Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1927-08-05
RED INDIANS STILL
HOLD TO PAGANISM
Firm in Faith of Primitive
Codes of Ancestors.

Nearly 100000 Indians In the United
States are untouched by Christian
doctrines, the board of Indian com
missioners recently estimated, and re-
main to all intents and purposes
pagans, presumably still holding in
large measure the beliefs of their an
cestors. What these primitive Indian
religious beliefs are is described by
the National Geographic society.
"Poetlc fancy and natural tenden-
cy to describe newly encountered be-
llefs and customs In terms of those
already familiar have given white peo-
pie many false ideas in regard to the
religious beliefs of the American In
dians," says society bulletin. "Some
enthusiasts have pictured the typical
red man as noble and ethical beyond
his white brother, believing In ia
therly Great Spirit and striving to
live the good life that he may go after
death to the Happy Hunting Ground
This Is fallacy.
'"There is no single religion of the
American Indians. Instead the be-
liefs differed widely In different sec
lions and among different tribes.
There was, however, general SINH
larity of views, and these were about
what could have been expected from
people of a relatively primitive de-
gree of culture. Nowhere does what
could truly be called the conception OF
a Great Spirit an overrullng deity.
emerge.
There were greater and lesser
spirits. to be sure, but the character
istlc Indian belief is In n multitude of
spirits animatlng animals, objects and
the various forces of nature. Nor
were these spirits inherently good or
bad morally They might help or
hinder the individual In his activities
or health, and whether they did the
one or the other was the test of their
goodness or badness for him.
"The primitive indian has no con-
ception Of hell; nor Is his entry into
the spirit land dependent on his con-
duct. He enters 1t as a matter OF
course, he believes. and continues
there whatever activities have inter
ested him in this life. To some tribes
this Is a 'skyland,' to others 1t Is
merely a region of the earth, In the
West, across the sea- or beyond a
river Others believe the villages OF
the dead to be near their villages, but
invisible.
coupled In the mind OF the print
tive Indian with belief In many
spirits Is a belief In magic, through
which the spirits can be Influenced
The medicine men possessed the Sc
crets of such magic, 1t was believed
and often interceded. All Indians
believe In the possession Of sou
which leaves the body at death. They
also believe that It leaves at other
times, and some tribes ascrlbe Illness
to this absence Of the soul. The serv
ices Of the medicine man are sought
to recover he missing soul Belief In
continuing soul did not lead to an
cestor worship. MS among Eastern
peoples.
"Aiost Indian mythologists do not
concern themselves with creation
They assume the existence OF the
earth and deal with Its peopllng and
with the origin OF arts, customs and
rites All these are supposed to have
come by sort Of revelation. Some
tribes, however, especially those Of the
Pacific coast region, do have crea-
ton myth In some It Is Old Man
Above In others an animal, such as
the coyote or the silver fox, who
makes hole In the sky, comes to
earth and creates the animals and
men In some of these myths there
IL only water beneath the sky, but
the descending being creates the earth
In the form of an island, which grows
Morality and ethics were well de.
veloped among American Indians
They have strong sense Of con
science and many individuals are
strilsingly benevolent The tribal
morality was strict. He who He'd
failed to keep his promises or stole
within the tribe was disgraced. Muir
der, too, was punished War removed
ethical barriers among Indians, as II
has among most people in all ages. II
then became a virtue for the Indian to
kill his enemies and to take their
property.
"On the whole, the Indians religious
beliefs may be described as being
wholly practical and as sprlnglng
from fear OF the more or less hostile
forces Of nature that surrounded him
His various rites arose from his ef-
forts to propltate or to take advan-
tage OF these forces"