“Native and non-Native people nationwide gather at this time for Solstice ceremonies and to honor sacred places,” said Suzan Shown Harjo (Cheyenne & Hodulgee Muscogee). She is President of The Morning Star Institute, which organizes the National Sacred Places Prayer Days. “Ceremonies are being conducted as Native American peoples engage in legal struggles with federal agencies that side with developers that endanger or destroy Native sacred places,” said Ms. Harjo. “Once again, we call on Congress to build a door to the courts for Native nations to protect our traditional churches. Many sacred places are being damaged because Native nations do not have equal access under the First Amendment to defend them.”

All other peoples in the United States can use the First Amendment to protect their churches, but the Supreme Court closed that door to Native Americans in 1988. The Court, in the 23 years from 1988 to 2011, has declined to allow federal religious freedom statutes to be used to protect Native American sacred places or the exercise of Native American religious freedom at sacred places.

National Sacred Places Prayer Days organizer Suzan Shown Harjo makes special note of the recent fight over stopping the expansion of a ski resort on the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona (an issue I’ve covered at some length here), which involves creating fake snow from treated wastewater. A coalition of local indigenous groups and Tribal Nations see this as a desecration that would be “like putting death on the mountain.” In the official National Sacred Places Prayer Days press release (PDF) special mention is given to the San Francisco Peaks fight, making plain that they’ve brought their concerns directly to President Obama at a December 2010 tribal leaders meeting. Indian Country Today, which has been running a special series on Native sacred places in conjunction with these days of prayer, has also highlighted this specific struggle.

“Ben Shelly, Navajo Nation president, is apologetic yet determined when it comes to one of the country’s special places, a place he calls “very important.” He is one of the leaders in the fight to protect the San Francisco Peaks—sacred to more than 13 Southwestern tribes—from using treated sewage water for artificial snowmaking at the Arizona Snowbowl Ski Resort near Flagstaff. [...]  “In the city of Flagstaff, some of the people there are starting to voice concerns that the wastewater is not going to meet the [snowmaking] needs—they are kind of afraid drinking water will be used,” Shelly said, explaining that millions of gallons might be required to create just two feet of artificial snow over the ski season. The Navajo Nation may retain its own attorney on water issues and on what he said was the unsatisfactory level of government-to-government consultation by the Forest Service, which approved the snowmaking and authorized the start of construction on conveyance pipes even as it scheduled a first-time “listening session” with a Hopi group.”

While many tribal peoples are pleased with the Obama administration signing the Tribal Law and Order Act and Obama’s willingness to support the (not legally binding) United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, they are unhappy with the anti-sacred sites stance of his Justice Department and are asking for Obama to push for a “right of action” under the First Amendment to protect sacred lands (something the Supreme Court ruled Native peoples and tribes do not have in 1988).

“The President has been asked directly to call on Congress to create a right of action so we can defend our holy places, to improve the Executive Order for Indian Sacred Sites and to stop the Forest Service and other agencies from continuing their decades-long assault against Native sacred places,” said Ms. Harjo. “I’m still optimistic that the President will do these things, but not everyone is as hopeful as I am. Nonetheless, we pray that this will be the last year we are denied justice by the Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches.”

I personally feel that solidarity with Native peoples and tribes on issues like this are essential. Something that goes straight to the core of many of our own values and beliefs. The encroachments and construction on sacred lands is often done in the arbitrary name of economic development, or sometimes just for simple convenience (to non-Native folks of course). During hearings for the ski resort expansion on San Francisco Peaks a government lawyer displayed shocking levels of cultural insensitivity comparing sacred plants gathered on the mountain to “herbs at health food stores.” For some politicians it seems very plain there is no such thing as sacred land at all. However, we know there are consequences and a price to the eradication or desecration of sacred ground, whether it is Tara in Ireland or the peaks in Arizona.

Uncontacted Indians in Brazil, May 2008
© Gleison Miranda/FUNAI

“There are more than one hundred uncontacted tribes worldwide, with more than half living in either Brazil or Peru. All are in grave danger of being forced off their land, killed and decimated by new diseases. Survival has launched an urgent campaign to get their land protected…”

Now a third party, evangelical Christian missionaries, have weighed in on the subject of these tribes. Unsurprisingly, they want to foray in and “contact” them with the love of Christ, damn the consequences (such as decimating them with disease).

“It’s hard to understand how providing medical care and literacy is exploitation, especially among indigenous groups where the life expectancy of men and women is lower than average and suicide rates among youth are alarmingly high, but New Tribes and other mission organizations may face increasing opposition as governments like Venezuela’s and Brazil’s restrict outside access to tribes. In the process, those governments seem to be promoting the ideology of the “noble savage” and assuming it’s in the best interests of indigenous people to have no access to the modern world, or to the gospel.”

The article also casts aspersions on Venezeula for kicking them out, despite a long history of missionary groups (particularly New Tribes Mission) committing acts of ethnocide, espionage, and outright insurrection in the country. These Christian missionary groups are also not fond of the recent Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the United Nations, which enshrines the right to religious integrity.

“The UN Declaration, adopted in September of 2007, grants broad national rights to natives and contains language that could cause problems for … missionaries.”

What sorts of “care” and “literacy” would groups like New Tribes Mission provide if allowed to evangelize these Indians? Here is a quote from a typical “teaching session” given to a recently contacted tribe.

“As John taught about the Ten Commandments he held up a mirror, showing the Ayores how he could look into it and see himself. Then he took mud and spread it all over his face. The people thought it was hilarious, but John brought out the seriousness of the lesson. He told them how, in the mirror, he could see the dirt all over his face and that God’s Law was like a mirror. It showed people how they are dirty (sinful) before God.”

You see, indigenous people need to be taught that they are dirty sinners (under constant divine surveillance), and that only conversion will get them “clean”. I can’t see how we could deny the missionaries this opportunity, after all, according to Pope Benedict they are “silently longing” for it! So remember, according to missionaries, cultural and religious integrity, freedom from diseases they have no immunity to, and land rights come second to the old carrot/stick scenario of “progress” in exchange for your soul.
]]> http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2008/06/let-us-convert-uncontacted-tribes.html/feed 7 http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2007/09/landmark-un-declaration-on-indigenous.html http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2007/09/landmark-un-declaration-on-indigenous.html#comments Fri, 14 Sep 2007 15:00:00 +0000 Jason Pitzl-Waters http://patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2007/09/landmark-un-declaration-on-indigenous-rights-adopted.html A historic United Nations declaration concerning the rights of indigenous peoples was adopted yesterday. This document, which from its first inception took over twenty years to gain approval, is a strong statement affirming the basic rights of indigenous populations to self-determination and freedom from human rights abuses.

“The declaration affirms the equality of the more than 370 million indigenous peoples and their right to maintain their own institutions, cultures and spiritual traditions. It also establishes standards to combat discrimination and marginalization and eliminate human rights violations against them.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the only four countries to vote against the declaration (143 for, 11 abstentions) were Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. Four countries that have troubled legal and moral histories with their own indigenous populations.

“Several detractors also warned that the declaration set a poor precedent, calling the text confusing and unclear. “We’re not standing against the issue,” said Benjamin Chang, a spokesman for the U.S. Mission to the U.N. “We want one that is universal in its scope and can be implemented. What was done today is not clear. The way it stands now is subject to multiple interpretations and doesn’t establish a clear universal principal.” Australia’s U.N. Ambassador Robert Hill said the declaration failed to meet standards “that would be universally accepted, observed and upheld.” He said “Australia continues to have many concerns with the text.” The U.S. and Australia said sponsors excluded them from negotiations where agreement was reached on the amended text.”

Yes, I can see how ensuring minimum standards of human rights for indigenous populations could be “confusing” to nations with a history of treating indigenous peoples as sub-human. But while some countries grouse over their “concerns” with the document, a mood of jubilation was evident among indigenous peoples and their supporters.

“Botswana Bushman Jumanda Gakelebone of First People of the Kalahari said today, ‘We would like to say that we are really very happy and thrilled to hear about the adoption of the declaration. It recognises that governments can no longer treat us as second-class citizens, and it gives protection to tribal peoples so that they will not be thrown off their lands like we were.’ Kiplangat Cheruiyot of Kenya’s Ogiek tribe said today, ‘With the adoption of the declaration, the lives of indigenous peoples will be improved on an equal footing with the rest of world citizens.’”

In addition to addressing issues of territory and racism, the document also enshrines the basic right to religious integrity.

“Indigenous peoples have the right to manifest, practice, develop and teach their spiritual and religious traditions, customs and ceremonies; the right to maintain, protect, and have access in privacy to their religious and cultural sites; the right to the use and control of their ceremonial objects; and the right to the repatriation of their human remains.”

I for one welcome this landmark declaration, and hope it is only the beginning towards redressing the gross injustices perpetrated on indigenous and Native peoples around the world. One hopes this declaration will move steadily towards becoming binding International Law*.

Further coverage: Indianz, BBC, Xinhua, Crosswalk, IWGIA, Toronto Star, AFP, Inner City Press, NewstalkZB, Indian Country, Truthdig

* It should be noted that this declaration isn’t binding, and the UN can’t legally “force” any country to comply with its language. It, like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is an aspirant document that attempts to set a basic standard for the behavior of member-countries. At best documents of this nature can be used to set standards for future law and to bring censure and diplomatic pressure against member countries violating the declaration.
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