Lawmaker Wants to Ban Sweat Lodge Use by Non-Native Americans
Allowed only on tribal land, or with permission
FELICIA FONSECA, Associated Press Writers, JONATHAN J. COOPER, Associated Press
PHOENIX – An Arizona lawmaker wants to regulate the use of traditional Native American practices after three people died last year in a northern-Arizona sweat lodge ceremony.
Sen. Albert Hale, D-St. Michaels, announced on Tuesday that he plans to introduce a measure to sanction the use of Native American ceremonies off tribal land for profit without permission.
Self-help guru James Arthur Ray charged people more than $9,000 each to attend his five-day “Spiritual Warrior” retreat near Sedona that culminated in a sweat lodge ceremony on Oct. 8. Participants said they trusted that Ray, who touted training under a Native American shaman, knew what he was doing.
Three people died and 18 others were hospitalized after becoming overwhelmed in the 415 square-foot sweat lodge that was covered with tarps and blankets. The deaths and illnesses sparked outrage among American Indians, who drew distinctions between what Ray did and what would be considered a traditional Native American sweat lodge.
Hale, a member and former president of the Navajo tribe, said the bill is partly an effort to protect people from false advertising.
“This process has been a perversion of our traditional ways,” he said. “The dominant society has taken all that we have: Our land, our water, our language, and now they’re trying to take our way of life.”
The Yavapai County sheriff’s office has focused a homicide investigation on Ray, who has made millions of dollars by convincing people his words will lead them to spiritual and financial wealth. Ray has hired an investigative team to find out what happened, and his lawyer said the deaths were the result of a tragic accident, not criminal negligence.
Hale’s proposed restrictions would not apply to ceremonies taking place on tribal land or with the authorization of a tribal government.
It’s unclear exactly how the law would be enforced. The bill leaves those details up to the Arizona Department of Health Services and the Arizona Commission of Indian Affairs, but Hale said a violation would likely be a civil offense similar to a traffic ticket.
Sweat lodges are commonly used by Native American tribes to cleanse the body and prepare for hunts, ceremonies and other events. They typically hold no more than a dozen people, compared with more than 50 people inside the one led by Ray.
The ceremony involves stones heated up outside the lodge, brought inside and placed in a pit. The door is closed, and water is poured on the stones, producing heat aimed at releasing toxins in the body. In traditional ceremonies, the person who pours the water is said to have an innate sense about the conditions of others inside the sweat lodge, many times recognizing problems before they physically are presented.
“We need to be respected,” Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. said. “Our ways cannot be abused.”
First of all no legislative U. S. federal or state or local municipality has the right to regulate any of our religious and spiritual practices. Remember is was a white boy that did this to his own people for a hell of a profit. Our religion, traditions, cultures and spiirtual practices and beliefs are not for sale. Senator Albert Hale and the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Department should be moving towards a prosecution of Ray and attempting to regulate religious practices. If you want to regulate religious practices have your Christian churches repudiate the “Doctrine of Discovery”. Revisit those illegal papal bulls and turn that around.
I support everyone of Jay Winter Nightwolf statements. As far as I know Mr. Ray is not nor was he a member of any branch of the Native American Church or a member of a Tribe, therefore he does not have any legal protection under the American Indian Religious Freedom Act for any mishap conducting any American Native Ceremony. Most American Native Ceremonies carry extreme dangers for any and all spiritually bankrupt facilitators, regardless of any racial disposition or tribal affiliation. Facilitating Indigenous ceremonies for the major purpose of making money will always have disastrous effects and/or outcome, in one way or another.
From my understanding of the laws of the land, Mr. Ray has committed a crime of Negligent Homicide and must be indicted for said violations of law, for a variety of goodly purposes.
These rites are sacred and we see the consequences that occurr when they are abused. If these non-Natives would get past there money focused mindset and realize that if there is money being charged for participating in a ceremony, you can be sure 99% of the time the ceremony and it’s conductor are not legitimate people to conduct the ceremony. I have done sweats for 35 years and never had one fatality or even one person get sick in my lodge and the same with other real Elder’s I have worked with. The reason these non-Natives flock to our ceremonies is because their own belief system doesn’t work for them or give them satisfaction for their lives anymore. This is why most of our people have been forced at times to no longer allow some of these people into our ceremonies and then we are called racists for no longer allowing them in. It isn’t because we don’t believe in not sharing, it’s because when we do we get individuals who try to take these ceremonies from us and make money from them. Then they wonder why people get hurt.
This legislation is not the answer we don’t want you in our way of life. Ceremonanial ways are handed down from generation to generation and are taught by memory including the songs and prays. Ray and company will get away with what happened because he is wealthy and well to do. It seems like the Sheriff bouched the crime scene by dismantling it hopefully the process was recorded. What so called guru ray was doing was imitating native ways. I’m sure he has gotten away with millions before this time, it back fired this time the Creator has had enought. Leave our ceremonial ways to the Natives.
These cultural bandits need to be controlled. My heart hurts for native people whenever I see the theft of their culture, be it the use of their names for sports, roads, states … whatever. To drive through this country and see such land mass that native people were robbed of, and to see instead the poverty that most must now endure because of GREED sickens me. As non-natives, we’re all over here on borrowed time (that includes me and I’m African American). Mother Earth does have a way of putting things right side back up. Peace.
This is how I read this: “Anglo Law Maker seeks to put limits on his peoples stupidity in regards to using practices, spiritual and otherwise, they do not understand and are not fully trained in” Ah-ho.
To Chris: I believe that Mr. Hale, the “Anglo Law Maker” is not an Anglo, but a Navaho. Re-read the article, ok!
I saw in the article that the law would prohibit charging for lodges. We have people her ein the midwest who charge for lodges and vision quests.. ( long explanation required ). It is important to me as an undocumented native person to have freedom of religion which I must use responsibly. Making a law to solve a problem is not a good idea – the problem is the same. People search for what they think is an easy way of life and the red road is not easy. It is hard. That is why people come to it and then leave it – because they do not wish to not drink alcohol and smoke and do drugs and be honest and hard working and loyal. They come looking for an experiance that will give them those things but find they must work for them. No physical law can address a spiritual problem. Any law that defines a specific geographical area as Indian country will exclude someone who is Indian from being who they are where they are.