Honoring Native Americans
The Prayer Vigil for the Earth honors North American native traditions in several ways:
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First, through constructing in a blessing way the Sacred Circle or Hoop as a container for two days of Prayer Vigil activities. This represents the earth in and as an integral part of the universe. |
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Second, by making and tending the Sacred Fire at the center of the Hoop for the duration of the Prayer Vigil. Fire is symbolic of the Sun. The Sacred Fire belongs to everyone, no matter what tradition, nation, gender, or race. Third, by acknowledging and offering prayers to the four cardinal directions that orient us to our place on Earth and the place of the Earth each day in the cosmos. Further, the entrance way to the Prayer Vigil is at the Eastern point of the Hoop, the place where the Sun rises each morning, a time of gratitude and hope. |
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Fourth, by providing the Sacred Plants for prayers at the Sacred Fire – tobacco, sage, and cedar. Throughout the Prayer Vigil at any time day or night, participants offer their prayers as they cast small amounts of one or more of these into the Fire. In these ways we honor Native American Wisdom that forms a large part of the sacred Mandala of their beliefs. |
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