Griffin Widner
I Pledge
B—US History
10/28/14
Native
American Religious Freedom
Followers
of the “Native American Spirituality” do not regard their beliefs and practices
as part of a religion. Their “religion” is very complex and hard to follow
since there were many tribes and most of their principles were passed down
verbally. Main practices in their religion include ceremonies, symbolism, and
the use of medicine men and shaman that communicate with the gods.
In
the 1870’s Native Americans believed it was time to establish their spiritual
beliefs as a legitimate religion, therefor the Native American Church was
founded. The Native American Church was actually a combination of Christianity
and tradition Native American beliefs, but still practiced the same principles
as the traditional Native American Spirituality. One such practice was the use
of Peyote, which had been used by the Indian tribes for thousands of years as
both a physical and spiritual medicine.
Peyote
is a small, spineless cactus that grows naturally in some desert climates. The
main ingredient in the plant is mescaline, a type of hallucinogen that humans
can consume in order to “trip.” To consume peyote, one must cut the disc shaped
buttons from the crown of the cactus and dry them. Once they are dried a person
can either eat them or brew them into a traditional tea. However it is
consumed, peyote produces a high that lasts around 12 hours and is said to be
somewhat spiritual. Although the drug is very powerful, the side effects of it
are still unknown. Recent studies suggest that it is not actually physically
harmful to those who occasionally use it.
The use of Peyote
for any reason was illegal just like most other substances until the mid
1990’s. The laws on peyote began to change after a monumental law case in
Oregon. The case, Employment Division v Smith, was brought about after two
Native American who worked as counselors in a private drug rehabilitation
center were fired after getting caught using Peyote. The two men had previously
used it in religious ceremonies, because they were members of the Native
American Church. After being fired, they were also denied unemployment benefits
because they had been fired upon the fact that the rehab facility viewed the
use of peyote as misconduct. The case was taken to state court, in which the
counselors lost the case. However, the Supreme Court vacated the ruling and
sent the case back into Oregon courts. During the second state court trial, it
was found that Oregon law didn’t allow consumption of drugs for religious
purposes which was in violation of the free exercise clause, which protects a
person’s absolute freedom of belief. After this case occurred in 1991,
President Bill Clinton signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (1993), the
bill was quickly struck down by the Supreme Court. One year late, President
Clinton signed a law that exempted the religious use of peyote from federal and
state controlled substance laws. This now meant that the Native American Church
could legally continue a thousand year old practice within the United States.
The whole idea of
not allowing the Native Americans to use peyote in religious ceremonies is very
ironic to me. It’s crazy to think that a country that was founded upon freedom,
specifically freedom of religion, would try to stop a group of people from
continuing their religious practices.
 |
| Native American Religious Ceremony |
 |
| Peyote Tea |
