Understanding Indigenous Religions

Indigenous religions are the traditions of peoples rooted in particular lands, from the Arctic to the Amazon, Australia and Africa. There are thousands of them, and scholars warn against lumping them together; yet some common features help outsiders understand them. Many are tied to specific places, such as mountains, rivers and burial grounds, so the land itself is sacred and cannot simply be moved or sold. Knowledge is usually passed on orally, through stories, songs, dances and ceremonies, rather than in written scriptures.

Relationships with ancestors, animals and spirits are often central, and religious life is woven into kinship, healing, hunting and farming rather than separated into a distinct sphere. Historically, colonizers and missionaries often labeled these traditions 'primitive', banned ceremonies and removed children to boarding schools. Many communities today are revitalizing languages and rituals, and international law, such as the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, recognizes their right to practice them.