Honoring Our Mother Earth:
Experiences in Native American Spirituality

By Tirrell H. Kimball with Gina Orlando

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Theme and Description

This program teaches young people the need to revere and preserve all living things. While it draws on the authors' understandings of Native American spirituality, it is not a study of Native American cultures and religions. Experiential in approach, it uses ceremonies and rituals, myths and stories, song and dance, and arts and crafts.

Goals for Participants

To feel connected to nature and the earth;
To respect all living things;
To explore and appreciate aspects of Native American heritage.

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Age Range

5-12

Size of Group

Very flexible

Space Requirements

A large area, inside or out, for the opening circle ceremony. Areas or rooms for four "tribes," or small groups, to meet.

Number and Length of Sessions

6 sessions, one optional
Length: 1 hour

Leader Training

No special training, but requires a minimum of four leaders for the four tribes. Some leaders must be able to lead songs and supervise crafts.

Leader Preparation

2-4 hours per session

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Strengths

Opening circle and tribes build community. Includes an engaging variety of crafts and other activities. Uses many learning styles. Includes references and resources.

Limitations

Leaders need to do significant background reading about Native American cultures or be comfortable with the brief material in this program;
As with any use of Native American material by non-Native Americans, there is a danger of insensitivity, oversimplification, or misrepresentation.

Adaptability

Can be used with a wide age span, which is especially useful in small church schools;
Can be used with intergenerational groups from ages 5 through adult.

Unitarian Universalist Values

Specifically addresses the seventh Principle, "Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part," and draws from the Source "Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature."

Reviewed on June 30, 1996

Unitarian Universalist Association
25 Beacon St. | Boston, MA 02108 | 617-742-2100