A SEAT AT THE TABLE:
Historical Background
The traditional religious practices of Indigenous peoples throughout the world have, over many centuries, suffered grave persecution. This is as true in America as anywhere else in the world. It's ironic that early settlers in North America were in search of religious freedom, yet they didn't apply the same values to the Indigenous populations. Having suffered persecution and religious intolerance by the dominant religions of Europe, they in turn applied the same intolerance on the Indians, viewing them through ethnocentric eyes and failing to realize that the tribes had ancient yet vital religious beliefs and practices that they were observing. In a little known yet not insignificant document, the "Papal Bull of 1493", the Pope declared Indigenous people of the New World without souls, not savable, in essence, that they were sub-human. During the first century of U.S. history, this deep seated disrespect manifested in many forms of religious intolerance and persecution. From federal statutes conveying Indian land to missionary groups for "church work" amongst the Indians, to missionary groups being deemed Indian agents in charge of entire tribes to assist the government representatives in separating Indians from their way of life. In the 1890's after the tribes were placed on reservations, these policies took a darker turn, when the government acted to completely stamp out Indian religions, even by military force. The most notable example was the U.S. Cavalry arresting Ghost Dancers on reservations across the country and in 1890, slaughtering hundreds of Ghost Dancers at Wounded Knee, SD. Ultimately, in 1894, a complete ban on tribal religions was issued resulting in denial of rations and/or incarceration for engaging in tribal religious ceremonies. The United States Government policy outlawing all Indian religious practices was a tragic contradiction of another official government policy, known as the Trust Doctrine in which the United States declared its responsibility to preserve and protect Indian culture and sovereignty. The failure of the U.S. Government to honor The Trust Doctrine when it came to preserving and protecting Indian religions, forced many Indian people to accept Christianity while others chose to take their ceremonies underground. While the ban on religious practices was lifted in the latter half of the twentieth century, many of its effects continue today including a general societal disrespect of Indian religions. A few contemporary examples follow: As Mecca is sacred to Muslims and Jerusalem is sacred to Jews and Christians, so too are many locations in North America to Indian people. Most tribes revere these sacred places as necessary for their ceremonies to successfully regenerate the life cycles vital to the survival of their people and all humanity. Most of these sites lack protection from resource development such as mining, logging and from recreational development like ski resorts, boating and climbing. Consequently, many have been destroyed and others face similar threats. Where Native sacred sites lie within the boundaries of state and federal lands, Indian people are often forced to apply and pay for permits to access their sacred places for prayer and in many cases are refused access. An essential dilemma for many contemporary Indian people is whether they can actually call themselves spiritual without access to their traditional language. At first contact with Europeans there were upwards of 600 Indigenous languages spoken in North America. Today, there are only about 150 and most of them are spoken solely by the elders of the communities. This situation has been caused largely by what was probably the most odious and reprehensible act that the U.S. Government engaged in; the displacement of Indian children from the nurturing and loving atmosphere of their communities into institutions overseen by people who were, if nothing else, rigid and brutal. From the reservation days of the 1800's through the 1970's, thousands of Native children were placed in boarding schools and beaten for the slightest use of their languages. Of those who managed to leave those institutions remembering their languages, having been through this abusive experience, many decided that to protect their offspring from similar cultural persecution, they would not pass on their language. Native people are taught that their languages are essential for communication with the spirit world and therefore to the physical well-being of their people. For instance, they rely on plants and herbs in order to effect good health for their people. They believe when they approach a plant, in order to release it's healing powers, it must be done using a Native language. The plant responds to that language and releases its healing power. So too, during the traditional ceremonies, when asking spiritual beings to join in, it must be done with the Native language. So if the spiritual beings enter into the ceremony trying to dance with the people, trying to speak to them through dreams, trying to eat with them, and they can't communicate, then the power of that ritual is negated. While this is a difficult issue for non-Indian people to understand, for traditional Indian people, it is real and significant. Perhaps the most serious crisis for Indian people today is that Native Americans are incarcerated at a higher rate than any other ethnic group. This is in large part due to a lack of awareness of their traditional religious beliefs and because of alcohol and drug related offenses which represent over 95% of cases. For the last 30 years there has been a recovery and healing movement growing within Indian communities which is resulting in a regeneration of pride and dignity. Realizing that a return to traditional spiritual beliefs is the best hope for most incarcerated Indians, medicine people and Native spiritual advisors have sought to bring this movement inside prison walls. They have found prison can be a place of great learning where their people can relearn their songs, prayers and ceremonies. Unfortunately, these Indian "chaplains" have been confronted by wardens, chaplains of other faiths and officers of the Federal Bureau of Prison Systems who are often reluctant to approve of practices such as Sweat Lodge Ceremonies and Pipe Ceremonies. They use security concerns as an excuse for why these practices cannot be held in prisons. This double standard, where Indian spiritual beliefs are discounted and undermined, are keeping Indian prisoners from experiencing the best chance for true rehabilitation. The religious freedom issues described above are just a few of the problems confronting Indian people that are addressed by the documentary, A SEAT AT THE TABLE.
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