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Personal Animal totems for
an individual are called Power Animals. They are spirits which protect, help,
and guide one everyday.
Animal totem objects when
placed in the environment or worn or carried, create positive energy and result
in a blessings and remembrance linkage with the animal totem that results in
constructive lessons and actions.
There are many ways to
determine one's clan based on tribal customs. In some tribes a person takes
their mother's clan. In some tribes a person takes their father's clan. In some
tribes a person undergoes a visionquest or a fast until the personal clan is
known.
In some tribes, one's clan is verified by a Medicine Person with the Gift
of Clans; and in some tribes a child feels connected to and drawn to a clan from
infancy.
The Visionquest is a private
and important coming of age ceremony which requires a preparatory period of
fasting, meditation, and physical challenge.
Fasting is usually undergone
during the spring and fall under the guidance of an Elder (who provides the
ceremonial surroundings and acts as guide), fasting from all food and drink for
a period of time is a time-honored way to quicken spirituality.
Fasting takes place at a
location envisioned in a dream by the person fasting, a place where the answer
to a question will be seen in a dream or in a vision or in an moment of clear
understanding. Afterward the Fasting Ceremony is completed, a Medicine Person or an Elder or a group of Elders confirms the results... Continue on Go back
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Native American Sacred Hoop Visionquest 
