What where the beliefs of the eastern woodland indians?
Eastern Woodland Indians Religion
Like people everywhere, the Eastern Woodlands Indians regarded themselves as spiritual beings. Their physical lives were directly connected to their view of a supernatural existence. Just as Christians pray and go to church, or Muslims pray and go to their mosques, the Eastern Woodlands Indians consulted their spiritual leaders for advice on how to conduct their lives. Daily activities and rituals, often, but not necessarily under the direction of a shaman elder, influenced their behaviors. Although rites were performed around hunting and fishing, those ceremonies associated with agriculture have been most heavily documented. For example, the annual Busk or green corn ceremony was a thanksgiving festival performed by the Cherokee, Creek and many other southeast tribes. Other rituals included a new fire ceremony and a sundance. Elaborate burial practises came into existance at the same time as village life developed. In our present day culture we set aside special places to bury our dead because it doesn't seem appropriate to put Grandma and Grandpa under the porch steps. The Eastern Woodlands Indians who lived below the Great Lakes, also needed special places to bury their dead. Their death rituals centered around burial mounds. The mounds built up over the years and sometimes became large and complex. Archaeological evidence indicates that the dead buried within the mounds were often sprinkled with red ochre (an iron oxide) and local and exotic materials were sometimes entombed along with the bodies. For example, copper bracelets, sheets of mica, cut shells, spear points or tubular bone pipes have been excavated.
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