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Native Spirituality

from: coping with HIV-AIDS, The path for Aboriginals living with HIV/AIDS

Spirituality defines everything relating to the human soul, the relationship we hold with our living environment and the creative force which lies within. It allows one to give meaning to his or her life experience or living environment. People who are faced with hardship often find great comfort in spirituality.

Each person holds his own conception of spirituality and is the sole person responsible for that spirituality. This is also true for people who learn they are HIV/AIDS infected. A person who practices his spirituality may develop a stronger sense of belief after finding out he is infected with HIV/AIDS. The opposite situation may also happen: a person living with the disease may turn away from spirituality. Respect is of utmost importance in this type of situation. Spirituality reflects the different
colours of a culture. In other words, a community may give a certain direction to its values, beliefs and rituals, but each and everyone is free to choose and to adapt his spiritual practices according to his own beliefs and values.

Native Spirituality

Spirituality is very important for Native people. Every Nation has developed its own spiritual ceremonies. None the less, some aspects are common to all Nations, as for example, reference to the Creator of Life and the recurring theme of Nature and animals as benefactors. There are differences between all First Nation peoples. However, similarities can shed light on spirituality and make it easier to approach and understand.

Spiritual Values

The fundamental values which are at the heart of native spirituality are goodness, honesty, sharing, care, respect, wisdom and strength. Elders are important because they can pass on and reflect these values. That is why they can be very inspiring resource persons and can help others to practice their spirituality.

Religion

Catholic and Protestant religions are integral to the spiritual beliefs of many Aboriginals. Although residential schools were a traumatizing experience for many people7 who then rejected religion, for others it is an important source of spiritual inspiration. Once again, it is important to respect every person’s beliefs.

Traditional Values:

Traditional healers are seen as wise people. They incarnate spiritual values and can be of precious help for people faced with hardship. In order to support a person, traditional healers use a holistic approach, reaching out to every dimension of a person’s life. The methods used by traditional healers include listening, observing, touching, sensation, reflection, speech, song, dance, tales, prayer and fasting. Sweat lodges are also part of some traditional healers’ methods. However, not every First Nation community agrees on this method.

Spiritual Dimension of Health:

Ancestral traditional healers believed in three causes of disease: loss of one’s spirit, an object entering the body or a bad spell thrown by a medicine man. To heal a person, spiritual techniques served mainly to restore balance, to extract the unwholesome object or to regain ones spirit. To this day, our communities have a holistic conception of sickness and healing. The spiritual dimension is one of the four fundamental dimensions of life and well-being. It cannot therefore be removed from the path chosen by a person living with HIV/AIDS. This dimension is also important for the physical, mental and emotional dimensions of life and can influence ones improvement, deterioration and health. Loved and trusted family members and friends can help us establish a healthy relationship with spirituality. For example, a person can join a self-help group to discover spirituality with the support and friendship of others. Elders are often a good support to discuss spirituality and to find a balance between daily life and spirituality.

A healthy relationship with spirituality can help to restore inner peace with others and through the events disrupting daily life. This peace and balance can have a beneficial influence on the life of a person living with HIV/AIDS. Spirituality is an important part of a person’s health. Ancestral traditional healers believed in three causes of disease: loss of one’s spirit, an object entering the body or a bad spell thrown by a medicine man. To heal a Person, spiritual techniques were therefore mainly used to find balance, to extract the unwholesome object or the regain one’s spirit. To this day,
our communities have a holistic conception of disease and healing. The medicine wheel described in the introduction is an essential element to understand the spiritual concept that Aboriginals hold of health.