The Native American Church

I became interested in The Native American Church after reading chapter two "Native American Religions" in our textbook. I had always been interested in Native American beliefs for two reasons: 1. the beliefs of the Native Americans teach being one with nature and 2. I am part Native American, but had a Christian upbringing, so I didn't know that much about the Native American religion. After the research I have done for this paper, I have mixed views of how I feel towards The Native American Church; I will explain these feeling in my conclusion. I feel that I should fully explain the religion, so it's easier to understand the mixed feelings that I have.
Native American Beliefs

From our textbook, Religions of the World, I was able to learn even more about my Native American background. Our textbook talks about how Native Americans respect the land and all the living creatures on the land. Our textbook also discussed how Native Americans seek visions by spending time away from their families and fasting. The textbook also briefly mentioned Peyote, which I will go into greater detail later in this paper. In chapter one of our textbook (pgs. 23-24) I learned more about totems, which are very important to the Native American people. The Native Americans believed that their totem, which is an animal of some sort, is a relative of theirs and they only kill this animal on special occasions as a way to get closer to their cousin.