Sun Dance Rituals

The first readings in "American Religious Diveristy," talks about the
Native American tribes and their religious rituals. Stories of how
winter, death, and giving have been created were also stories that the
Native Americans would tell their tribe orally. One of the religious
rituals that Native American tribes used was the "Sun Dance." This
website allows one to learn more about that sacred religious ritual
and shows pictures of the movements that the Native Americans would
do. It also shows the particpation of the other tribe members bringing
their sacrifices to the dance.


http://www.crystalinks.com/sundance.html

The next website that I thought was appropriate for our readings for
the first three weeks of class gives a historical background on Native
American religious rituals and identitifies each specific term that is
used in their rituals. Many of the religious rituals focused on nature
and the revival of death. They were also hunter-gatherers so their
rituals primarily focused on those important aspects like the Sun and
the Moon that would allow their food to grow. The pros about this
website is it also gives you a description on what happened to the way
of life of the Native Americans when the Europeans took over and
spread the Christian missionary rituals.

http://encarta.msn.com/text_761580498__1/Native_American_Religions.html