June 17, 2011 could begin like so many others throughout the country, but for American Indians engaged in legal struggles to protect areas of land that are sacred to their Native culture, it is no ordinary day. Today, marks the first of several days of the 2011 National Day of Prayer to Protect Native American Sacred Places..  .  .  .  .“Today, Native Americans are the only peoples in the United States who do not have a constitutional or statutory right of action to protect sacred places or our exercise of religious freedom there,” said Suzan Shown Harjo (Cheyenne & Hodulgee Muscogee). “That simply must change as a matter of fairness and equity. Native nations have been cobbling together protections based on defenses intended for other purposes. Some may permit a place at the table when development is being contemplated, but Native peoples are not taken seriously because the agencies and developers know that the Supreme Court does not appear inclined to hear lawsuits which lack a tailor-made right of action.” NARF (Native American Rights Fund), an advocate for sacred site protection, religious freedom efforts and cultural rights, is familiar with the fight to protect sacred sites, since the current struggle to protect the San Francisco Peaks is taking place in its backyard.

June 17, 2011 could begin like so many others throughout the country, but for American Indians engaged in legal struggles to protect areas of land that are sacred to their Native culture, it is no ordinary day. Today, marks the first of several days of the 2011 National Day of Prayer to Protect Native American Sacred Places.
.  .  .  .  .
“Today, Native Americans are the only peoples in the United States who do not have a constitutional or statutory right of action to protect sacred places or our exercise of religious freedom there,” said Suzan Shown Harjo (Cheyenne & Hodulgee Muscogee). “That simply must change as a matter of fairness and equity. Native nations have been cobbling together protections based on defenses intended for other purposes. Some may permit a place at the table when development is being contemplated, but Native peoples are not taken seriously because the agencies and developers know that the Supreme Court does not appear inclined to hear lawsuits which lack a tailor-made right of action.”

NARF (Native American Rights Fund), an advocate for sacred site protection, religious freedom efforts and cultural rights, is familiar with the fight to protect sacred sites, since the current struggle to protect the San Francisco Peaks is taking place in its backyard.