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 Native American Church, a religious denomination which practices Peyotism or the Peyote religion, originated in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and is the most widespread indigenous religion among Native Americans. Peyotism involves the use of the entheogen Peyote, a spineless cactus.
[edit] History of the Peyote Religion Peyote was used in the territory of modern Mexico in pre-Columbian times to commune with the spirit world and also as a medicine. From the mid-15th century, the use of peyote spread to the Great Plains area of the United States primarily through the efforts of the Apache people. Peyotism is now practiced in more than 50 Indian tribes and has probably around 250,000 adherents.[1][2] Peyotist beliefs vary considerably from tribe to tribe, belief in Peyote personified as a god called Mescalito by some practitioners, but often include belief in Jesus as a Native American culture hero, an intercessor for man or a spiritual guardian; belief in the Bible; and association of Jesus with Peyote. Peyotists believe in a supreme God. The "Peyote Road" calls for Indian brotherly love (often taking the form of Native American nationalism), family care, self-support through work, avoidance of alcohol, and avoidance of recreational drug use.  Traditionally, peyote is used in pursuit of bona fide religious faith in daily ceremonies, and at all times. Peyote rituals can be conducted by oneself and (it is believed) with the Creator, or with a guide, or in a group, and at any place or time the Spirit or Creator and the participant deem them necessary. Peyote ceremonies are not conducted only in tipis or hogans however, in some cases ceremonies may be limited to a certain number of people but this varies from tribe to tribe. For some chapters of the Native American Church, the peyote ritual begins at 8 p.m. Saturday and continues through the night. The ritual includes prayer, the eating of peyote, Peyote songs, water rituals, and contemplation. It ends with breakfast Sunday morning. The peyote ritual is believed to allow communion with God and the deceased, and to give power, guidance, and healing. The healing may be emotional or physical, or both. 
The Native American Church has affinities with various forms of Christianity and with the values of some forms of Buddhism, such as Zen. Peyotism has faced many legal challenges, affecting both Native Americans and non-Native Americans. In the United States, federal law currently restricts peyote use in religious ceremonies to members of federally recognized tribal entities;[citation needed] and, although the Native American Religious Freedom Act of 1994 and 1996 specifically states that Native Americans are exempt from prosecution under the law, conflicts between those who use peyote in religious ceremonies and state governments have continued in some circumstances. Currently, laws regulating peyote use vary by state, although most follow the stipulations of the Native American Freedom Act. Use of peyote (religious or non-religious) outside of the ceremonies of the Native American Church is far more likely to be viewed as illegal by state authorities. [edit] The Native American Church Movement
 Quanah Parker is credited as the first big leader of the Native American Church, which was introduced to North American tribes in the 1880s, and was formally incorporated in 1918 in Oklahoma. Parker adopted the peyote religion after being gored by a bull in southern Texas and surviving the attack with the help of peyote. Peyote is reported to contain hordenine and tyramine, phenylethylamine alkaloids which act as potent natural antibiotics when taken in a combined form. Parker was given strong peyote tea by a Coahuiltecan Indian curandera who healed him and showed him the proper way to run peyote ceremonies. Therefore, the genesis of modern NAC ceremonies have deep roots in Mexican Indian culture and ritual, due to the natural locality of Peyote and the dissemination by Parker to the Comanche and other plains tribes located in Indian Territory.[3] This key aspect of medicine history is often overlooked with the various generational outlooks of Northern American Indians.[citation needed]. Parker taught that the Sacred Peyote Medicine was the Sacrament given to all Peoples by the Creator, and was to be used with water when taking communion in some Native American Church medicine ceremonies. Parker learned the "half-moon" style of the peyote ceremony from the Lipan Apache leader Chiwat. The Lipan Apache learned the ceremony from the Carrizo Coahuilteco tribe of Southern Texas(Peyote Religion by Omer Stewart). The "cross fire" ceremony (originally called the "Big Moon" ceremony) later evolved in Oklahoma (initially among the Kiowa Indians) due to influences introduced by John Wilson, a Caddo Indian who traveled extensively around the same time as Parker during the early days of the Native American Church movement. The Native American Church was the first truly "American" religion based on Christianity outside of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [edit] The Peyoteros of Southern TexasThe peyote religion evolved an elaborate trade network which has persisted since pre-Columbian times, in Southern Texas, with designated harvesters of the peyote in Rio Grande City, Texas, and Mirando City, Texas. The Peyoteros are a group of closely knit families of Mexican ancestry who have harvested peyote for Native Americans since the early 1700s. The modern peyoteros still harvest peyote in the same manner as their ancestors, with a machete and a very small work crew of young and sometimes old men. Peyote is harvested and dried after the crowns of the plants are removed at ground level; cut at an angle, to allow water to run off. The peyoteros never dig up peyote, but rather cut the tops of the cactus crowns at ground level with a machete. Peyote plants create large taproots with an extensive root system, and the plants slowly regenerate new heads after harvest, often producing a much larger plant after several years of regrowth. Currently, Peyote is being overharvested, seriously endangering the existence of the local populations of peyote. There are only 3 licensed Peyoteros left in Texas, due to overharvesting, and illegal poaching, and strict licensing and tax regulations by the Texas Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Federal government. Two Peyoteros in South Texas are Mauro Morales of Rio Grande City, Texas, and Salvador Johnson of Mirando City, Texas. Indians are permitted to purchase peyote to supply the Native American Church both in person and via US Mails "Restricted Delivery" procedures. Special ceremonies are performed with the harvested and dried peyote medicine in order to bless it for use as a sacrament for Native American Church rituals and ceremonies. All three of the peyoteros are licensed by the United States Drug Enforcement Agency and operate under DEA 225 permits. Peyoteros are also required to be registered with the State of Texas Department of Public Safety, for a fee over $1,200 per year in a poverty stricken area of south Texas. Legitimate Native American Church Branches are required to register with the Texas Department of Public Safety in order to purchase, harvest, transport, or cultivate peyote. Non-Indian churches not affiliated with Federally Recognized Tribal entities are not eligible for registration with the Texas Department of Public Safety at this time. [edit] The Fabled White Peyote of The Grand Canyon and Four Corners Area Archaeological discoveries in Arizona and Southern Texas indicate that peyote has been used by the Southwestern Tribes and their ancestors since antiquity. Peyote has been found carbon dated as 6000 years old in caves in Southern Texas and Arizona. The mummified samples did not resemble modern peyote and were larger and more domed in comparison to modern populations of Lophophora williamsii. These samples also contained up to 6% mescaline by weight even after thousands of years in a desiccated state. Modern Lophophora varieties average 3% mescaline in comparison. The Diné (Navajo) oral traditions and those of other Southwest tribes indicate that a cold tolerant, high altitude variety of peyote existed in the area of the Grand Canyon in ancient times[citation needed], called "white peyote" which was rumored to be of cosmic potency. Recent discoveries and botanical evidence indicates modern Lophophora species may in fact be divergent hybrids of Lophophora diffusa and a species recently named Lophophora brackii[citation needed], a high altitude domed "white" peyote with 'Z' patterns and articulated ribbing that originates from a single population confined to a mountain near Vizarrónan, in the central state of Querétaro, Mexico. Modern Lophophora varieties exhibit pollen structure which ranges from 3-pored pollen in its western ranges up to 9-pored pollen in the Eastern Range where Lophophora decipiens grows under extremely arid conditions: characteristics of a natural hybrid. Lophophora diffusa more closely resembles primitive cacti than the other Lophophora varieties and this species also exists as an isolated population in a mountainous area and is more cold tolerant[citation needed] than Lophophora williamsii populations. Currently, Peyote is on the Endangered Species List in Mexico, but not in the U.S. where it is less abundant. It is currently illegal to harvest peyote species in Mexico as all Cacti are protected under CITES and the Mexican Government has enacted strict laws to protect native cactus species. [edit] See also[edit] References
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