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Example research essay topic: American Indian Religious Freedom Act Of 1978 - 1,521 words

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... living compelling governmental interests of the highest order, Federal lands that have been historically indispensable to a traditional American Indian religion shall not be managed in a manner that would seriously impair to interfere with the exercise or practice of such traditional American Indian religion (Vecsey 30). Consequently this new promising section was just one of the few of that would be added in the years to come that would further strengthen the A. I. R. F.

A. The American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 has three interpretations. The first and foremost being adopted by the Supreme Court in 1988 states that, A. I. R. F.

A. merely represents a policy statement directing the executive branch to review its procedures and regulations (Vecsey 31). Thus meaning that the Act itself does not order tangible alterations, but directs federal agencies to take regard, in alliance with the needs of the society, the consequences of their conduct within the realm of Indian religious rights. The second interpretation of the act provides Indian individuals with real claims. Such claims are subject to being considered constitutional or statutory in nature. Several lower courts have held that A.

I. R. F. A. only lends support to those guarantees already provided to Indian plaintiffs by the first amendment, that the act provides no additional statutory rights.

Other courts have ruled that A. I. R. F. A. provides tribes with a statutory claim to religious freedom that is in addition to their constitutionally guaranteed First Amendment Rights (Vecsey 31).

Whereas the third interpretation being the furthest reaching perceives the A. I. R. F. A. as a regulated recognition of the federal governments trust obligation to protect and preserve the culture and religion of the American Indian.

Although the three interpretations appear to be hopeful and positive in nature, they do not fully intend to legally revitalize the practice of American Indian Religions in all aspects. The Supreme Court left many loopholes when creating these added sections to the existing Act of 1978. By allowing such ambiguous room for alterations within the A. I. R. F.

A. , there is definitely more than enough space for progress and improvement. Regardless of the fact that the A. I. R. F. A.

itself stands for the positive progression for the liberation of American Indian religions, its cons heavily outweigh the supports of its intentions. When confronted by the American laws there are three ramifications of the Act that are in need of dire improvements: 1. When Indians are accused of criminal activity: transporting or ingesting peyote (Lophophora williams); hunting animals out of season or killing endangered species; or when Indians are prohibited from expressing features of their Indian way of life (e. g. , braided hair), or participating in Indian rituals such as sweats or pipe ceremonies especially in the confines of institutions such as prisons or schools. 2. When revered artifacts are kept from the communities that use them religiously and are displayed against their will; or, when Indian bodily remains are taken from burial grounds and treated in a manner perceived by Indians as sacrilegious. 3.

When Indians encounter governmental policies or private enterprises, the results of which may endanger Indian religious traditions; when a dam will make inaccessible a pilgrimage site or burial ground; when a road, power line, or resort will create inappropriate activities in a sacred site, etc. (Vecsey 8) Despite the fact that A. I. R. F. A. was created to protect all of the preceding rights of Indian religious beliefs and practices it obviously can be noted that it would be a mistake to believe so when studying the case of Bodoni v.

Higginson, 2 d I 79 (10 th Cir. 1980). This case dealt with this issue of the preservation of a sacred shrine of the Navajo tribe. A group of Navajo medicine men sought sole use of the Rainbow Bridge area in Utah for ceremonies. In doing so they needed to remove a boating dock used for tourism. The Court of Appeal for the 10 th Circuit ruled that to accommodate the religious practices of the Navajo at Rainbow Bridge itself would be a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment since Rainbow Bridge would then become a government-managed shrine (Deloria and Lytle 239).

In conclusion the Navajos lost the case on basis that the provided protection needed from the government would be catering to their religious needs, thus favorably distinguishing them apart from other religious groups. In comparison to the negative issues that revolve around the Act of 78 having very little if any support for the practice of American Indian religions, there have been numerous accounts in which it has helped to protect Native rights and accomplish what it was created to do. In the court case of People v. Woody (1964), before the American Indian Religious Freedom Act had been created; the use of the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment surfaced to help protect an innocent man from being arrested for his religious use of peyote. Meeting in a hogan near Needles, California, a group of Navajos gathered to conduct a religious ceremony that involved the use of peyote. They were then arrested for violating the California law, which prohibited its use.

Being members of the Native American Church, they attested their arrest and were set free on grounds that peyote use was part of their religion and are protected by the Free Exercise Clause. It was this case that acted as a catalyst for the further need of Indian religious protection and ultimately leading up to necessity for A. I. R. F. A.

of 1978. As of now, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 remains to be the grounds of legality for all religious rituals that coincide with the United States jurisprudence. Since it has been signed as a bill, the A. I. R. F.

A. continues to be further amended. In 1993, a similar yet revised Act of 78 known as the Native American Free Exercise of Religion Act was put into effect. It covers the issues of sacred sites, traditional use of peyote, Indian prisoner rights, and religious use of eagles, plants and other animals. This policy further extends the rights of American Indian religious rituals by granting less restriction upon sacred practices. The applications of such amendments to the Act of 78 remain to be never ending.

Until the United States recognizes the need for the numerous accommodations that are necessary for free practice of the American Indian religions, this nation will never be a truly diverse and multi-faceted spiritual society. Throughout the past twenty-two years, the progression of A. I. R.

F. A. has been rolling along slowly but surely due to the widespread support that it receives. Concentrating on three main circumstances in which the practice of the American Indian religions has gone toe to toe with the government, revolving around the issues of Indians and criminal activity, sacred objects, and sacred sites.

These are the three ramifications that are most commonly to appear in court and in need of drastic change in order for the American Indian to be allowed to practice religion freely. The struggle for the right to religious freedom in the United States as presented through government diplomacy leaves the American Indian struggling for a better means of the preservation of their religion. Sherman Alexie, the author of The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven writes Maybe you dont wear a watch, but your skeletons do, and they always know what time it is. Now, these skeletons are made of memories, dreams, and voices. (21) This quote perfectly illustrates the Native American struggle to preserve what little they have left of their religion.

The watch representing the culturally forced assimilation upon the Indians, counting the time that passes as the indigenous religions fade closer and closer to extinction. While the skeleton is representative of all that may be left of the Native American religion if further diplomatic alterations continue to devour their life-blood traditions. Alexie, Sherman. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven. New York: Harper, 1993. Deloria, Vine.

American Indian Religious Freedom. Native American Rights Fund Winter 1997. Earthlink. 10 Oct. 00 web Deloria, Vine and Clifford M. Late. American Indians, American Justice.

Austin: Texas Press, 1983. Foster, Len. Native American Prisoners Religious Freedom. Religious Intolerance Against Indian Religion Mar 15, 1998. Earthlink. 10 Oct. 00 web Public Law 95 - 341 -August 11, 1978 - 92 Stat. 469 95 th Congress Joint Resolution. American Indian Religious Freedom Act.

Friends of Moccasin Bend National Park Nov 7, 1998. Earthlink. 12 Oct. 00 web Public Law 103 - 344, 108 STAT. 3124 Passed by 103 rd Congress American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1994. The Vaults of the Erowid. Oct 29, 00.

Earthlink. 10 Oct. 00 web Vecsey, Christopher. The Handbook of American Indian Religious Freedom. New York: Crossroad, 1991. Wilson, Tracy.

Authorities Return Peyote to Indians in Ventura County. The Vaults of the Erowid Oct. 29, 00. Earthlink. 12 Oct. 00 web media 5. shtml . Bibliography:


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Research essay sample on American Indian Religious Freedom Act Of 1978

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