Self-guided practices for grief and hard feelings.
How Minds Work

What is a Native American grief ritual?

By How Minds Work · Updated October 2026 · Sources listed below

Badlands rock formations in South Dakota at golden hour
Short answerThere is no single Native American grief ritual. Hundreds of nations mourn in their own ways, and many practices are private or led by elders and healers. One documented Lakota rite is Keeping of the Soul. The stone ritual you see online is a modern adaptation, not one tribe's ceremony.

Key takeaways

Is there one Native American grief ritual?

No. A 2026 integrative review of 14 articles covering 18 Indigenous groups reported that some grieving and funeral practices are shared across groups and some belong to one group. So a phrase like "the Native American grief ritual" blends many traditions into one.

Many practices are also led by healers, elders or family, and they are not written down for outsiders. That is a reason to learn from the nations themselves.

What is a documented example?

The Lakota rite called Keeping of the Soul, Wanáǧi Yuhápi, is one of the Seven Sacred Rites. The Aktá Lakota Museum describes a lock of hair from the person who died, purified with sweetgrass and wrapped in a buckskin bundle. A Keeper looks after it for about a year, and then a release ceremony is held.

Black Elk described this rite in The Sacred Pipe (1953). It is a ceremony with its own leaders and meaning, so we describe it here and do not offer it as a template. Our longer piece on the rite is on the blog.

Where does the stone-and-river version come from?

The stone-and-river version shared on social media is a modern practice that borrows the idea of feeding the stars. We cover what is and is not documented in our star feeding guide.

It can still be a meaningful reflection practice. It helps to call it what it is: a modern adaptation.

What does research say about rituals and grief?

In three experiments, Norton and Gino (2014) found that rituals after a loss lowered grief, and a greater sense of control helped explain it. A 2021 review of 22 studies on rituals in grief treatment reported significant effects of the treatments overall, though the effects were mostly measured for the whole treatment and not for the ritual alone.

A 2014 review of continuing bonds, the ways people stay connected to someone who died, describes a complex picture. How the bond is seen, the quality of the relationship, and afterlife beliefs all shape whether it helps.

What the research says

Felix et al. (2026): integrative review of 14 articles on 18 Indigenous groups. Some grieving and funeral practices were shared, and some were group-specific.

Norton and Gino (2014): three experiments found that rituals after loss lowered grief, and a greater sense of control helped explain it.

Wojtkowiak, Lind and Smid (2021): a review of 22 studies of rituals in grief treatment. Almost all studies show significant effects of the grief treatment, trauma and related symptoms. However, the effects are mostly measured for the entire treatment and not separately for the ritual intervention.

Root and Exline (2014): the continuing bonds literature is complex, with some contradictory findings. Clarity comes from how the bond is perceived, the pre-death relationship quality and afterlife beliefs.

Try this today

  1. Read about the nation or community you are curious about from sources that nation publishes, such as a tribal museum or cultural center.
  2. Do not use the name of a sacred rite for your own practice. Give your practice its own plain name.
  3. Choose one memory, one small action and one sentence you want to say out loud. Keep it simple.

Want the printable step-by-step version? The paid ritual walks you through gathering small objects, speaking the memory out loud, releasing it, and keeping one as a witness. It is a modern adaptation, not a ceremony from any tribe.

Start your ritual

Common questions

What is the Native American ritual for grief?

There is no single one. Different nations have different practices, and many are private. One documented Lakota rite is Keeping of the Soul.

Is the stone and river ritual a real Native American ceremony?

It is a modern adaptation shared online. The closest documented Lakota rite is Keeping of the Soul, which works differently.

Can anyone do a Native American grief ritual?

Sacred rites belong to the communities that hold them. You can make a personal reflection practice of your own and learn about real rites from Native sources.

Does a grief ritual help even if it is modern?

Experiments by Norton and Gino (2014) found that rituals after loss lowered grief. That work covers rituals in general, so it supports the idea without proving any single version.

Keep reading

References

  1. Aktá Lakota Museum & Cultural Center (St. Joseph's Indian School). Keeping of the Soul (Wanáǧi Yuhápi), one of the Seven Sacred Rites. aktalakota.stjo.org/seven-sacred-rites/wanagi-yuhapi-keeping-of-the-soul/
  2. Felix, R., du Plessis, E., & Jacobs, I. (2026). Identifying Indigenous People's Grieving and Funeral Practices as Components for Establishing a Grief Support Framework: An Integrative Literature Review. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 33(1), 155-173. doi.org/10.1111/jpm.70075
  3. Norton, M.I., & Gino, F. (2014). Rituals alleviate grieving for loved ones, lovers, and lotteries. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143(1), 266-272. doi.org/10.1037/a0031772
  4. Wojtkowiak, J., Lind, J., & Smid, G.E. (2021). Ritual in therapy for prolonged grief: A scoping review of ritual elements in evidence-informed grief interventions. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, 623835. doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.623835
  5. Root, B.L., & Exline, J.J. (2014). The role of continuing bonds in coping with grief: Overview and future directions. Death Studies, 38(1), 1-8. doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2012.712608

This guide is for general information. It is not therapy, medical advice or a treatment. If grief is affecting your sleep, eating, work or safety, talk to a doctor or licensed counselor. In the United States you can call or text 988 at any time.