Native American Cultural and Religious Freedoms

First Published in 2000. The fight to have the American legal system recognize Native American religions has taken many forms, from the confrontation over Indian usage of eagle feathers and the ingestion of peyote in religious ceremonies to the right of students to have traditional Indian hair styles while attending public schools. It was thought that the passage of the American Indian Religious Freedoms Act of 1978 would alleviate these problems, but Supreme Court interpretations have essentially eviscerated this law. In addition to these issues, the articles in this collection address the ongoing conflict between Native Americans and museums and states over who has rights to the skeletal remains and burial objects that have been illegally recovered throughout the U.S.