Deck 1: Native American Religions

Question 1

The Wintu tale in the text details

A) the Europeans' irreverence when it came to the natural world.
B) how the Europeans brought disease to America.
C) Native Americans' plans to keep away from white people.
D) Native Americans' plans to begin a war with Europeans.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

What group appeals to Native Americans because its members believe that Native Americans are children of the lost tribes of Israel and that Jesus preached in the Americas after his resurrection?

A) Mormons
B) Jehovah's Witnesses
C) Catholic missionaries
D) Jews

Answer 2

Mormons

Question 3

During menstruation, a woman was kept away from ordinary society because

A) she was thought to be "unclean."
B) she was thought to be depressed and harmful to the group.
C) she was thought to possess unusual power.
D) she was thought to be a witch.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

During certain rituals, Native Americans smoke tobacco by placing it in a

A) pipe.
B) tube.
C) glass bowl.
D) hollowed-out stick.

Question 5

Which of the following is true of Native American religious leadership?

A) Only priests are allowed to perform rites and rituals.
B) There is rampant use of sacrifice.
C) Native American religions do not have a priesthood.
D) Only women are allowed to perform rites and rituals.

Question 6

To the traditional Native American, sickness is caused by what in the body?

A) an evil spirit
B) a psychological imbalance
C) a foreign object
D) poison

Question 7

Of the following, which is true of Native American hunting practices, especially in early America?

A) Native Americans weren't known as prodigious hunters.
B) The Native American style of hunting led to the destruction of bison herds.
C) Native Americans used only the meat of the animal and discarded the rest.
D) Native American hunters prayed to the spirit of the animal before the hunt.

Question 8

The ritual in which a young person is sent into the wilderness alone to seek a vision from the spirit world is known as a

A) baptism.
B) confirmation.
C) rite of passage.
D) vision quest.

Question 9

This group blends Christianity and the peyote cult and boasts 225,000 members.

A) Sioux Church of North America
B) Native American Congress
C) Native American Church
D) Church of Latter-Day Saints

Question 10

This religion, popular among the tribes in the Great Plains, combined elements of traditional Native American religions with Christianity.

A) Wovoka
B) Ghost Dance
C) Sun Dance
D) Native American Christianity

Question 11

Compared to Native Americans, how did Europeans who came to the Americas look upon nature and the land?

A) They revered the land as much as the Native Americans did.
B) They looked upon nature as something to be exploited and used.
C) They were unwilling to sacrifice the beauty of the land and nature to survive.
D) They enjoyed the unknowns of nature.

Question 12

Which of the following best describes Native American religions?

A) animistic
B) monotheistic
C) panistic
D) polytheistic

Question 13

This concept refers to cultural and religious rules of avoidance.

A) taboo
B) sacrifice
C) penance
D) self-flagellation

Question 14

What is a medicine bundle?

A) herbs and teas wrapped in canvas that are used during healing rituals
B) a talisman given to young men heading into battle
C) a collection of animal hides and bones, plants, and minerals that are believed to be a source of spiritual power
D) a fetish carried by medicine men

Question 15

This ritual, performed by the native peoples of the Great Plains, requires self-torment or sacrifice.

A) Rain Dance
B) Sun Dance
C) Snow Dance
D) Spring Harvest Dance

Question 16

What is one reason for the reverent attitude that Native American cultures have toward nature?

A) Native American survival depended on living close and in balance with nature.
B) The connection to nature is expressed religiously.
C) Trees, rocks, rivers, plants, and animals are often believed to be spiritually alive.
D) Animals and plants are believed to hold the spirit of their ancestors.

Question 17

According to Native American belief, the land of the dead is often portrayed as

A) a continuation of this current life on another plane of existence.
B) an exalted heavenly place.
C) an eternal punishment in hell.
D) reincarnation in another creaturely form.

Question 18

The vision quest is a reward by which a young person seeks

A) advancement.
B) to gain special power.
C) unity with nature.
D) hallucinations.

Question 19

Which of the following is the best way to describe the purpose of Native American ceremonies and rituals?

A) They are performed to chase away evil spirits.
B) They are a means of communicating with the deceased.
C) They are a means of renewing the partnership between humans and the spirit world.
D) They are performed to bring rain to the earth.

Question 20

The Lakota (Sioux) belief in Wakan Tanka is an example of the abstract understanding of the

A) Earth Mother.
B) Holy Son.
C) High God.
D) Holy Trinity.

Question 21

Why is peyote a part of some Native American religious ceremonies?

A) because of its profound sensory and psychic experiences
B) because of its anti-anxiety properties
C) because of its ability to be inhaled easily
D) because the High God requires that it be used

Question 22

Traditional Native Americans believe that the soul exists in the land of the dead

A) for as long as the living remember the deceased.
B) until the deceased's last ancestor has passed.
C) until the deceased is seen in a vision quest.
D) always.

Question 23

Discuss how contact with non-native cultures influenced the development of Native American religions.

Question 24

Among the Yaqui of Arizona, why is Jesus Christ often associated with the deer?

A) because Jesus is often represented as a deer in illustrations
B) because the Yaqui believe Jesus was reincarnated as a deer
C) because of the gentleness of both the man and the animal
D) because both represent a sacrifice so humans may live and prosper

Question 25

Describe the meaning of music and dance in Native American religion.

Question 26

In what kinds of philosophies and religious movements do non-native people express a growing interest in Native American arts and religion?

A) Fundamentalist
B) New Age
C) Pentecostal
D) Animistic

Question 27

Explain why it is difficult to neatly categorize Native American religions as polytheistic, monotheistic, or monistic.

Question 28

Discuss several challenges involved in studying Native American religions.

Question 29

List some major taboos in Native American religion and explain their rationales.

Question 30

Which of the following is true of medicine men and women in Native American culture?

A) They are empowered to heal and can also curse and bring sickness.
B) They believe that sickness is caused by negativity in the sick person's mind.
C) Spirits take possession of them before they can heal.
D) The designation of "medicine man" was given to them by the High God.