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Through out history, historians have had the ability to pass on the knowledge of the past because of written documents and other forms of evidence that acknowledge the existence of past civilizations and cultures. When there are no written documents, whether lost or never created, it can be more difficult for historians to explain past civilizations. The Native Americans were a group that kept no written records. The information that we know today was passed down from generation to generation through oral traditions. Despite the information we have, there is much more that researchers don’t know about because a considerable amount of information has either been lost or has been impossible to obtain. But from what we already know, historians can conclude there are common characteristics that seem to be shared by all of the Native Americans. I will also include the creation myth of the Osage Indians and the afterlife beliefs of the Lakota Sioux. Although there are many points of contrast, the beliefs of Native Americans are distinguished by some common characteristics (p.54 Nigosian). Some of these characteristics are that they all seem to believe in the existence of a high god or vital force along