Sunday, November 02, 2008
Communicating Consciousness
In this article about sustainable living, Indian Country Today looks at such things as sacred site preservation on federal lands.
Torn between revealing secret sacred practices to US courts and seeking support in international human rights regimes, the Indigenous Environmental Network and numerous tribes are building alliances with the mainstream environmental movement. That doesn't necessarily make their work any easier in persuading white judges to respect indigenous religious customs, but it does make it more difficult to marginalize them.
Wrestling with religion in America is a challenge at best; communicating consciousness across cosmologies requires a commitment to creating effective dialogue under duress.
Torn between revealing secret sacred practices to US courts and seeking support in international human rights regimes, the Indigenous Environmental Network and numerous tribes are building alliances with the mainstream environmental movement. That doesn't necessarily make their work any easier in persuading white judges to respect indigenous religious customs, but it does make it more difficult to marginalize them.
Wrestling with religion in America is a challenge at best; communicating consciousness across cosmologies requires a commitment to creating effective dialogue under duress.
