why protect native american sacred sites

Included in these contested land areas were numerous sites used by the Pueblo for highly religious and traditional ceremonies. Included also is a glossary of terms, a brief survey placing the stones within an historical context, and maps. The alphabetical listings tell you if a site is extant, what condition it is in, and what its map coordinates are.

religious

Religious freedom would amount to nothing more than the right to believe that our religion will be destroyed,” stated Mike Jackson, Sr., President of the Quechan Indian Nation. Religious freedom, so valued in America, is not guaranteed to those who practice land-based religion. Every year, more sacred sites - the land-based equivalent of the world's great cathedrals - are being destroyed. Religious practices, such as possessing tobacco and prayer pipes, burning cedar and sage, participating in sweat lodges, and growing long hair are banned in many prisons. Some authorities do not allow the construction of sweat lodges or grant adequate facilities to conduct ceremonies.

Religious use of eagles. Other animals and plants. Religious retreats, or vision quests, are performed individually, although under the supervision of a sacred person. Sweat lodges are conducted before and after the quest.

tribal

Tribal identification is often very specific. For example, rather than identifying simply under the "catch-all" name of Sioux, people who are generalized under this tribal affiliation often are more specific about Sioux identity (i.e., Rosebud Sioux, Oglala Sioux), or self-identify as being Dakota, Lakota, or Nakota, and usually even more specifically within each of these tribal groups. Tribal groups have societies, bands, and clans that may be privileged vis-?-vis information. Tribal leaders rebelled and fought hard as it threatened their sacred Red Butte, and an international protest erupted. Even so, the federal government approved the mine.

tribe,tribes,tribe?s

Tribes regained over two million acres of land in the first 20 years after passage of the Act, although relocation policies resumed when additional provisions of the Act were implemented and American Indians continued to lose their land. Tribes also give thanks by performing ceremonies that are tied to the land. Since some ceremonies have been given by the land or draw their power from the land, participating in them honors what the land has shared with humans. Tribes once again were recognized, but in many cases, great social and economic damage had already been done.

Tribes would have to keep tabs on every single project in a number of jurisdictions, and with a number of different lead agencies. This is virtually impossible for any governmental entity ? tribal or non-tribal ? to accomplish.

federal

Federal Lands are protected by the NAGPRA laws, Kentucky lands are protected IF our ancestor's graves are considered an archaeological site and or registered on the National Register of Historical Places. That covers roughly a liberal estimate of 5% of Kentucky's lands. Federal laws are reviewed in the context of tribal preservation programs, and tribal elders discuss specific cases of repatriation. Federal laws have achieved neither repatriation of Native remains nor protection of sacred sites, and may have even less power to confront the more insidious aspects of cultural theft, such as the parading of costumed mascots. But what of political marginalization?

historic

Historical, cultural, and spiritual aspects of the ecology of indigenous societies are grounded in the biodiversity , ecosystems, and landforms in their habitat. Thus, indigenes are most important to consider in exploring the relationships between sacred places, biodiversity, and conservation. Historical records indicate that as many as one-half of the Indians died of starvation, exposure, and lack of appropriate medicines in what has been called a concentration camp. The General Court of Massachusetts, referring to Indians on the islands, proclaimed "that none of the sayd indians shall presume to goe off the sayd islands voluntarily, uponn payne of death " After the war, those who survived the island internment continued to face dire relations with the colonies.

oral

Oral traditions are private and are generally not documented. Moreover, very few documents exist on oral histories in the files of the Commission. Oral traditions regarding the founding of Putiidhem have been passed on from generation to generation, and are documented in early Spanish and ethnographic reports. According to oral tradition, Chief Oyaison founded the village because of the growing population and a scarcity of plant resources at his village of Sejat, located approximately 20 miles to the northeast near what is now Santa Fe Springs.