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Native American Theology on Creation

Alena M. Nicholson

September 29, 2020

Professor Winzenburg and Professor Jones

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Native American Theology on Creation

For Native Americans, the idea and theology of creation is mainly centered around

balance. Balance between them and the rest of the word and the process of maintaining it for

generations to come. It is centered around unity between them, animals, the trees, and mother

earth.

Creation

“For American Indians, creation is a matter of give and take. It is never merely a matter

of explaining or knowing what happened long ago at the beginning of time but is rather matter of

knowing our rightful place in the world and of living appropriately” (Kidwell et.al ,2001, page

24). As opposed to Western American theology where creation is centered around the beginning

and goes in a linear fashion, Native American creation theology is all about how we interact with

the world and how the world interacts with us. “The natural creation makes known the God of

creation. One can gaze on a beautiful mountain and understand that an intelligent and powerful

God made this physical world” (Smith, 2019, page 43).

Origins

According to Kidwell and others, every Indian community has a cycle of stories that are

loosely connected regarding the origin of the world. Some tell stories of the creation of ground

and others tell the story of night and day. The story that tells of the creation of an island in the

middle of flood that existed since the beginning of time is a central theme and is shared among

tribes around the continent. Regardless every story “…assumes that there were already ‘people’

in the world before there were human beings. In many of them, this world only emerges after the

destruction of an earlier one” (Kidwell et.al., 2001, page. 26).

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Human Beings

Two main themes stand out in the human creation story among North American natives;

humans were created from the ground or they were dropped from the sky. The Tohono o’odham

nation believes that their creator went through a lot of trouble to make the first humans different

from each other but harmonious in relationship. “Iroquians and others tell stories of a descent

from above… it is not the human being who make the descent. Rather it is the mother of the

‘creator’ of humans…” (Kidwell et.al, 2001, page. 26). It tells of “Mother Maiden” who made

her home among Turtle Island as was pregnant to a daughter who is later on life impregnated by

Wind. Her daughter gives birth to twins, one good and one evil, but the good twin creates

humans.

The Osage people tell a rather different story. They say that the first humans fell from the

sky like acorns falling from a tree. Yet, they were not together as a community until they met

with other humans who were already on earth. They formed two divisions, sky people and earth

people (‘tzi sho’ and ‘hunka’ respectively). “Osage custom required each person to marry

someone from the other division, thus all Osages, since this joining, have been both of the earth

and of the sky…” (Kidwell et.al, 2001, page 27).

Responsibility and Balance

Since the beginning of time and the beginning of their creation story, they have been

connected to land and to their creator, thus it is only right and makes sense why they have such a

great “…reverence for land.” They believe that the earth “…was mother of all” so taking good

care of ‘her’ is important to them (Deloria, 1988, page 103). Native Americans believe that every

soul has responsibly in the grand schema.

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Reciprocity

“The American Indian notion of reciprocity is fundamental to all human participation in

world-balancing and maintaining harmony” (Kidwell et.al, 2001, page 28). The act of reciprocity

involves understanding the place of humans in the process of the cosmos but ultimately begins

when one understands that every one of their actions influences the world around them. This idea

is consistent in all Native stories and cultures and is the foundation to their theology of creation

and balance. “Knowing that every action has its unique effect has always meant that there has to

be some sort of built-in compensation for human action, some act of reciprocity” (Kidwell et.al,

2001, page 28).

According to Kidwell, the concept of reciprocity becomes most important when violence

occurs. Violence specifically includes hunting and harvesting. Kidwell says that a life cannot be

taken without some sort of “spiritual act of reciprocation” (page28). Any sort of violence, even

to continue feeding a family and stave off hunger, must have an act of spiritual reciprocity in

order to restore balance and not tip the scales. A ceremony must take place when harvesting,

when just a part of a plant is taken, or when an entire animal is killed. Ceremonies can be as

simple prayer, song, or an offering of tobacco.

Sometimes, ceremonies can involve self-sacrifice, often called self-mutilation by

missionaries. “In the Rite of Vigil… as well as in the Sun Dance, the suffering the supplicant

takes upon himself or herself is usually thought of as vicarious and as some sort of reciprocation”

(Kidwell, 2001, page 29). Since a person’s possession is not in material things but the relatives

that live with them, the person’s flesh is really the only thing an individual can sacrifice. These

sacrifices were believed to be for the well-being of the whole community. “They [Native

Americans] have long perceived and pursued a balanced relationship between man and the
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environment- a partnership of equality and respect” (Twiss, 2000, page 96). The idea of balance

is once again affirmed to be central to their idea of creation. “Other living things are not regarded

as insensitive species. Rather they are ‘people’ in the same manner as the various tribes of

human beings are people” (Deloria, 2003,Page 88).

In the context of hunting and war, ceremonies are more complex for warriors leaving

home. “The Osage War Ceremony involved an eleven-day ritual, allowing enough time to affirm

the scaredness of life, to consecrate the lives that would be lost in war, and to offer prayers in

reciprocation for those potentially lost lives” (Kidwell, 2001,page 29). During hunts, Natives

reported that they would individually perform acts of reciprocation, such as prayers, apologies,

and words of thanksgiving to the animals. Formal and informal acts of reciprocation are a day-to-

day form of mythic activity woven into their history. Mythical stories involve animals giving

humans permission to hunt them for food and clothing, in return, the humans must go through a

ceremonial cleansing before entering their home or village. “Not to do this would bring the

disruption of the sacred caused by the perpetration of violence right into them idle of national

community life and put all people at risk” (Kidwell, 2001, page 29).

Interestingly, Vine Deloria in God is Red claims that Natives have a natural liking for

animals and the world around them that they incorporate them in their daily lives. “The Hopi, for

example, revere not only the lands on which they live but the animals with which they have a

particular relationship. The dance for rain, which involves the use of reptiles in its

ceremonies…” (page 88). He also states that the idea that humans can change into animals, and

vice versa, is important in some tribes. These beliefs have been classified as witchcraft and

animism by missionaries and anthropologists, but that will be discussed later.

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Spatiality and Time

A part of balance is the importance of space and time. Vine Deloria states in God is Red

that different cultures tend to orient themselves around one or the either, time or space. For

Europeans, it has primarily been around time and this has been played out in how Christianity

sees creation. The seven-day creation cycle, for example, revolved around time. Native

communities are oriented around reciprocity and spatiality. Native ceremonies “…[are]

inevitably spatially configured with place taking precedence over the question of when a

ceremony will happen” (Kidwell, 2001, page 30). They also put a great importance over the

placement and characteristics of the sun and moon at certain celestial events over the calendar

dates.

There is a subtle essence of their spatiality and land-rootedness. It shows up in their entire

existence, their ceremonial structures, architecture, and the parameters of a tribe’s universe

(Kidwell, 2001, page 30). In Osage society, every detail of social structure including the

orientation of villages geographically, reflects a reciprocal duality that sustains life. The earth

people (hunka) are at the south of the village while the sky people (tzi sho) were in the north.

Each only functioned to their fullest extent because the other was there. “…they were together

and together represented wholeness” (Kidwell, 2001, pages 30-31).

Spatiality is central to who they are, but they also view time in a way that connected to

the world around them. Time is based on “appropriateness”; something begins and ends when it

is meant to, not when a clock tells them. They see “…time as a continuous, unbroken circle…

everything is eternally connected…” (Twiss, 2000, page 99). Twiss says that Native people’s

history has deep roots in the present and future because their identity is tied to their past, like a

circle.
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The Circle and “Mitakuye Oyasin”

The circle is a great representation to better understand Native American cultures and

theology. It represents the “wholeness” of everything, the interconnectedness of the universe and

the human’s part in it. “We see ourselves as co-equal participants in the circle standing neither

above nor below anything else in God’s Creation” (Kidwell 2001, page 32). There is no class

system in the circle because it has no beginning or end. When gathering around to pray, they do

not have to hold hands because they know that it enough to stand in a circle, to feel the earth

below their feet and be connected through mother nature.

The Lakota people have a phrase they use in prayer that illustrates the centrality of

creation. It is ‘mitakuye oyasin’ and it serves as an ‘amen’ but really means “For all my

relations” but has many meanings based on where it used and with whom. “A translation of

mitakuye oyasin would better read: ‘For all the above me and below me and around me things.’

That is, for all my relations” (Kidwell, 2001, page 33). This is the basic word for the emotion of

humans understanding all that is around them and harmonizing with it, maintain balance.

Conclusion

Native Americans, in short, believe in harmony with all that is around them. They see the

world as scales and if one side is taken from, the other side needs something in return in order to

maintain balance. They do not believe that they are “masters” over the earth, but they are part of

it, one with the earth and their role is to maintain it. They believe they are to take care of the

earth for generations to come. That have a great respect for the land as well as the animals and

plants that live on it.

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Similarities, Differences, and Personal Experience

I did not find discontinuity between the resources I have; however, I noticed a lot of

differences between Native theology and predominantly White Western theology that Vine

Deloria made very clear in God is Red. These differences are useful in understanding how

Christians should interact with Native Americans and their traditions in order to actually show a

Jesus that they can love.

Similarities and Differences between Native American and Amer-European Theology

I did not find a lot of similarities between typical White Western and Native American

theology. However, K.D. Graves did point out that “…through prayer they ask the Great Spirit to

guide, assist, and provide wisdom” (Graves, 2006). We do the very same thing with God, our

creator. James 1:5 says “Lord, I thank you that when I lack wisdom, I can come to you and freely

ask and it will be given to me, for you give to all liberally and without reproach.” If we did not

pray to God and ask for wisdom and guidance in our day to day lives, we would not feel strong

in who we are and our walk with God.

Throughout this, I mostly found differences, starting with what we call “the creation

event”. We as Christians think of creation as a linear event with a beginning and end. God

created and God will end/restore. “Christianity has traditionally appeared to place its major

emphasis on creation as a specific event while the Indian tribal religions could be said to

consider creation as an ecosystem present in a definable place” (Deloria, 2003, page 77).

One major interesting thing that Deloria pointed out was the issue that Christians see

creation as important yet continue to destroy the very thing that God created for them. Native

Americans have great reverence for their land, the world around them, and for the one who

created them. We take “dominion” to a whole new meaning when people cut down forests and
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we say nothing, when animals God created go extinct, never to be seen again and we say

nothing. That isn’t exactly “stewardship” in my eyes.

Personal Reflection

Honestly, I really like the love that Native Americans have for the world. I think that is

something we could consider when thinking about Genesis, “What did God mean when He gave

us dominion over everything?” Does that mean we destroy everything we see? Make every

animal we love go extinct? Waste parts of an animal because we ‘don’t need it’? The rethinking

of “dominion” is something crucial today, especially when thinking about global warming. Even

if global warming is taboo, everyone can agree that the world is not in its best shape and

everyone can do their part to take care of it.

I do not think “taking care” of earth is honoring or worshiping it, making an idol

of it. I think it is caring for something that God told us to care for. I am not saying that we need

to start doing ceremonies, but actually having a desire to care for the world around us might

actually open our eyes to what God has created. I have spent several cold days on Lake Parley

contemplating God and what He has planned for me. In nature I really feel His presence and I

want to keep a beautiful world for generations to come so those who feel the same as I do can

experience God in the same way.

In conclusion, I think we have a lot to learn from each other. Personally, I think

Christians have done a lot of damage in the past and have created a bullet wound that we will

have to stitch up, not only in Native American lives, but in a lot of people groups (LGBT,

African American/black, Hispanic…). “Instead of embracing Jesus as the Creator, the majority

of Native Americans blame American Christianity and the church for the loss of their own

culture and identity. Is it any wonder that the vast majority of Native people today reject
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Christianity as the “white man’s religion”?” (Twiss, 2015, page 23). As Christians, we have a lot

to do if we want to continue to save souls. We must learn about traditions and cultures, we have

to learn about what people hold dear to their lives, individually and as a community.
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References

Deloria, V. (1988). Custer Died for Your Sins : an Indian Manifesto. University of Oklahoma

Press.

Deloria, V. (2003). God is red : a Native View of Religion (3rd ed.). Fulcrum Pub.

Graves, K. D., Ebbott, E., & League of Women Voters of Minnesota. (2006). Indians in

minnesota (5th ed. /). University of Minnesota Press.

Kidwell, C. S., Noley, H., & Tinker, G. E. (2001). A native American Theology. Orbis Books.

https://CrownLibrary.on.worldcat.org/oclc/606547487

SMITH, C. R. A. I. G. S. T. E. P. H. E. N. (2019). Indigenous faith : living a biblically healthy

life in the context of an indigenous culture. XULON Press.

Twiss, R. (2000). One Church, Many Tribes. Regal.

Twiss, R. (2015). Rescuing the Gospel From the Cowboys : A Native American Expression of

the Jesus Way. IVP Books.