SHO-BAN NAC

The Native American Church of Idaho was organized and incorporated in Idaho on April 2, 1925. It is located on the Fort Hall Reservation in southeast Idaho and its members include enrolled members of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and other federally recognized tribal members, The NAC of Idaho is one of the four oldest chartered Native American Churches in the United States. The peyote ceremony or peyotism, is the oldest continuously practiced religion in the western hemisphere. Its roots have been documented back at least 10,000 years before Christian religions came to the North American continent, and used by the indigenous people of the lower Rio Grande River in the US and Mexico. In about 1923, members of our Tribes, Eugene Diggie, Grant Martin, Peter Jim, and Jack Edmo traveled to Oklahoma, and received the chief peyote and staffs from our relatives of the Comanche Tribe. Since 1923, the Native American Church ceremonies have been held according to the Comanche tradition throughout the Fort Hall Reservation. Our people have used peyote for religious purposes and as healing medicine. NAC ceremonies have helped numerous suffering individuals recover from serious health conditions. Peyote assists numerous Native Americans recover form substance abuse issues plus enhances their ability to pursue their own spiritual path. In addition to other traditional healing ceremonies, peyote plays a vital role in strengthening and healing individuals, families, our community, and our Tribes.