing can and do have the power of healing.
Legalization
Acceptance of the Native
American church, a term used for the peyote religion, by the surrounding
culture and by the US government has been a gradual and complex process. With
the help of James Mooney, an anthropologist from the Smithsonian Institution,
the Native American Church was officially incorporated in 1918. Before the
1890s, there was no serious study or research done on peyote use among Native
Americans.
Mooney researched peyote meetings among the Kiowa in
Oklahoma. He also went on to study peyote meetings on other reservations as
well as its use by the Tarahumara in Mexico. In 1918 he testified in favor of
Native American peyotists at the Congressional hearing.
Nowadays, peyote sales are restricted by law to members of
the Native American Church (NAC). It is estimated that the NAC has at least
250,000 members.