Many indigenous nations, tribes, bands, and communities have unique religions, and although it is difficult to generalize across such a large spectrum, there are certain themes that are useful for the purposes of understanding legal claims involving indigenous religions. For instance, many indigenous religions are place based, centering on a principle of stewardship toward a specific place, like a sacred mountain, river, lake, or geological feature. For place-based indigenous religions, essential religious practices may include pilgrimages and prayer, meditation, and other acts designed to engage and fortify spiritual communion with the place. The religious teachings of these faiths may hold that the sacred place played a role in the origin of the tribe and that it continues to be an essential foundation of the tribe’s well-being.