Documentary on sacred sites

In the light of reverence

Keeping Native American sites sacredThe topic of discussion was “sacred sites”, which was aided by the PBS documentary In The Light Of Reverence, chronicling some of the struggles of the Lakota tribe in the Black Hills, the Hopi in Arizona, and the Wintu Indians in Mount Shasta, Calif.

Many of these Native American tribes are battling the government and National Park Services to maintain their sacred ground upon which they pray, and carry out tribal ceremonies.

Reece summed up the struggle with a quote from one of her textbooks: “Spirituality is the linchpin of all Native American culture.”

Reece says their sacred culture is being threatened by the government’s plans to turn various Native American ceremonial sites into recreational sites for the public to enjoy. The film acknowledged that the holy grounds had three enemies.

“They are on public land and private property, in use as mining sites and recreational facilities, and competing religions.”