The Native American Church was incorporated as a religion on October 10, 1918, with the help of Quanah Parker, the last Chief of the Comanche Nation. There are two divisions of the church, one known as Half Moon the other as Crossfire. Both sects incorporate Christian teachings into their ceremonies. Crossfire uses the Bible and sermons are preached similar to Protestant services. Half Moon does not use the Bible.
Each sect is recognized by the altars that they construct. Half Moon uses a packed earth, crescent-shaped altar on the floor. Crossfire builds the same altar but digs a crossed ditch across the crescent and fills it with live coals. Peyote is the main sacrament of the Native American Church. During a ceremony 4 to 30 peyote buttons are ingested per person. Some people have been known to eat as many as 90 buttons while drumming and singing peyote songs.
