How Native American’s approach death, dying and mourning.

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Cross-Cultural and Religious Perspectives on Bereavement
Native Americans were the first group of individuals to occupy both Northern and Southern American regions. On their occupation of America, there are notable cultures and ways of life affiliated with them. They emanated from different parts of the world such as Asia, South China, and Japan. There is evidence that these Native Americans acquired settlement in the region as a result of various reasons such as trade, storms, and actual relocation, among others. Unlike evident speculations, it is important to understand these Native Americans’ role in introducing ethnic groups in America before the arrival of the Europeans. The historical background of Native Americans was characterized by their association with cultures such as hunting and gathering, fishing and agricultural farming. In exploring their religious belief systems, it is important to comprehend the Native Americans’ approach to the inevitability of death.
Native American religion may be considered polytheistic due to the existence of diverse religions in the community. In addition to Christianity, these individuals embraced Ghost Dances, Indian Religion, The Native American Church and The Waashat Religion, among others (Martin & Mark 67). These diversities noted in Native American belief systems depicted their regard for religion in improving human life. Their affiliation with Christianity was perpetrated by European Catholic and Protestant groups, pressuring most of these Native Americans to embrace the religion.

There was a malfunction in the Native American’s acquisition of traditional religions hence; leading them to practice modern religions. Their belief system considers death to be an important stage of one’s life. Like most communities, they believed that death, despite terminating one’s life on earth, was the beginning of a better livelihood with the spirits. Each tribe depicted different superstitions concerning the scope of death and its relevance in an individual’s life stages. According to The Indian Religion, righteous human beings encounter a smooth journey to the sky; while the sinners would experiences suffering, thereby, perishing.
Their belief system categorizes human beings into either saints or sinners in an attempt to demarcate the complexities associated with death. Conversely, other religions believe that longevity in an individual’s livelihood described their admirable actions on Earth. Their belief systems, however, trigger speculations about various consequences that would affect them after sudden and unexpected deaths. Native American religion also encourages the use of herbs, traditional food and symbolic objects in exorcising the evil spirits summoned by death. The Navajo community, a group of Native Americans, carries out requisite rituals and actions after experiencing death. As the events revolving death is important to them, these individuals ascertain proper preparation while sending these dead folk to the world of spirits. Honoring the existence of death ensures that these individuals lead better lives in another world. After cleansing, mourning and eliminating the deceased’s property, they dress the bodies. The Navajo also celebrate the dead as a way of blessing and appeasing them (Meyers, Robert & Fred 100). They bury the dead bodies in sacred and familial households as a form of depicting their importance to the community.
Unlike other communities, it is evident that Native Americans do not concentrate on mourning the dead. It is also quite unfortunate that the Navajo are discouraged from grieving and crying over such losses; to avoid misinterpretations and messages wrongly decoded (Corr, Donna & Tashel 135). Health practitioners, however, encourage grieving as a form of achieving cathartic release which assists these individuals in dealing with the reality. Suppressing these emotive reactions may lead to an unfortunate build-up, leading to even worse effects. Despite subtle differences, the Muscogee Creek Tribe, a Native American community, portrays indistinguishable ritual practices with the Navajo. They utilize traditional medicine, cleanse dead bodies and exercise patience for four days before burying the dead, among others (Meyers et al. 100). Similarly, there is a specified period of time when these Native Americans are allowed to mourn the deceased. These Native American rituals require individuals to forget about the dead as soon as the mourning period is over. According to these folk and their values, bereavement should not be carried forth after the process of burial.
Death education is an important aspect in various communities. In addition to equipping individuals with knowledge about the scope of death, it assists them to deal with countless emotional and psychological complications arising from these losses. It is necessary to understand the observational rather than theoretical acquisition of education related to death. As children in different communities emulate reactions and actions from adults, they automatically possess death education (Irish, Lundquist & Nelsen 185). Native Americans, like most communities, accept the ineluctable nature of death, rendering it a requisite stage in life. It is through such beliefs that these individuals do not spend so much time grieving and mourning the dead (Corr et al. 135). On the contrary, they consider celebrating their life on earth; so as to placate the ancestors’ life in the world of spirits. Prior and proper preparation, as depicted among Native Americans, is part of death education because reduces the period of grieving in the community. The specified period of mourning is often respected so that individuals continue to lead their lives without brooding over the dead (Irish et al. 185-186).
It is obvious to note the Navajo and the Muscogee Creek Tribe’s role in offering death education to their people. For this reason, the burial processes among Native American communities are considered smooth and successful. North America also boasts the prevalence of formalized death education in the school syllabus. It was expanded in writing, workshops, and discussions by different scholars such as Elisabeth Kübler Ross, a psychiatrist of Swiss and American descent. When individuals are equipped with ways of dealing with death, as an inevitable part of life, they improve their days on earth by eliminating psychological problems such as stress, depression, and anxiety, among others. From a religious perspective, it is important to educate folk on the scope and consequences of death. Different denominations also spread the word about death being a requisite part of human life. Just like traditional values, these religious beliefs require individuals to prepare themselves for the happenings revolving around the subject of death.
Integration of death education in schools and religious institutions delineates its impact on an individual’s well-being, especially after experiencing loss of loved ones. Despite their restricted opinions on bereavement, Native American communities exhibit strong emotions during their mourning period. They are not as reserved as some of the individuals that subscribe to Jewish traditional values. Aligning one’s emotive reactions to their socio-economic status infers gentility and affluence among the latter. One’s educational capacity also influences a community’s ability to grieve and mourn their losses. Possessing heightened social, economic and educational capacities allow individuals to compose themselves in the midst of unfortunate events such as death.
In addition to understanding the cultural aspects of death in Native America, it is important to describe its philosophy and theology. Religions embraced by Native Americans are among the numerous ones that delve deeper into the meaning of death and its significance in human life. Unlike Native American Christians, the individuals that subscribe to Indian Religion create a relationship between death and culture. They believe that one’s loss of life is often affiliated to their contribution to the community and the Earth, as a whole. It would, therefore, be unfair for these Christians to dismiss the Indian Religion merely because of salient differences. As a result of varied Native American religions, it is impossible for individuals to create a general assumption about the root emanation of death. Understanding these religions from an in-depth perspective allows other people to decipher the philosophy and theology of death among Native Americans. The prevailing controversies about the Indian Religion also require folk to conduct an exploration of its relationship with Christianity. There are numerous Indian tenets that borrow ideas from Christianity, thereby, contradicting the philosophical nature of death according to the Indian Religion.
Christianity among Native Americans identifies the concept of death with the heavens and the abyss. It is their belief that all religions incorporate similar tenets; heaven and hell as well as the existence of judgment after one’s death. If one digs deeper into the Indian Religion, they understand the oblivion experienced by these Indians in the wake of Christianity’s perception and philosophy of death. Speculations, therefore, continued to arise when missionaries concluded non-existence of an Indian Religion. According to them, it was requisite for a religious group to exhibit certain characteristics so as to be classified as one. Failure to adhere to the set regulations led to Indians auguring accusations of atheism and paganism from Native American Christians and missionaries.
Moreover, the appeasement of ancestors is also notable in Native American communities such as the Narragansett and the Beothuk Indians. Their perception and philosophy of death describe a relationship between the dead and living. It is their belief that dead folk is essential in passing requisite messages to the living. Death, according to them, acts as a pathway of providing security to the individuals on Earth. Such superstitious concepts of death cause some Native American communities to celebrate and appease the dead; due to the latter’s utter importance in the society. The communication between the living and dead in Native American communities also assisted the former in passing relevant messages to the spirit world. It is also important to explore the concept of reincarnation in comprehending the philosophical nature of death in Native America. They believe that individuals lose their souls; so as to experience a rebirth in another life. As a matter of fact, their theology of death dismisses the ideas of an individual’s single birth and existence, as a whole.
It is also quite surprising that the Native American communities believe in the reincarnation of both human beings and animals. Communicating with animals and thanking them is a form of placation portrayed by hunters. The Native Americans believe that the creature will be rebirthed bearing good blood with these hunters; once they delineate their remorse apropos of their actions and behavior. Only when they rectify their mistakes, do these animals provide room for hunting in their reincarnated and reborn forms. Such philosophical ideas are tied specifically to the Coastal Native Americans emanating from the North West region (Pritzker 162). These facts have been captured by writers and researchers in an attempt to understand the philosophical and theological tenets of death in Native America. As discussed, the Navajo community shies away from inculcating the names of dead folk as a traditional requirement. Their philosophical perception of death, also, does not condone mention of deceased’s names after their non-existence in these Native Americans in the community.
Evidently, there are diversities in understanding the Native American’s approach to death and bereavement. Their religious beliefs are essential in accentuating proper understanding of the philosophical concept of death. The community, aware of the inevitabilities associated with death, ensures prior preparation for burial and funeral rituals. Issues of the socio-economic and educational background are also incorporated while understanding the community’s mourning processes. Individuals and groups affiliated with wealth and high social status often exhibit calm emotions while grieving. Just like most tribes among the Native Americans, they do not lengthen the process of mourning. They community respects their values and virtues to the letter. The Native Americans’ regular appeasement of ancestors also depicts their extent of allegiance. Despite unfortunate but expected deaths, these individuals continue to celebrate their lost ones. The importance of death education is also notable in exploring the concepts of death among Native Americans. According to psychosocial concepts, individuals should be allowed to grieve their losses so as to adapt characteristics of resilience. It is important to delve deep into a community’s religious beliefs before attempting to understand its philosophical concepts related to death and the spirit world.
Works Cited
Corr, Charles A, Donna M. Corr, and Tashel C. Bordere. Death & Dying, Life & Living. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013. Print.
Irish, P. Donald, Lundquist, F. Kathleen, and Nelsen, J. Vivian. Ethnic Variations in Dying, Death and Grief: Diversity in Universality. Taylor & Francis. 2014. Print.
Martin, Joel W, and Mark A. Nicholas. Native Americans, Christianity, and the Reshaping of the American Religious Landscape. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2010. Print.
Meyers, Karen, Robert N. Golden, and Fred Peterson. The Truth About Death and Dying. New York: Facts On File, 2009. Internet resource.
Pritzker, Barry. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford [u.a.: Oxford Univ. Press, 2000. Print.