Great Spirit

The Great Spirit, called Wakan Tanka among the Sioux, and Gitche Manitou in Algonquian, is a conception of universal spiritual force, or supreme being, prevalent among some Native Americans and First Nation cultures. According to Lakota activist Russell Means, a better translation of Wakan Tanka is the Great Mystery.

The Great Spirit was not always what Native Americans believed in. The Great Spirit is a God-like entity that was adopted by Native American religion in the 18th century. The Great Spirit is an “anthropomorphic celestial deity who personally ruled the world and intervened regularly with human affairs” (Cave, 3). He is the God of creation, history and eternity. Before contact with Europeans there was no word in any Native American language that represented a God or a supreme being. Anthropologists have determined that the idea of a "Great Spirit" is wholly an invention of the white man. There are many different prophets of the Great Spirit. While each prophet is made up of different myths each one has the same goal. Each prophet aims at restoration and preservation of a way of Native American life that is diminishing. The Great Spirit is used to guide individuals and their communities with the lessons through the prophets. The Great Spirit is expressed through multiple Native American Tribes which is why each story regarding the Great Spirit is different- they are products of various cultures. Some prophets call for war, while others call for peace. Certain prophets call for acculturation between the Native Americans and whites, while others call for complete segregation.

Two of the most well known prophets' prophecies took place in the early 1800s. The Shawnee Prophet occurred in 1824. Tenskwatawa, a religious and political leader of the Shawnee tribe, warned The Governor of Michigan, Lewis Cass, that the children of the Shawnees tribe would carry the “sacred flame”. This flame would end the world as it was between the Native Americans and Whites. Once the destruction was complete, the Great Spirit would restructure and repopulate the world in the way it was believed that it should be.

Another well-known story happened in 1827 and involves William Clark and Kennekuk, a spiritual leader of the Kickapoo nation. This is known as the Kickapoo Prophet. Kennebunk informed Clark that he must be careful while exploring the land that is now Illinois. This warning was so that the relocation of Kennekuk’s tribe would be delayed. He proclaimed that the Great Spirit would give a sign when it was safe to continue traveling.

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