Native American religions are diverse, rooted in the land and the lifeways of the peoples of the Americas. They emphasize relationships with nature, spirits, and ancestors, carried through oral tradition, ritual, and community practice. Though varied, many share patterns of vision quests, sacred objects, healing ceremonies, and respect for balance with the natural world.
North America
Arctic & Subarctic
- Inuit, Yupik, Aleut, Chukchi
- Animism centered on hunting and sea animals.
- Shamans (angakkuq) mediate with spirits of sea and ice.
- Athabaskan, Cree, Ojibwe (Anishinaabe)
- Dream-visions, medicine societies, Midewiwin tradition, animal spirits.
Northeast Woodlands
- Iroquois/Haudenosaunee (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Tuscarora)
- Sky Woman creation, Great Spirit, festivals tied to harvest.
- Condolence ceremony, longhouse rituals, prophetic movements (Handsonega, Ganiodaio).
- Algonquian-speaking tribes (Powhatan, Delaware, Shawnee, Pequot)
- Manitou (spiritual power), seasonal ceremonies, powwows.
Southeast
- Cherokee, Creek (Muscogee), Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole
- Sacred fire ceremonies, Green Corn festival, medicine dances.
- Dualistic cosmologies (Upper World / Under World).
Great Plains
- Lakota, Dakota, Nakota (Sioux); Cheyenne; Arapaho; Kiowa; Comanche; Blackfoot
- Sun Dance, vision quests, sweat lodges, pipe ceremonies.
- Wakan Tanka (Great Spirit), sacred hoop cosmology.
Southwest
- Pueblo (Hopi, Zuni, Taos, Acoma, Laguna)
- Kachina spirits, corn rituals, ceremonial plazas.
- Navajo (Diné), Apache
- Holy People (Yei), Blessingway and Enemyway ceremonies, sand paintings.
Northwest Coast
- Tlingit, Haida, Kwakwaka’wakw, Salish
- Totem poles, potlatch ceremonies, clan ancestor veneration.
- Shape-shifting and spirit-being myths.
California and Great Basin
- Chumash, Pomo, Miwok, Shoshone, Paiute, Ute
- Spirit dances, shamanic curing, myths of Coyote the trickster.
- Seasonal cycles tied to acorns, salmon, and desert survival.
Plateau
- Nez Perce, Yakama, Spokane
- Spirit quests, salmon rites, winter dances.
- Prophet traditions leading to revitalization movements.
Mesoamerica
- Maya
- Popol Vuh creation myth, sacred calendar (tzolk’in), ancestor worship, maize deity.
- Aztec (Mexica)
- Pantheon led by Huitzilopochtli, Quetzalcoatl, Tlaloc.
- Templo Mayor rituals, human sacrifice, tonalpohualli calendar.
- Zapotec, Mixtec, Totonac, Olmec (earlier civilizations)
- Rain and fertility cults, sacred ballgame, ancestor kingship.
South America
Andes
- Inca
- Inti (sun), Viracocha (creator), mountain gods (apu), Pachamama (earth mother).
- Festivals like Inti Raymi, sacred Cuzco center, ceque lines.
- Quechua, Aymara, earlier Moche, Chavín, Nazca
- Shamanic coca rituals, ancestor mummies, animal sacrifice.
Amazonia
- Shipibo, Yanomami, Tukano, Ashaninka, Kayapo, Guarani
- Shamanic ayahuasca use, spirit journeys, forest beings.
- Healing songs (icaros), communal rituals.
Southern Cone
- Mapuche (Chile, Argentina)
- Machi shamans, ngen spirits of land and water, drum ceremonies.
- Tupi-Guarani
- Myths of a Land Without Evil, messianic migrations.
Cross-Cutting Patterns
- Vision Quests & Dreams – personal encounters with spirit guides.
- Sacred Objects – pipes, bundles, masks, sand paintings.
- Healing & Balance – ceremonies for illness, misfortune, disharmony.
- Seasonal Rites – harvest, solstice, renewal ceremonies.
- Revitalization Movements – Ghost Dance, Handsome Lake revival, messianic quests.