Dieri, Bevenda, Cherokee structures of religious belief and touch upon tribal beliefs about god and gods, key myths and rituals

The Dieri, an aboriginal tribe of Australia, the Oklahoma tribe of the Cherokee, and the Bevenda may all be subsumed under the common category of 'native people,' when comparing such indigenous faiths with the common faith of those who colonized these individuals, namely white Christians. However, upon closer examination of the religions practices of these groups, there emerge equally striking differences between one another that belay such easy elision under the term 'native.'

The Cherokee, first and foremost, were shamanistic in their ways of religious belief and practice. Although, to some outside observers, the Cherokee religion and medicine seemed primarily reliant upon herbs for medicinal treatment and as an efficacious way of accessing the spiritual realm, in fact these herbs were not viewed as inherently sacred in and of themselves....
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