|
The American Indian Religious Freedom Act, Public Law No. 95-341, 92 Stat. 469 (Aug. 11, 1978) (commonly abbreviated to AIRFA), codified at , is a United States federal law, enacted by joint resolution of the Congress in 1978. It was enacted to protect and preserve the traditional religious rights and cultural practices of American Indians, Eskimos, Aleuts, and Native Hawaiians. These rights include, but are not limited to, access to sacred sites, freedom to worship through ceremonial and traditional rights, and use and possession of objects considered sacred. The Act required policies of all governmental agencies to eliminate interference with the free exercise of Native American religion, based on the First Amendment, and to accommodate access to and use of religious sites to the extent that the use is practicable and is not inconsistent with an agency's essential functions. It also acknowledges the prior violation of that right.〔Canby, John C. Jr. ''American Indian Law in A Nutshell.'' West Publishing Company, 1988. Pg. 339, 340.〕 ==Passage== American Indian religious practices have often been at odds with existing federal laws and government policies. There have been three general areas of conflict. Firstly, American Indians did not have access to a number of sacred places that the tribes had traditionally used in religious ceremonies. Native American religious practices often came into conflict with the idea that American public lands exist for the use and benefit of the American people.〔Christopher Vacsey, ''Handbook of American Indian Religious Freedom'' (New York: Crossroad Press, 1991).〕 The results of the passage of the Indian Removal Act and the General Allotment Act were the displacement of hundreds of tribes, including the Five Civilized Tribes of the southeastern United States, and the forced assimilation of Native American families into agricultural settler societies. The second conflict was the possession by tribal members of ceremonial items that are restricted under United States law, such as eagle feathers or bones (under laws to protect threatened species), or peyote, a ritual drug and restricted substance. The conflict lies in the fact that items such as peyote are integral parts of ceremonies practiced by members of churches such as the Native American Church. The importance of eagle bones for use in traditional religious ceremonies has been repeatedly cited in cases involving Indian claims on hunting and fishing rights to allow tribal member to hunt for eagles.〔Getches, David, Wilkinson, Charles F., Williams, Robert A. Jr. ''Cases and Materials on Federal Indian Law, Fifth Edition.'' West Group, 1998. Pg. 764.〕 The third general area of conflict was an issue of interference. Sacred ceremonies were sometimes subject to interference from overzealous officials or curious onlookers.〔Enumeration of areas of conflict from Francis Paul Prucha, ''The Great Father: The United States Government and the American Indians'', volume 2 (Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1984), p. 1127.〕 The act acknowledged prior federal infringement on the right of freedom of religion for American Indians by denying them their First Amendment right of "free exercise" of religion. President Jimmy Carter said, in a statement about the AIRFA: ''In the past, Government agencies and departments have on occasion denied Native Americans access to particular sites and interfered with religious practices and customs where such use conflicted with Federal regulations. In many instances, the Federal officials responsible for the enforcement of these regulations were unaware of the nature of traditional native religious practices and, consequently, of the degree to which their agencies interfered with such practices.'' ''This legislation seeks to remedy this situation.'' Section 2 of the AIRFA directs federal agencies to consult with American Indian spiritual leaders to determine appropriate procedures to protect the inherent rights of American Indians, as laid out it the act. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「American Indian Religious Freedom Act」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|