[Brenda Collins Dillon]

Native Americans

Many native peoples believe that death is the beginning of a journey into the next world. Since one’s spirit often needs help to make this journey, strict rules may govern the behaviour of the living relatives of the deceased so as to ensure the departed a good start in their journey to the other world. Some Potawatomi, for instance, continue their ancient tradition of setting a place for the spirit of the deceased person at a funeral feast, in order for the spirit of the deceased to be able to partake of the spirit food.

Among the Yuchi, who are politically recognised as part of the Creek Nation of Oklahoma and number less than one thousand, Christian burial customs are occasionally interwoven with Yuchi traditions. These may include placing personal items such as a hunting rifle, a blanket and some tobacco in an adult male’s coffin before interment. This reflects the Yuchi belief that one’s needs in the afterlife is not significantly different from those in our present life.

While Native beliefs assert that death is not necessarily the termination of life, the bereaved still mourn the absence from this life of the one who has died. Many tribes restrict what bereaved relatives can eat or what kind of activities they can engage in after the death of a loved one. This represents a sacrifice by the living for those who have moved on in the circle of life.

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