who were the shamans and what did they do
Shamanism A shaman is someone who is regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of benevolent and malevolent spirits, who typically enters into a trance state during a ritual, and practices divination and healing.[2] The word "shaman" probably originates from the Tungusic Evenki language of North Asia. According to ethnolinguist Juha Janhunen, "the word is attested in all of the Tungusic idioms" such as Negidal, Lamut, Udehe/Orochi, Nanai, Ilcha, Orok, Manchu and Ulcha, and "nothing seems to contradict the assumption that the meaning 'shaman' also derives from Proto-Tungusic" and may have roots that extend back in time at least two millennia.[3] The term was introduced to the west after Russian forces conquered the shamanistic Khanate of Kazan in 1552.
Native American religion Christianity was seen by government officials as a tool in cultural assimilation;[11] many Native American Christians developed a syncretic combination of their traditional belief systems and Christianity, as with the Native American Church. For example, St. David Pendleton Oakerhater (Cheyenne), who was canonized as an Episcopal saint but was a Sun Dancer, as well. According to James Treat, Native American Christians "have constructed and maintained theirÂ ... religious identities with a variety of considerations in mind.... Many native Christians accomplish this identification without abandoning or rejecting native religious traditions."[11]