Vision Quest: Native American Rites of Passage

Native Americans believe we've been put on Earth for a special reason, but we often don't know why we feel lost and confused without this knowledge. That's why Native Americans are pursuing a vision quest to open the door to the spiritual world and help us find our way through life.

A dream quest is a very common practice in Native American and is usually made up of a series of Elders-led ceremonies. A vision quest is an attempt often through the process of fasting, isolation, and meditation to achieve a vision of a future guardian spirit. This concept is strongly associated with the animism ideology of the Native American Indian, which is based on the idea that all life has a soul or spirit – including animals and plants.

Journey to the Vision Quest

When a boy is young, he must try to understand his purpose in life. Therefore, he has to experience a quest for vision. The boy wouldn't know what his role would be in the tribe; if he had an unsuccessful quest for vision, his life would be much less. The first time we go for a dream, not everyone gets a sight hunt. Many people can take their first vision two or three times. But you have your power for life once you have a good quest.

A vision quest for Native Americans is a rite of passage, one of the most important events in one's life. It means that a person leaves one community to join another, causing a significant change in society's status.

The young boy must first meet a medicine man before a dream quest can take place to ask if he can follow the spiritual path and find the answers to his questions. If the medicine man agrees, both go to the sweat lodge of the village so that the boy can purify his soul so that he can fulfill his spirit animal.

For four days and nights, the process includes a full fast. First, for this reason, the boy must go alone to a sacred site in nature chosen by the Elders. This sacred site usually sits in the middle of a circle of rocks about ten feet wide. The young boy has to spend the next two or four days in life becoming one. The young man will have a dream after a while in which he will encounter spirit animal. He signals the end of the search for sight and the boy is free to return to the tribe. A vision quest can also be performed later in life when he needs guidance.

The first time you can't always get a vision quest. The process sometimes has to be repeated twice or three times before a vision can be obtained. What's crucial to Native Americans is that you know your purpose in life once you have a dream quest and can help the world. A searching for a dream is not about having fun playing games. The ultimate goal is to achieve life's power.

 It should be remembered that a vision quest can only be carried out by boys.

The first time we go for a vision quest, not everyone gets "vision". Many people can take their first vision two or three times. But you have your strength for life once you have a successful quest.

Written by James Miranda