Vision Quest

The vision quest is a rite of passage practiced among many Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and other regions of North America, most often undertaken by an adolescent as he moves toward adulthood. The practitioner leaves the community alone, travels to an isolated place such as a hilltop, and fasts and prays for a set period, typically several days, seeking a vision or an encounter with a guardian spirit that will reveal his purpose, his adult name, or the source of his personal power. Specific forms and requirements vary considerably by nation, and among the Lakota and related peoples the practice is closely associated with the broader ceremonial complex documented as hanbleceya, crying for a vision, which is often prepared for and followed by purification in a sweat lodge. The vision quest has also been widely, and controversially, adapted and marketed outside its originating cultures as a general wilderness rite of passage, a use that Indigenous communities and scholars have criticized as detached from its specific ceremonial and communal context.