Great Plains Studies, Center for
Date of this Version
Winter 1999
Document Type
Article
Citation
Great Plains Quarterly Vol. 19, No. 1, Winter 1999, pp. 23-34.
Abstract
"S acred mountains, of whatever culture, become merchandise in the dark age that is enveloping the planet. The voices of the spirits are falling silent beneath the roar of the machines that bleed the land and poison the waters and the air. A country, however powerful at the moment, that does not honor and preserve its sacred places is not fit for survival." So states a Lakota man when asked to describe the importance of sacred places to his culture. Sacred places, recognized by indigenous peoples worldwide, are highly esteemed by particular individuals or groups and are perceived to be fundamentally different from other places in the environment. Today, secular activities occur on and around these sites, and because these sites enjoy no true protective legislation, their sacredness is in danger of desecration.
Historically, the United States government suppressed Indian religions because they were believed to inhibit the "Indian's progress toward civilization." Moreover, since land is intrinsically important to American Indian cultures, the expropriation of Indian land has had a profound effect on the practice of traditional religions.
Paradoxically, this suppression of religious freedom occurs in a country that holds as one of its basic tenets the freedom of religion, protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. In principle, the First Amendment free exercise clause safeguards "beliefs which are based upon a power or being, or upon a faith, to which all else is subordinate or upon which all else is ultimately dependent, whether or not they are shared by an organized group."
However, American Indian religions are rarely protected by the First Amendment. Indian people have applied for First Amendment protection of their holy grounds at the judicial level and have lost every case.
In 1978 Congress enacted the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA) in recognition of past restraints on traditional Native American religions. These restraints were violating the First Amendment by denying Indians the right to believe, exercise, and express their traditional religious practices, including access to sacred sites and the possession of sacred objects.
Comments
Copyright 1999 by the Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln