What we’re about
We honor the Earth, our present cultures, and our many past cultures by teaching and practicing meditation, solitarily and in groups, and by using a variety of available plant medicines to induce visionary states that allow us to develop a personal relationship with our Creator. In the custom of ancient Native American ancestors, we accept the use of any and all available resources to pursue a relationship with the divine so that we may bring back knowledge, wisdom and understanding to our individual lives, our families, our communities, and our larger societies. In the realm of natural and human creation, we seek to let nothing go to waste. To honor those who have come before us, and to provide sustainability for future generations to come, we strive to see every resource as valuable and useful.
Our Core Values:
Faith, Charity, Respect, Humility, Honor, Gratitude, and Forgiveness.
A Native American Church does not dictate a specific style of building, although it may make use of one.
A Native American Church does not dictate a specific set of stories, teachings, or scriptures, although it may make use of them.
A Native American Church does not dictate a specific recipe for plant medicines, although it may make use of them.
A Native American Church does not dictate a specific style of speaking, a specific way of dressing, or any number of cultural expressions, which may or may not be practiced by members of the church.
Each individual is encouraged to cultivate their own individual goals in their personal, professional, and spiritual pursuits.
It is understood that each person is responsible for his or her own spiritual development, but it is the community of the church that provides support for everyone to learn and grow in understanding in a meaningful way.
There is a fundamental truth that all people are entitled to inalienable rights as children of the Creator. Some of those rights include the freedom of thought, religion, speech, education, and methods of healing. In Native American Tradition, as long as our rights do not stop others from enjoying their same rights, we were free to follow the life path of choice.
The intelligence that was bestowed upon us has given us the ability to take charge of our own lives, treat others with respect, defend our rights, live a peaceful life, and to insure the blessings of our Native American culture, traditions, teachings, and so forth, for ourselves and our children.
Our rights allow everyone a great variety in which to express our culture, our religion, and ourselves. We desire to not only preserve the Ceremonies and Traditional Practices of the Native Americans, but to also preserve the Ceremonies and Traditional Practices of all Indigenous Peoples. We see by joining with our brothers and sisters throughout the world, healing of the people and planet can occur.
Because we are a Living Church with the ability to encompass the entire world with our membership, we are open to all Ceremonies and Traditional Practices that “First, Do Good”.
Our Ceremonies first manifest themselves from the promptings of the Great Spirit. We have found regular practice of the Ceremonies enhance the participant's ability to Walk in Faith, Gratitude, Humility, Charity, Respect, Honor and Forgiveness and to assist in living with honor and respect for all their relations. This respect leads to a responsible and peaceful existence on this planet.
It is perfectly acceptable to be a member of another organized religion and still be a member of our Church. The Native American Church does not dictate any official religious dogma over their Healers, but allows individuals to exercise the freedom the Creator has given them. All Medicine Men and Medicine Women follow the calling of their own hearts and choose to practice bona fide Traditional Ceremonies from different cultures around the world.
OUR VISION is for all to understand and benefit from the amazing and natural power of Mother Earth and Father Sky, ensuring sustainability for future generations by educating, celebrating and responsibly practicing ancient healing traditions of the human race.
• Our primary sacrament and medicine is, and always has been Peyotè.
• ONAC does NOT believe in mixing medicines in ceremony but does have a deep and genuine respect for the medicinal bounty that Mother Earth provides for her children and embraces all earth-based medicines in our doctrine, regardless of other NAC religious practices.
Our commitment in this effort is to:
• Provide guidance and support in the protection of the integrity, intent and sovereign rights of the Mother Church, its branches and its cultivation centers.
• Establish, monitor and ensure compliance with ONAC operational policies and procedures (including training, communications and continuous improvement).
• Seek to foster and nurture every opportunity to unite Native American churches and people in the stand for the freedom to practice and share in the healing powers of earth-based- medicine (sacraments) and empower all that subscribe to and believe in Native American traditions.
• Encourage and empower the ONAC community of branch and cultivation center leadership teams
• Develop curriculum and establish programs for the training and official recognition of medicine men and women
• Continue to maintain accurate member records
• Manage ONAC website and social media content.
Develop, manage and maintain the centralized operations systems (i.e. ONAC member apps, database, etc.)
In closing, given the current political state of the world, ONAC is a firm believer in embracing the responsibility and uniting with all that share the same goal of being effective stewards in the protection of Mother Earth, honoring her, our hearths and our homes. If we want to heal the world, we must heal nations. To heal nations, we must heal communities. To heal communities we must heal individuals and families. That is the work we are engaged in. Anyone who puts personal power or profit ahead of that intention is not well-suited to be part of our work.