The Native American Church stands as the most extensive religious movement among Indigenous peoples in North America, revering the peyote cactus, which is found primarily in certain southern regions of Texas and northern Mexico. For centuries, Native Americans have utilized peyote in spiritual ceremonies and as a medicinal resource, recognizing its significance in their traditions.
The cactus contains numerous psychoactive substances, with mescaline being the most notable, known for its hallucinogenic properties. Each tribe that incorporates peyote into its practices has its own name for the plant. Although peyote remains classified as a controlled substance, legal actions taken in 1978 and 1994 have permitted Native Americans to use, harvest, and transport it. Nonetheless, these regulations are applicable only to federally recognized tribes and do not extend to the wider Indigenous population in the United States.
The Native American Church started taking a distinct form around 1885 among the Kiowa and Comanche tribes in Oklahoma and expanded into Canada by 1891. Today, the church comprises over 50 tribes and approximately 400,000 members. Generally, the core tenets of peyotism center around the belief in a supreme God who engages with humanity through various spirits, which carry prayers to the divine. For many tribes, the peyote cactus itself is regarded as a deity, often referred to as the Peyote Spirit.
The incorporation of the Native American Church arose from the need to protect their peyote practices. Unlike a monolithic organization such as the Catholic Church, the Native American Church encompasses a variety of tribes, beliefs, and traditions, all uniting under the peyote ritual. Faced with prohibitions against peyote usage from U.S. government officials in 1888 and subsequently by 15 states, Native American tribes began forming individual local churches in 1918. This move was partly motivated by the encouragement of federal and state authorities for Indigenous people to organize themselves in the religious framework, explained Darrell Red Cloud, a descendant of Chief Red Cloud from the Lakota Nation, who serves as the vice president of the Native American Church of North America.
In the ensuing decades, the faith has flourished, with various churches integrating the image and ideals of Jesus Christ into their worship practices as a means of gaining acceptance for their congregations. According to Steve Moore, a non-Native individual who previously worked as an attorney for the Native American Rights Fund, the incorporation of Christian imagery likely alleviated some scrutiny from authorities, creating an appearance of transformation towards Christianity among Native communities.
Despite the establishment of the Native American Church, persecution against peyote practitioners persisted. Frank Dayish Jr., a former vice president of the Navajo Nation and chairperson for the Council of the Peyote Way of Life Coalition, remembers the challenges faced during the 1960s, when there were prohibitions against peyote in the Navajo Nation. Dayish recounts an incident in which law enforcement seized peyote from his church, dousing it in gasoline and igniting it. He recalls how family members rushed to salvage the untouched peyote.
Advocacy efforts eventually led to an amendment of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act in 1994, which allowed members of federally recognized tribes to utilize peyote for spiritual purposes.
Peyote plays a pivotal role in the Native American Church’s ceremonies, typically performed within a tipi surrounding a crescent-shaped earthen altar and a sacred fire. These ceremonies can extend throughout the night and involve various practices, including prayer, singing, sacramental consumption of peyote, and spiritual reflection.
Morgan Tosee, a leader within the Comanche Native American Church, emphasizes that peyote is consumed in the context of prayer rather than smoked as is commonly believed. “We either eat it dry or grind it up,” he stated, adding that they sometimes prepare it as tea, consumed in small medicinal sips rather than as a typical beverage.
Tosee encapsulates a sentiment widely shared among church members: “If you care for the peyote, it will care for you.” He has observed instances where peyote has aided in the healing of individuals suffering from various conditions. The journey to harvest peyote is approached as a pilgrimage, with members engaging in prayers and ceremonial acts before beginning their quest. Upon arrival at peyote gardens, harvesters express gratitude to the Creator prior to gathering the plant.
The act of consuming peyote is accompanied by prayer and ceremony, with mescaline seen as the embodiment of the divine spirit. Red Cloud remarked, “Once we ingest it, the sacredness of the medicine dwells within us and permits us to see spiritually.” He described how, following the consumption of peyote, the plant reveals its growth locations to the gatherers. After harvesting, participants return home for another ceremony honoring the peyote and expressing gratitude to the Creator.
