The Pascua Yaqui Tribe has drafted regulations in an effort to formalize the border-crossing process for their relatives in Mexico coming to their reservation in Arizona. Like dozens of Native American nations across the U.S., the Pascua Yaqui Tribe was sliced in two by modern-day international borders. When deer dancers and musicians living in Sonora, Mexico, make the trip into the U.S. for ceremonies, they may be detained or have their cultural objects confiscated. The effort is part of their work with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s recently formed Tribal Homeland Security Advisory Council.
A “Native American Church” Without Native Americans? Authenticity, appropriation, good intentions, and profiteering. Do non-indigenous people have a right to perform or practice indigenous rituals? Sierra Crane Murdoch has written a new book on spiritual appropriations by non-native people. She says the damage of non-native American people using native American rituals is a difficult subject. There’s no single answer, as Native Americans are not a monolithic group with a single opinion on the matter. But there are reports on a group of religious organizations that purportedly offer “authentic” ceremonies—run by people with dubious claims to indigenous heritage—and give their participants peyote, a medicinal plant considered a sacrament by many Native Americans.
Those are your headlines at this hour. I’m Colette Keith in the KIPI News center.
