This is the third in a three-part series on the Dark Ages of American Indian Religious Freedom.
For the past five centuries, American Indians have had their religions suppressed (sometimes brutally and violently) and denied. With the formation of the United States and the adoption of the Bill of Rights which speaks of freedom of religion, this freedom has been denied to American Indians based on the notion that they were not citizens and therefore this freedom did not apply to them. The period of time from 1870 to 1934 can be considered the Dark Ages for American Indian Religious Freedom. During this time, the active suppression of American Indian religions reached its peak.
In this diary, we are going to look at the last part of the Dark Ages during the first third of the twentieth century. The earlier diaries in this series looked at Faith-Based Reservations and Outlawing Indian Reservations
During the first part of the twentieth century, much of the suppression of Indian religions focused on four areas: (1) the Sun Dance of the Plains Indians, (2) the Native American Church, (3) Indian "doctors" and healing practices, and (4) the Pueblos in the Southwest.
Sun Dance:
Regarding the Sun Dance, the Jesuit priest on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana wrote: "It animates the Indians with the spirit of dancing, belief in Indian medicine, a passion for painting and dressing in heathen fashion, and strengthens their inborn disposition to be superstitious." He argued that the Constitution protects only the true worship of God and therefore offered no protection to Piegan Blackfoot religious practices. He felt that there should be no Constitutional protection of a religion based upon
"the direct worship of the devil, the arch-enemy of the Creator and Great Father, from whom every good comes. Now, the religion of the Piegan Indians is devil-worship, clearly so."
The activities to stop the Sun Dance were seen in 1914 when the Commissioner of Indian Affairs telegraphed the Uintah-Ouray Reservation in Utah and ordered that the Ute Sun Dance be stopped. He said "this dance is a great detriment to the moral and industrial interest of the Indians and cannot be allowed." The dance had the support of non-Indians in the area and a Salt Lake City newspaper ran an editorial in favor the Sun Dance. However, the Commissioner did not agree and warned the non-Indian people of Vernal not to encourage the dance because "I do not wish to subject your community to the indignity of sending troops." He then ordered a United States marshal to stop the dance, but the marshal arrived after the dance had taken place.
Native American Church:
I have written about the Native American Church in another diary.Using the excuse that peyote is addictive and therefore evil, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian agents, missionaries, and others embarked on a campaign to have federal and state laws passed against peyote. At the same time this pan-Indian religious movement which incorporated many Christian elements was condemned as a barrier to "civilization."
Healing:
As in many cultures, traditional American Indian healing practices have been closely associated with religion and with ceremony. The American government has worked hard to eradicate these practices.
The actions against Indian healing practices can be seen in 1919 on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana. The Indian agent summoned all of the known Indian spiritual leaders and doctors to his office. Having prepared for the confrontation by placing a loaded pistol in his desk drawer, the agent then explained to the Cheyenne that their healing ceremonies were dangerous. He then presented a list of rules aimed at limiting the power of the Indian healers:
Doctors are forbidden to initiate other doctors
Doctors cannot charge money or property for their services
Doctors are not allowed to advise anyone against stock raising, farming, placing their children in school, or anything which prevents them from becoming "self-supporting, respectable people"
The use of the rattle and singing songs to a sick person are also forbidden
In response to these new rules, the Cheyenne simply continued their ceremonies in isolation and away from the eyes of the government.
Southwest:
The situation in the Southwest, particularly among the Pueblos, was very different than in other parts of the United States. First, it was evident to all that these were not nomadic hunters and gathers. Second, they had adopted an overlay of Catholicism. Thus, the campaign against the Southwestern Pueblos has, at times, an anti-Catholic feel. Pueblo ceremonies were often branded as being "immoral" and "obscene." At the same time, the public aspects of these ceremonies were also major tourist attractions.
In the Southwest, there was an active campaign by the U.S. government against Pueblo ceremonial traditions. Part of the non-Indian concern stemmed from the clowns who openly displayed sexuality. While these displays were acceptable in Pueblo culture, non-Indians found them to be offensive. In one instance, a teacher stopped a ceremony in which a clown dancer had a huge artificial penis. The teacher threatened the dancer with jail.
In response to the attempted suppression of Pueblo religions, in 1924 the Council of All the New Mexico Pueblos issued a formal response. They asked that "Perfect toleration of religious sentiment shall be secured, and no inhabitant of this state shall ever be molested in person or property on account of his or her mode of religious worship." Their plea for religious freedom did not work. Two years later, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs visited Taos Pueblo in New Mexico and told the elders in the tribal council that they were "half animals" because of their pagan religion, and then had the entire governing body of the Pueblo thrown into jail for violating the Bureau of Indian Affairs religious crimes codes. Prior to the speech, Burke had told the Bureau of Indian Affairs that the Pueblos must rid themselves of their native religion within a year.
When the Santo Domingo Pueblo tribal council opposed the government’s attempts to eradicate their religion in 1926, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs simply replaced the council with members who were controlled by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
While there were government actions suppressing Pueblo religions in the Southwest, five Hopi visited Washington, D.C. and presented religious dances before an audience of 5,000. The Hopi wanted to show people, including Vice President Charles Dawes and two Supreme Court justices, that their ceremonies were not cruel rites.
End of an Era:
Franklin Roosevelt became President of the United States in 1933 and with this change in the Presidency came a change in Indian policy. John Collier, who had been spiritually moved by Pueblo ceremonies, was appointed as Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Regarding the government’s prohibition of Indian religions, Collier stated:
"It was illegal, unconstitutional, and wrong, and it is not going to be done anymore."
While Collier was characterized as an atheist and a communist by many missionary groups, this began a new era for American Indian religious freedom.
Cross Posted at Native American Netroots
An ongoing series sponsored by the Native American Netroots team focusing on the current issues faced by American Indian Tribes and current solutions to those issues.