Smoke Signals December 1989
Page 6
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NA.P.O.L.S. Attorney Craig Dorsey.
SUPREME COURT HEARS
ARGUMENTS IN PEYOTE
CASE
WASHINGTON - The constitutional protection of the
free exercise of religion does not necessarily extend use
of the hallucinogen peyote, Oregon Attorney General
Dave Froyhnmayer argued before the U.S. Supreme
Court Monday.
A lawyer representing the Native American Church
argued, however, that a ban on use of the plant for
religious purposes could destroy the church.
The court listened to an hour of arguments on the case
that originated in 1984 with a claim for unemployment
compensation by two Oregon drug and alcohol rehabili
tation counselors who had been fired because they took
peyote as part of a ceremony of the Native American
Church. Their employer, ADAPT, a nonprofit rehabili
tation organization, banned the use of drugs or alcohol
by its employees.
The two men, Alfred L. Smith, a Klamath Indian, and
Galen W. Black, a non-Indian, said their use of peyote
as part of a religious ceremony was protected by the
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Both men,
residents of Springfield, said they were members of the
Native American Church.
Peyote is on Oregon's list of controlled substances that
may be legally obtained only be prescription. Illegal use
is a Class B felony. Although the federal Drug Enforce
ment Administration and 23 other states exempt its use
in religious ceremonies from criminal prosecution,
Oregon does not.
The case had been before the U.S. Supreme Court
earlier, but the justices returned it to the Oregon
Supreme Court to determine peyote's status under state
law. In October 1988, the state high court decided for
the second time that the religious use of peyote was
protected by the U.S. Supreme Court and again ordered
the state to pay unemployment compensation.
Frohnmayer appealed again and Monday listed three
reasons that the U.S. Supreme Court should uphold
Oregon's total ban on peyote. Calling peyote an
extremely dangerous substance, Frohnmayer said the
state has an interest in restricting all peyote use to
protect the health and safety of church members as well
as the public at large.
In addition, making an exception for the Native
American Church would lead to a patchwork of exemp
tions, forcing law enforcement to deal with a "substance
by substance, church by church, believer by believer"
pattern of legal use, Frohnmayer said. Third, he said,
allowing an exemption for the Native American Church
would remove the state's constitutional neutrality in
matters of religion.
Under questioning by Justice Antonin Scalia,
Frohnmayer compared the absolute ban on peyote with
the legal use of wine in the sacraments of some other
churches. "Even during Prohibition there was a statu
tory exemption" for sacramental wine, he said. Wine is
. used in small, harmless quantities while "peyote is used
for its hallucinogenic effects" and is far more dangerous,
he said.
Craig J. Dorsay, director of Oregon Legal Services'
Native American program, representing Smith and
Black, disputed Frohnmayer's claim that peyote is more
dangerous than alcohol "If we look at the devastating
effect of alcohol on the Indian population," he said, it
should be on the list of dangerous drugs.
"There is no evidence peyote has been misused by the
Native American Church," Dorsay said. He also said,
"The DEA has concluded that the religious use of
peyote does not cause a law enforcement problem."
The use of peyote is a part of the men's right to
practice their religion, he said. The effect of a Supreme
Court ruling upholding Oregon's ban "we believe would
be total destruction of this religion," Dorsay said.
Frohnmayer said, however, he knows of only one
criminal prosecution for peyote use during the years the
ban has been in effect and the church is flourishing.
At a rally on the Capitol lawn across the street from
the Supreme Court building after the arguments, church
groups staged a news conference-prayer service.
Emerson Jackson, a Native American Church minister
from Fort Defiance, Ariz., lit a fire of leaves and paper
in a metal bucket, sprinkled the flames with cedar
chipsand, with a fan of feathers and a few drops of
water, bestowed blessings on several ministers of other
faiths individually and on the crowd at large.
-Courtesy of the Oregonian
T
ARCHAEOLOGY
v f
COMMITTEE
',
, The Archaeology Committee attended the Fourth ;
Annual Northwest Conference on Cultural Preservation
in Pendleton, Oregon on October 25, 26, and 27th, 1989.
The Conference provided a forum on Issues of mutual '
concern tVthe fndiancomm
professionals, and pthers k the preservation andJJJ
management of cultural hentagi'
The Committee alsVattendcd a. workshop ttCom
at OSU with David Braimer and Dick Ross from thejt
Anthropology DeptAJso attending the meeting was th
Sawds
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SDavid and Dick covered a lot of territory trying torn
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communicate to me jNaove American peopic me roan
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mines mvoivea ra Arcnaeoiogy anuvnioropon
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The opening will be categorized by region and job type.
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rifJjlW Minoriryg
AHairs Dept ANPA Foundation at (703) 648-1000,
WWA
Jim Butler and Tribal Council member Ray McKnight found a moment to chat during the celebration.