Robyn Lebron communities throughout North America, producing their own food, clothing, and shelter and developing their own religious forms The first religious ceremonies held in the Americas were conducted by the Holy Men of the tribes that originally settled these lands as far back as ten thousand years ago, perhaps even further The hundreds of tribal groups of North America maintained individual traditions that were adapted to their regional environments, although elements of these traditions were sometimes passed from one group to another through trade, migration, and intermarriage Each community maintained its characteristic worldview, passed down its own myths, conducted its own rituals, and acted according to its own fundamental values Because of this, the most distinctive aspect of American Indian religious traditions is the extent to which they are wholly community-based and may have no real meaning outside of the specific community in which the acts and ceremonies are conducted Unlike Euro-Americans, Indian people not choose which tribal religious traditions they will practice Rather, each of them is born into a community and its particular ceremonial life For most Native Americans, there existed no institutionalized forms of social or political power—no state, no bureaucracy, and no army Native American societies as a rule were egalitarian, without the kinds of centralized authority and social hierarchy typical of modern societies Custom and tradition, rather than law and coercion, regulated social life While there were leaders, their influence was generally based on personal qualities and not on any formal or permanent status Authority within a group derived from the ability to make useful suggestions and knowledge of tribal tradition and lore The term American Indian is one that is veiled in controversy and sometimes even hostility The term got its start when Christopher Columbus used the word Indian to describe the people he discovered on the islands of the Caribbean Sea Unfortunately, Columbus’s discovery of this New World brought an abrupt and tragic end to the lifestyle of the American Indian The new European settlers brought with them the concepts of materialism and land ownership and soon began claiming lands the native tribes had lived on for thousands of years ~ 306 ~