Handbook of American Indian Religious Freedom

Book excerpt: "American Indian communities regard their religious freedoms to be endangered. Despite the First Amendment and an act of Congress that purports to protect Indian religious rights, Native Americans find the practice of their religious traditions to be hindered, often by governmental interference. This book, a collective effort by scholars, lawyers, and American Indian spokespersons has three goals: to identify the specific areas in which Indian religious practices are undermined by federal, state, and local policies as well as by private enterprises; to help non-Indians understand the conceptual bases for American Indian religious beliefs and practices; to suggest practical ways in which to protect the free exercise of Indian religions in the face of other conflicting claims and values. Specifically, Indians find their religious practice endangered in the following ways: the degradation of geographical areas deemed sacred sites; the maltreatment of Indian burials, particularly bodily remains; the prohibition against capture, kill, and use of endangered or protected series; the regulations regarding the collection, transport, and use of peyote; the alienation and display of religious artifacts; the prevention of Indian rituals and behavior (the wearing of braided hair, participation in sweats or pipe ceremonies), particularly in authoritarian institutions. This book is both a manifesto decrying policies that endanger American Indian religious traditions and a manual showing ways in which these traditions might be protected and promoted"--Back cover.