Native Orthodox Church

1. We believe that there is but one race of man. The human race, who is related to all other living things.

2. We believe that all human beings should strive for universal peace, avoiding man’s inhumanity to man.

3. We believe in the sanctity of the family unit and that all must strive toward the survival of the family.

4. We believe in the force of Universal Love and that Love always seeks the welfare of others; therefore, we never seek to hurt or destroy.

5. We believe in the never-ending search for Truth.

6. We believe that Creator’s greatest gift is free-will and that this gift brings with it the greatest responsibility humanity must bear, as such, we acknowledge that each of us are accountable for our choices, our actions, and the effects that those choices and actions have on others.

7. We believe in the sanctity of life and in the inherent worth and dignity of every individual and uphold as Truth that all people have an equal claim to life, liberty, and justice.

The members of International Aboriginal Ministries, affirm our faith that:

1. There is but one “Creator.” – We believe in one universal spirit, divine and important; of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; maker of all things.  Although our Creator is called by many names by peoples of various creeds, faiths and spiritual traditions in truth, all Gods are but reflections of the one Great Mystery, our Creator.

2. God is everywhere. – We believe God, the Creator, dwells everywhere, within and without, above and below^?.  As such, we are bound to respect all creation, for in that manner we do honor not only to our Creator, but also to ourselves.

3. God is the Universal Divine Source. – We believe that, although the specific cultural and spiritual traditions of each tribe arc unique, all focus on celebrating and honoring the Sacred Circle of Life.  Due to the universal focus of these traditions, we believe they all emanate from a single Divine source, the Creator, and as such transcend any and all artificial borders, boundaries, or institutions devised by man.

4. Ours is a Living Faith. – We acknowledge that believing in our statement of faith is but one part of our duty to our Creator and ourselves; and that our duty includes living our statement of faith, setting an example for others to follow, reaching out with our hearts and hands to lift our brothers and sisters into the sacred circle: ultimately leaving this world a better place for ourselves and our posterity.

From: Elder’s Meditation of the Day – October 16:

“Many religions have been brought to this land.  And the way my religion is.  They teach me.  And they taught me and told me to respect all religions.  And I still do that.” – Horace Axtell. NEZ PERCE

“The Creator put on this Earth many different religions which represent different roads to walk to God. All religions are right and good if the path is the path to God. Should we be judging which road is better or worse than the other? When we accept each other’s way we can stand in a circle, hold hands and listen to each other as we pray to God. Let us be more accepting of the religions of others.”

“Great Spirit – God. Grandfather, Grandmother. Lord – let me know peace.”

DLA’UPAC. (fl. c. 1800s). Walula. An early prophet in the Columbia Plateau region who lived near pre­sent-day Pasco, Washington.  The prophet was be­lieved to have lived before the later prophet smohalla, perhaps in the early 1800s.

Dla’upac was said to have been dead for five days and to have returned to life.  Found singing, he told the people what he had learned in the spirit world. He prophesied the destruction of the world by fire or flood, as it had been in the past, and the return of the dead to life before the catastrophe.

In addition to foretelling the future, Dla’upac told people to prepare themselves for meeting Xwampipama, the creator.

BADGER-TWO MEDICINE. Blackfeet. This Blackfeet sacred site, which borders the Blackfeet reservation, is located in the Lewis and Clark Na­tional Forest in northwest Montana.  The Blackfeet ceded the region to the federal government in an 1896 agreement but retained rights to religious use of the area.

For centuries, the Blackfeet have carried out practices in this sacred region that are vital to the Blackfeet culture and people. They have built sweat lodges near Badger Creek, conducted Sun Dances and other ceremonies, buried their dead, gathered tipi poles, collected medicinal herbs and roots and climbed the peaks to conduct fasts and to seek visions and communicate with the Creator.

The Blackfeet pikuni traditionalists association has been fight­ing since 1986 to keep the U.S. Forest Service from allowing oil and gas drilling in the 130,000 acre re­gion. They have argued that oil and gas development will make sacred rites impossible, destroy the re­gion’s spirituality and violate their First Amendment.

BALD AND GOLDEN EAGLES PROTECTION ACT OF 1940. (16 U.S.C. 668-668d). Under this federal act, the Fish and Wildlife Service of the United States Department of the Interior issued regulations restricting the taking, possessing and transporting of bald and golden eagles or their parts.

These regula­tions continue to affect native people who consider the eagle sacred and use it, or its parts, for religious purposes. Arrests have been made, including those of Cheyennes and Arapahoes in the 1970s in Oklahoma.