medicine lodge

American  

noun

1. a structure used for various ceremonials of North American Indians.

2. (initial capital letters) the most important religious society among the central Algonquian tribes of North America.

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medicine lodge British  

noun

1. a wooden structure used for magical and religious ceremonies among certain North American Indian peoples

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Etymology

Origin of medicine lodge

First recorded in 1800–10

Example Sentences

No water is brought into the medicine lodge and when water is brought, it is covered.

From The Sun Dance of the Blackfoot Indians by Wissler, Clark

Besides the communal houses the village contained its "medicine lodge," or council house, and an open area for games and ceremonies.

From The Discovery of America Vol. 1 (of 2) with some account of Ancient America and the Spanish Conquest by Fiske, John

In the medicine lodge they sing until a little before day-break.

From The Sun Dance of the Blackfoot Indians by Wissler, Clark

The medicine lodge of the Indians stood just within the sliding-panel of the stockade.

From The Plow-Woman by Gates, Eleanor

Somewhat of this form was the "medicine lodge," described by Kane.

From Villages of the Algonquian, Siouan, and Caddoan Tribes West of the Mississippi by Bushnell, David Ives