Pan American Week on April, 2024: What is the Native American Church?

Pan American Week 2024.

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Native American Church, Native American religious group whose beliefs blend fundamentalist Christian elements with pan–Native American moral principles. The movement began among the Kiowa about 1890 and, led by John Wilson (Big Moon), soon spread to other tribes. The sacramental food of the group was peyote, a hallucinogenic cactus, and the members came to be known as peyotists. In 1918, peyotists from a number of tribes incorporated their movement as the Native American Church. In 1940 the church was declared illegal by the Navajo Tribal Council, which saw it as a threat to Navajo culture and to Christianized Navajos. The church flourished underground, however, until 1967, when the tribe reversed its decision. By 1996, the church had 250,000 members in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

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. Peyote is considered to be divine by the Indians, a messenger that allows the faithful to communicate with God without the need of a priest. 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.

Three men were the most influential in the spread of the Peyote religion:

The first was John Wilson, a Caddo-Delaware-French man who was renowned as a Ghost Dance leader. Legend has it that Wilson and his wife went into the forest, where he ate 15 buttons a day for 2 weeks. It was during these experiences that he was instructed on such things as how to paint his face and how to sing the holy songs, by the Peyote. He was shown the path to enlightenment, and was told to walk this path for the rest of his life, and remain faithful to Peyotes teachings.

The second influential figure was the famous Quanah Parker, a half white, Comanche chief. Laying in his tepee, dying, after all attempts to cure him by doctors and medicine men failed, he was visited by a Tarahumara curandera. Within a few days after ingesting Peyote tea, he was returned to health. The experience so changed him, that he gave up violence, and dedicated the rest of his life to spreading the teachings of Peyotyl.

Finally, the third major player was James Mooney, a Smithsonian Institute archeologist. He traveled through 1891 Oklahoma to participate in Peyote ceremonies. Mooney became convinced of the need to unite the Indians, and protect their legal right to worship with Peyote. He called together a meeting of all of the great "roadmen" in 1918, and wrote the charter for and incorporated the Native American Church.

The practices of the Native Americans differed from that of the shamanistic rituals used by their Mexican counterparts. The American tribes blended in Christian theology, and emphasized a communal ceremony of chanting, meditation and prayer. By the year 1922, the Native American church claimed 22,000 members. That number exceeds 250,000 today.

Which countries are in Pan-Asia?

What is PanAsia? What is the concept behind PanAsia?

PanAsia is a week-long series of events centered around Asian and Asian American lives, cultures, and issues.

PanAsia is a celebration of our ancestry, our inherited cultures, and a thoughtful, thought-provoking look at the realities, both beautiful and horrendous, of being Asian or Asian American.

In this country, Asians are among several minorities often overlooked or relegated to second-rate status. Therefore, PanAsia also seeks to bring to light the third dimension of our various ethnicities, illustrating in a unified voice that we are three-dimensional humans and as such, we have seen the entire range of human experiences - we will not be generalized and reduced to two-dimensional stereotypes. We seek to unify ourselves, explore issues that continue to plague our various peoples both in the United States and abroad, and search for why we are who we have each become.

Is the Pan American Highway open and accessible from Texas through Costa Rica?

Yes, the highway is open but it is a long and often dangerous trek. You will need to be extremely fluent in Spanish, have a very reliable car or transportation/ 4x4 is preferred as there are several parts that can get flooded or rained over. The trip can take from two weeks to 3 months but it is unrealistic to think you can drive to Costa Rica for a short vacation and drive back.

It is not a typical highway by States standards so do some reading and thorough researching before heading out on such a trip. The other thing to remember is that the border along Texas is extremely dangerous right now as the Gulf and Juarez cartels are battling over turf and Nuevo Laredo. Stay far away from these areas and dont stop until Monterrey at the very least.

The postings below are not a very accurate depection of Latin America. It can be very dangerous for sure but I have had several friends and know others who have driven this route by car and also by Motorcycles. If you are a seasoned traveler through Central America and speak very fluent Spanish then this trip is do-able but be very cautious.

Example: a few years back a friend and his wife shipped their BMW Motorcycles to Chile and were biking from Patagonia to Alaska to raise money for Cancer Research.

I joined them in Panama and rode up to San Pedro Sula in Honduras, then sold the bike and jumped to Roatan while they contined their trek. We only encountered corruption and possible bad visions at the border crossing between Costa Rica and Nica. We paid them $40 bucks and that was the end of our problems.

My friends never got mugged, robbed or felt endangered during their entire trip- even in Colombia.

Again, Latin America is a wonderful place but like any 3 world destination, you need to be prepared and alert.