Yellow Jacket
Registered Senior Member
Yes, a representation of a culture.
So what gods/spirits are angered by the cutting of the enemies hair? What gods/spirits are pleased by these actions?
Its not about religion, its about self image. And in many cases about sex. Long hair = health/success (one measure) = attraction for women (tribe/band/nation dependent).
And I could respond that you cannot be objective about the subject because you are too emotionally involved.
From your link:
"Among non-legal scholars in philosophy and religion there is a very lively debate as to whether the word “religion” can or should be defined.[10] It has been observed that the “effort to define religion is as old as the academic study of religion itself.”[11] In fact, “dozens, if not hundreds of proposals have been made, each claiming to solve the definitional problem in a new and unique way. Needless to say, no one definition of religion has garnered a consensus, and the definitional enterprise, as well as the debate over the very need for definitions, continues in full vigor.”
I also understand orally passed traditions are susceptible to change in meaning when passed generation to generation. Add in the long term attempts to dissolve any memory of the traditions, with the recent attempts to re-establish these customs and religious practices and there are bound to be mistakes in interpretations.
Or even planned attempts to redefine cultural tradition into religious tradition.
Ah, but I do understand why desecrating a catholic statue falls under religious persecution. Catholic statues clearly represent that religion. I also understand why catholic statues are confined to catholic properties and not placed in public schools regardless of the personal belief systems of the public school students.
Are native americans traditionally banned from participating in religious ceremonies because they are bald, or because they have short hair? Nope. It is not a requirement of the religious practice of the various tribes/bands.
I dont think this is a religious issue, I think this is a parental rights/student rights issue. I dont think christian boys who like to wear long hair, in braids or not should be barred from the practice in public schools.
Actually, the United States Government recognizes long hair as part of the "religion" of Native American.
Shabazz v Barnauskas (1985)
Similarly, this case like the previous ones reiterate the view that the AIRFA provides no statutory protection. The native plaintiff
incarcerated in the Florida State Penitentiary charged that the prison’s regulation against long hair violated his First Amendment’s rights and
AIRFA. The court acknowledged the existence of the native religion and the importance of long hair as part of the religion. While there was First
Amendment constitutionality and AIRFA protection of religious rights, the court in the final analysis ruled that the public’s interest in maintaining
penal security outweighed the plaintiff’s First Amendment rights.1
Please note:"The court acknowledged the existence of the native religion and the importance of long hair as part of the religion."
Link here:
http://eaglefeather.org/series/Native%20American%20Series/Addendum%20Legal%20Cases%20Affecting%20Native%20American.pdf
And here again, recognizing native american "religion" and and explanation why I keep putting "religion" in quotes:
http://www.dickshovel.com/nar.html
"Native American Spirituality
Since the arrival of the "white man" to the lands of what is now known as the United States, Native Americans have been fighting to keep their spiritual practices alive. Right from the beginning, Native American religious practices were misunderstood and forbidden. Christian missionaries believed that Native Spirituality was a "worthless superstition inspired by the Christian devil, Satan."(4) The United States government tried to force Christianity upon the Indians in a desperate attempt to destroy their traditions and to assimilate them into white Christian society; but it soon became "apparent to United States political and Christian leaders that the political and religious forms of tribal life were so closely intertwined as to be inseparable, and that in order to successfully suppress tribal political activity, it was imperative that tribal religious activity be suppressed as well."(5)
As the United States government realized early on, Native American spirituality differs from Christian religious doctrine. For Christians, there is a distinct separation between religious practice and everyday activity.(6) For Native Americans, however, no such clear-cut distinction exists because religion cannot be separated from everyday life.(7) Even using the word "religion" to describe Native American spirituality is misguided, because it fails to take into consideration the inseparable connection between spirituality and culture. One cannot exist without the other. Native American spiritual observances are "guided by cycles, seasons and other natural related occurrences,"(8) and these spiritual aspects are inextricably woven into the culture itself.
Throughout the decades, United States policy in Indian affairs shifted, and eventually Congress took steps to establish certain protections for Native American religious practices. In 1978, Congress enacted the American Indian Religious Freedom Act which stated:
"t shall be the policy of the United States to protect and preserve for American Indians their inherent right of freedom to believe, express, and exercise the traditional religions of the American Indian, Eskimo, Aleut, and Native Hawaiians, including but not limited to access to sites, use and possession of sacred objects, and the freedom to worship through ceremonials and traditional rites."(9)
As promising as this Act appeared for Native Americans wanting to be free from governmental intrusion in practicing their native spirituality, it contained a fatal flaw: there was no provision for enforcement. The Supreme Court interpreted the Act to be merely a requirement that the government consult with the Indians about the potential devastating effects its actions might have on Indian religious practices.(10) For the Indian people, the Act meant absolutely nothing without provisions for enforcement. Many Native Americans ended up in prison for simply practicing their spirituality in the traditional ways that their ancestors had used since time immemorial.
Native American Spirituality In Prison
The struggle to practice native spirituality goes on each and every day inside the prisons. Most prison administrators are completely ignorant of native spirituality. They refuse to recognize that native ceremonies, spiritual teachings, and practices are not conducted on a weekly basis, as are Christian religious ceremonies,(11) but instead are "integrated into daily life, rather than reserved for a special day of the week."(12) Prison officials also fail to understand that "sacred pipes, eagle feathers, various herbs and the wearing of long hair are all integral parts of the ceremony necessary for native spiritual expression," in the same ways that church ceremonies involving the sacrament of communion and the wearing of crosses are for members of the Christian faith.(13) "
Perhaps this will help your lack of understanding. If not, then there is no longer a reason to address you.