Ever since the Europeans first made contact with the Native inhabitants of Turtle Island there has been an aura of mystery that shrouds the spiritual world of the Native Americans. At first, for the most part, the Christian way of thinking and viewing of what the Europeans saw cause them to react in a manner to “correct” what they felt was wrong and pagan, even by force if need be.

Since those days, the descendants of those early Intruders have sought to understand and even embrace the spiritual path of Native Americans. What many of them fail to realize there is not one spiritual path, but many. In fact for each tribe, band, or nation of Native American there is a spiritual path, each one different and specially given by the Creator to that group of Natives. When The Creator made all the different tribes, bands, or nations of Mother Earth he gave to each one the traditions or laws or guidelines for their survival and well being. Since there was but one source for all creation then it would be common to find similarities. But this does not mean they are all the same for there is major differences as well. For a moment lets us consider a couple examples: Many tribes use some form of the sweat lodge. But they all don't use it the same way or for the same purpose. You will find some lodges with their door facing west others facing east. The Cheyenne has two doors and the lodge is laid out like a rib cage of a very large animal, not the circular dome shape most are use to seeing. The Cherokee in the old days had sweat lodges, but they were not for ceremonial use, but rather for keeping the elderly and sick warm during the cold. The sweat lodge, depending on tradition, serves many purposes. Some such as many of the Plains Natives use the lodge to purify the body and spirit, where as the Cherokees would “go to water” for this purpose, not a sweat lodge.

Another example would be to look at what is central in a spiritual path. It could be said the Sacred Pipe of the Lakota is central to their spiritual path. The Sacred Pipe plays a major role in all of the Lakota ceremonies. But when we look at Cherokee history, we can see it was the Sacred Fire that always in the center for our spiritual path even though we did and do have the pipe. Our pipe is referred to many times as a “peace pipe”, for it is our tradition to always smoke the Pipe after an agreement was reached on major issues. In fact, Mary Chiltoskey, in telling the legend of how selfishness came into the world, points out “At no other time were they (the Elders) to take tobacco into the body.”

One may ask why is any of this important. The reason is that many in their pursuit of spirituality fail to recognize that the true value of any spiritual path is made up in the individual parts and ideals that gave birth to the tradition or ceremony. And these “parts” and “ideals” differ from tribe to tribe even though they may appear similar. When the Creator gave the different spiritual paths to mankind, He no doubt intended they should be maintained as closely as possible, the same way as they were handed down or as the spiritual leaders directed them to be carried out. To combine this tribe's traditions with that tribe's tradition not only takes one away from the Creator's intent, but also misleads many because of the loss of the very essence of the tradition or ceremony by combining one “part” and “ideal” to that of another. If you were in the old wagon days of the 1800s you would value the strength of all your wheel parts, for if one part failed, then the wheel as a whole suffered and the wagon was crippled. In a way all the different spiritual paths are like one of those old wheels. In the center is the hub and from it ran the many spokes to the outer rim. The hub of our spiritual wheel is the Creator himself, no matter what spiritual path we choose to take. All the different spokes are like the many spiritual paths that lead from the outer rim to the hub. The shortest distance between to points is a straight line. The shortest path from the outer rim of mankind back to our Creator at the hub is down one of the spokes. If we were to walk from spoke to spoke or from spiritual path to spiritual path picking and choosing what we wish to mix all we are doing is going in circles. Once a person has decided on a path, he should remain faithful and true to that path, for it is the safest and shortest path home to the Creator.