A vision quest is a rite of passage in some Native American cultures.
In many Native American groups, the vision quest is a turning point in life taken before puberty to find oneself and the intended spiritual and life direction. When an older child is ready, he or she will go on a personal, spiritual quest alone in the wilderness, often in conjunction with a period of fasting.[1] This usually lasts for a number of days while the child is attuned to the spirit world.[1] Usually, a Guardian animal or force of nature will come in a vision or dream, and give guidance for the child's life.[1] The child returns to the tribe, and once the child has grown, will pursue that direction in life. After a vision quest, the child may become an apprentice of an adult in the tribe of the shown direction (Medicine Man, boatmaker and so on).
The vision quest is the learning and initiation process of the apprentice under the guidance of an elders.[1]
The vision quest may be said to make the initiated establish contact with a spirit or force. Psychologically, it may have effected hallucinations. When talking to Yellow Wolf, Lucullus Virgil McWhorter came to believe that the person fasts, and stays awake and concentrates on their quest until their mind becomes "comatose."[1] It was then that their Weyekin (Nez Perce word) revealed itself.[1]
Not just found among American Indians, Eskimo peoples also participated in this tradition.[2] For them the technique may be similar to sensory deprivation methods. It may include long walking on uninhabited, mountainous areas (tundra, inland, mountain); fasting; sleep deprivation; or being closed in a small room (e.g. igloo).