News

Sweat Lodge Prayers

Native Christians wrestle with faith and tradition.

A largely Christian community of Native North Americans in Quebec has banned a spiritual practice traditional to their people, the Cree. The decision has disappointed some ministers in native communities in the United States and Canada.

The Band Council of Oujé-Bougoumou, a village of about 600 James Bay Cree, voted in October to dismantle a sweat lodge some residents had constructed. The council decided that Oujé-Bougoumou’s Christian founding elders had not intended the community to partake in “native spirituality or practices.”

“The practice of the sweat lodge and its rituals are not restricted to merely medical [pursuit] of healing, but [are] in essence a way to contact and communicate with the spirit world through shamanism,” the resolution declared.

Jerry Yellowhawk, a Lakota Wesleyan minister from South Dakota, sees Oujé-Bougoumou’s choice as “a backwards step.”

“It’s been very hard to try to bring the love of Christ … to the Native American people,” Yellowhawk says. “Things like this, when they happen it just makes it that much more difficult.”

Only about 5 percent of Native Americans are born-again believers, experts say. Many, notes Yellowhawk, still think of Christianity as a “white man’s religion.”

Today, Christians in Native American and Canadian First Nations communities sometimes use traditional practices. For Cree Christian Reformed Church pastor Harold Roscher, the sweat lodge remains sacred space.

“It’s four rounds of prayer,” says Roscher, “an opportunity to pray to Jesus, to God. So I find it invaluable, especially working amongst my Cree people … it’s a good way to make a good connection.”

Some native Christians object to this. “Where in the Bible can you go where sacred objects used by nations were ever redeemed and used to worship God?” asks Ojibwe evangelist Craig Smith, whose ministry is affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance. “In the Old Testament, that didn’t bring God into the sanctuary. That drove him away.”

Emerson Falls, who leads the Fellowship of Native American Christians, says it depends on individual conscience and discernment. “There are some practices that may, in a particular location, convey a syncretistic message,” he says. “You have to know the culture and use discretion.”

Copyright © 2011 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Related Elsewhere:

Previous articles from Christianity Today and sister publications on Christianity among Native Americans and First Nations peoples include:

The People and the Black Book| One church’s attempt to do justly. (Leadership Journal, July 19, 2010)

The West That Wasn’t Won | Protestant missions to Native Americans had few shining moments. (Christian History, April 1, 2000)

Graham Crusade: Caught Between Cultures | Recovery evangelism is used to spread the gospel to Native Americans at a joint Graham festival. (June 15, 1998)

How Did Native Americans Respond to Christianity? | A collection of eyewitness accounts. (Christian History, July 1, 1992)

Also in this issue

The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

Cover Story

Proselytizing in a Multi-Faith World

God of the Schizophrenic

Evangelism as Sacrament

A Beautiful Anger

Why We Love Amish Romances

Books to Note

Excerpt

Counterfeit Gospels

Review

The Gods of the Checkout Aisle

Poet Amena Brown Speaks the Truth in Rhythm and Rhymes

Wilson's Bookmarks

Carolyn Arends Contemplates Her Own Death, and Yours

Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?

My Top 5 Books On Poverty

Editorial

An Everyday Scandal

News

Rehab Revival: Evangelism Among Addicts Seeing Success

An Improbable Alliance

News

Tough Calling in Africa

News

Pushing Back the Desert: Niger's Christians Get Creative for Daily Bread

Readers Write

News

Exit Visa: Iraqi Christians Look for Safe Haven

News

Thanksgiving Question Nearly Deports Tortured Christian

What's a Congregation Worth?

What Christian Novel Should Be Made Film?

News

Quotation Marks

Two Peoples Separated by a Common Revelation

Multi-Faith Matters

News

Go Figure

News

Borders' Bankruptcy Affects Christian Orgs, Pregnancy Center Signs Violate Free Speech & More News

News

Should Congress Change Pastors' Housing Allowances?

Review

Rob Bell's Bridge Too Far

View issue

Our Latest

You Are the Light of the Public Square

American Christians can illuminate our countryโ€™s politicsโ€”if we engage with moral imagination, neighborliness, boldness, and humility.

News

UK Regulators Investigate Barnabas Aid over Reports of Misused Funds

The charity is under an โ€œunprecedented level of scrutiny on our financial processesโ€ after founders and top leaders were suspended.

News

Gaza War Strains Bible Scholarsโ€™ Model of Christian Conversation

How Hamasโ€™ October 7 terror attack and Israelโ€™s response exhausted a group of evangelical Bible professors pursuing unity on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Being Human

The Four Spaces of Anxiety with Lisa Cuss

Learning to identify reactivity in ourselves and others.

News

Gordon Students Count Cells, Hoping to Unlock Cancer Mysteries

Cutting-edge microscopy research could explain why some get sick while others donโ€™t.

News

Chinese Christians Want the Church to Adopt Children with Disabilities

After China banned international adoptions, some believers want the Chinese church to step up.

News

Global Methodist Bishops to Dance

The new denomination tussles over its authority structureโ€”but also finds surprising points of unity.ย 

Excerpt

The Chinese Christian Who Helped Overcome Illiteracy in Asia

Yan Yangchu taught thousands of peasants to read and write in the early 20th century.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube