Abstract: What makes something sacred to Indigenous peoples? One commonality to Indigenous peoples of North America is the belief in large underwater beings—serpents or panthers—that can influence the lives of humans. Haudenosaunee (People of the Longhouse) in upstate New York have a special regard for certain places significant in their oral tradition. Whenever the Haudenosaunee gather, they give thanks for all the seen and unseen spirit forces of life. This is their acknowledgment of the spiritual energy that still populates the landscape. The earth has the regenerative power to overcome the stains of colonization.
Richard W. Hill (Fri,) studied this question.