Post by blackcrowheart on Jan 17, 2006 22:20:44 GMT -5
Native religions are not as sacred as almighty dollar
Jan. 17, 2006 12:00 AM
www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0117montini17.h
tml
The last time, maybe the only time, that most people in Arizona went
along with the idea that Native American spiritual beliefs are part
of a legitimate religion occurred early in April 2003, when snow fell
in Tuba City.
At the time, news organizations from all over the globe were covering
the story of Pfc. Lori Piestewa, the first Native American woman to
die for the United States in combat. Reporters had been told that the
name Piestewa, in Hopi, refers to rainwater that collects after a
heavy downpour. Then, only a few hours after Piestewa's parents were
informed of her death in Iraq, it snowed.
Lori's mother, Percy, was quoted as saying, "She (Lori) came down in
moisture and told us, 'I'm at peace with myself, and I'm with the
creator.' We knew it was her sending us a message in the snow."
advertisement
People all over the world heard about the message in the snow, and
for that brief moment, everyone seemed to believe it was a message
from above.
But that was then. We were in the early stages of the war. The death
of Piestewa and other soldiers was a shock that we needed to get
through. Once that happened, it appears that our view of Native
American spirituality shifted from reverential to mildly dismissive.
If that were not true, spiritual leaders and followers from what we
think of as mainstream religions would be up in arms over what
happened last week in federal court. A judge decided that the Arizona
Snowbowl ski resort could install equipment that would make
artificial snow using reclaimed wastewater from Flagstaff.
Some tribes in the area consider the mountains sacred. Last summer,
when the issue was heating up, a Navajo medicine man told The Arizona
Republic's Mark Shaffer: "The peaks have a lot of religious power
when they are undisturbed. But putting wastewater up there would be
like turning our shrine into a toilet."
The U.S. Forest Service didn't see it that way, however. Neither did
the operators of the Arizona Snowbowl, which this year is suffering
from what could turn out to be its driest season on record. And
neither did the federal judge.
Hundreds of people have jobs related to skiing, which pumps millions
of dollars into Flagstaff's economy.
It's easy to understand why business owners would support the push to
make artificial snow. In a battle between the Almighty and the
almighty dollar, the Church of the Greenback usually wins. Arizona
Snowbowl is on federal land, so Indian claims that its surroundings
are "sacred" can easily lose out in court.
But reaction to the court's decision not only demonstrates how much
we care about money; it shows just how little we think of Native
American "religions."
There has been no visible effort among other religious congregations
to come to the aid of the tribes. No meeting between medicine men,
who are said to travel from far away to perform ceremonies on the San
Francisco Peaks, and the spiritual leaders of more well-known faiths.
No rallying of Christians, Muslims and Jews behind the Native
religions.
Every spiritual person believes that he is a member of the one true
faith. But most of the time when a single religion is pushed aside by
commerce or common prejudice, leaders from other persuasions come to
its defense.
Imagine what would happen if a court told Christians in the area that
local businesses needed all the available fresh water and that
pastors would have to use chemically treated effluent for baptisms.
Jan. 17, 2006 12:00 AM
www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0117montini17.h
tml
The last time, maybe the only time, that most people in Arizona went
along with the idea that Native American spiritual beliefs are part
of a legitimate religion occurred early in April 2003, when snow fell
in Tuba City.
At the time, news organizations from all over the globe were covering
the story of Pfc. Lori Piestewa, the first Native American woman to
die for the United States in combat. Reporters had been told that the
name Piestewa, in Hopi, refers to rainwater that collects after a
heavy downpour. Then, only a few hours after Piestewa's parents were
informed of her death in Iraq, it snowed.
Lori's mother, Percy, was quoted as saying, "She (Lori) came down in
moisture and told us, 'I'm at peace with myself, and I'm with the
creator.' We knew it was her sending us a message in the snow."
advertisement
People all over the world heard about the message in the snow, and
for that brief moment, everyone seemed to believe it was a message
from above.
But that was then. We were in the early stages of the war. The death
of Piestewa and other soldiers was a shock that we needed to get
through. Once that happened, it appears that our view of Native
American spirituality shifted from reverential to mildly dismissive.
If that were not true, spiritual leaders and followers from what we
think of as mainstream religions would be up in arms over what
happened last week in federal court. A judge decided that the Arizona
Snowbowl ski resort could install equipment that would make
artificial snow using reclaimed wastewater from Flagstaff.
Some tribes in the area consider the mountains sacred. Last summer,
when the issue was heating up, a Navajo medicine man told The Arizona
Republic's Mark Shaffer: "The peaks have a lot of religious power
when they are undisturbed. But putting wastewater up there would be
like turning our shrine into a toilet."
The U.S. Forest Service didn't see it that way, however. Neither did
the operators of the Arizona Snowbowl, which this year is suffering
from what could turn out to be its driest season on record. And
neither did the federal judge.
Hundreds of people have jobs related to skiing, which pumps millions
of dollars into Flagstaff's economy.
It's easy to understand why business owners would support the push to
make artificial snow. In a battle between the Almighty and the
almighty dollar, the Church of the Greenback usually wins. Arizona
Snowbowl is on federal land, so Indian claims that its surroundings
are "sacred" can easily lose out in court.
But reaction to the court's decision not only demonstrates how much
we care about money; it shows just how little we think of Native
American "religions."
There has been no visible effort among other religious congregations
to come to the aid of the tribes. No meeting between medicine men,
who are said to travel from far away to perform ceremonies on the San
Francisco Peaks, and the spiritual leaders of more well-known faiths.
No rallying of Christians, Muslims and Jews behind the Native
religions.
Every spiritual person believes that he is a member of the one true
faith. But most of the time when a single religion is pushed aside by
commerce or common prejudice, leaders from other persuasions come to
its defense.
Imagine what would happen if a court told Christians in the area that
local businesses needed all the available fresh water and that
pastors would have to use chemically treated effluent for baptisms.