The Rev. Dr. Kara Hawkins is the American Indian Spirituality member for the GKCIC. To contact Rev. Hawkins call 816-509-7984 or email karahawk@aol.com.

American Indian Spirituality as an oral tradition has no identifiable point of time origin and survives through its keepers who share and pass down the ancestral teachings. More a way of life than a religion, American Indian Spirituality is a shared cultural view that understands that the good health of one’s family and community is dependent upon each individual’s good relationship, alignment and harmony with Great Spirit and all of Creation. One is taught to observe harmony and balance in nature, and to strive for that harmony and balance in one’s own life. It is believed that as one comes into harmony and balance and good relationship with All That Is, wellness of body, mind, spirit and emotions will come to pass, not only for one’s self, but for all of one’s family, extended family kinships and community.

Spiritual leaders, healers and keepers of the oral tradition are recognized as such within their community and in other Native communities by their activities, their relationships and their personal service within the community. While there are no holy books, sacred writings, or religious authorities that mandate tenets of faith for adherents to follow, the keepers of American Indian Spirituality pass down the teachings through storytelling, language and ceremony. One does not become a keeper, spiritual leader or healer by going to school or receiving certification or a degree. Rather than by exacting personal selection as a vocation or community position, spiritual leaders, keepers and healers are usually the result of individual inspiration. Through prayer, the inspired individual acquires a practicing mentor for a life-long apprenticeship. The mentor will, over the course of time, share traditional knowledge with the apprentice and the application of the knowledge for appropriate ritual and ceremony that are applied with traditional teachings and understandings of the mentor of his environment and of his Creator/Higher Power.

Though there are more than 2.5 million Americans who are descendants of the original inhabitants of this country, not all Native Americans adhere to or support traditional beliefs. For those who do, there is much regional diversity in ceremonial and healing practices. There are 558 recognized tribes in 35 states in the United States. The largest tribe is the Navajo, or Dine´, with an estimated population of 250,000.