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.(Museum of the Native American Resource Center 2006)Youth GroupsChristian denominations often sponsor clubs for adolescents that func-tion as religious societies, conducting activities intended to promote a particu-lar religious faith and to foster the welfare of the faith s adherents.The club saims usually include the goal of attracting converts to the sect.Formal or infor-mal instruction in the religion s doctrine and rituals is typically part of clubactivities.Prior to the 1980s, religious clubs operated only outside of public school sys-tems.However, in 1984 the U.S.Congress passed the Equal Access Act (EAA),primarily because conservative Christians pressed for legislation that wouldpermit the establishment of Bible-study, fellowship, and prayer clubs in publichigh schools.As a result of the act, the number of Christian Bible clubs in pub-lic schools rose from around 100 in 1980 to an estimated 15,000 by 1995(Robinson, 2003).Two representative youth groups that function internation-ally are Young Life and Youth for Christ, which advertise their programs inthe following manner.Young Life operates out of Colorado Springs (Colorado) as a non-profit,non-denominational Christian organization reaching out to teens withprograms in more than 800 communities in the United States and Can-ada and more than 45 countries overseas.More than 100,000 kids areinvolved in Young Life weekly, with more than 1 million kids participat-ing in Young Life throughout the year. ( About Young Life 2006)The aim of Youth for Christ, based in Denver (Colorado), is to share theGood News about Jesus in a way that is relevant to [youth]. The organizationlists ministries in over 200 cities throughout the USA and over 100 countriesaround the world.The young people in every city and every country haveneeds that are somewhat unique to them.For that reason, local YFC ministriesvary from location to location. Youth for Christ conducts two sets of programstitled Campus Life (for high-school students) and Campus Life-M (for middle- 150 The Religions' Componentsschool and junior-high students).The high school version is designed to helpsenior-high young people make good choices, establish a solid foundation forlife, and positively impact their schools.Like every ministry of YFC, CampusLife seeks to engage these young people wherever they are found as life-longfollowers of Jesus Christ.A Campus Life club generally meets in varioushomes each week, hosted by students.In some cities, Campus Life may owna building they use to host club meetings, or have access to a school gym, caf-eteria or classroom, or, less frequently, churches. (Youth for Christ 2006)INDIAN SOCIETIESOrganizations within a tribe qualify as religious societies if they maintainbelief in supernatural spirits that have power to influence events in the world.Virtually all Native American nations have included such societies among theirsocial institutions.Although most societies have been well-known throughout atribe and usually have conducted some form of public activities, they havebeen secret in the sense that members of the general public are excludedfrom societies meetings and are not privy to the groups sacrosanct doctrines.Each society has had its code of behavior, insignia, modes of dress, chants,dances, and medicine bundles.One convenient way to view religious societies is in terms of their types,functions, membership, structure, and status.Types and FunctionsThe two most prominent types of societies have been healing associationsand warrior brotherhoods.Other types have included ones assigned to protectand propagate religious lore, keep historical records, maintain sacred objects,initiate youths into adult status, serve as a vocational guilds, conduct dancesand ceremonies, dramatize myths, and amaze the populace.HEALING SOCIETIESVirtually all Native American bands have maintained one or more medicinesocieties.Typical practices of Indian healers can be illustrated with the Iroquois[Great Lakes] False Face Society.If an ill or injured individual saw a strangeface during a dream, that vision was interpreted as an omen prompting the suf-ferer to summon the False Face Society to conduct a curing ceremony thatinvolved society members appearing at the patient s dwelling wearing fantasticmasks.To cure any sort of ailment, the False Face practitioners circled thepatient, danced to the rhythm of rattles, scooped hot coals from a fire, and blewthe ashes over the sufferer.Patients who recovered were then obliged to jointhe society and create their own masks, usually disguises resembling faces seenin their original dreams (Reader s Digest 1978, 132). Religious Societies 151The Sioux [Great Plains] had multiple Holy Medicine Lodges, each with itsparticular nostrums and songs.Whenever a lodge member died, a novitiatewould be inducted into the order, taught the sacred curative treatments, andissued a set of commands to guide his life such commands as: frequently pre-pare a holy feast for the Supreme Being, never spill the blood of fellow tribemembers, and do not steal others belongings (Eastman 1894 in Clements1986, 215).WARRIOR SOCIETIESEvery Great Plains tribe maintained several military societies that guardedthe community against intertribal raids, fought at the forefront of battles dur-ing a war, maintained order on buffalo hunts, engaged in contests of strengthand endurance, sponsored dances and feasts, celebrated historical events withchants and stories, and displayed their intended identities by wearing distinc-tive costumes.In modern times, older military societies have often been revived, no longerto engage in warfare but, rather, to sponsor community-service activities andpowwows, with the powwows taking the form of gatherings at which partici-pants sing, dance, socialize, and generally have a good time
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