Video Response – In The Light of Reverence

In The Light of Reverence is a documentary exploring conflict over natural resources among three communities in the United States. The conflict arises among American Indians who consider the sites where natural resources are to be extracted sacred and other Americans interested in using the sites for commercial and recreational reasons. The conflicts raise questions about religious freedom, the environment, the relationship of citizens to have a federal right to own land, the long-term impact of historical inequalities, and how society mediates between groups whose widespread varying experiences have created competing belief systems and needs (Mandy Suhr-Sytsma 60). The three communities featured in the film are the Wintu, the Hopi, and the Lakota. The Hopi attempt to stop mining at Woodruff Butte, San Francisco Peaks, and other sites in Arizona; the Lakota are against mountain climbing on Mato Tipila in June because they consider it to be a sacred month, and the Wintu are against practicing New Age spirituality at a Mount Shasta spring. They also condemn a ski resort that has been planned for the mountain. The film juxtaposes the three reflections of the elders of the three tribes on the spiritual meaning of places with the views of non-Indians on how to fully utilize land in the best way possible (Kidwell 141). The contrasting viewpoints reveal deep historical and cultural conflicts based on the fact that American culture focuses on reversing property rights, separating religion from land, and placing more value on individual freedom, while Native American culture holds land communally and derives spiritual satisfaction from nature while placing little value on individual rights.

The film depicts the struggles indigenous groups undergo to get their interests met and the disregard for their culture and traditions. For instance, the Lakota and other 16 tribes in the northern plains have placed a spiritual value on Mato Tipila, and they perform vision quests and dances near the mountain, which is why they are against climbing the mountain during the sacred month (Kidwell 141). In the 1990s, the National Park Service had accepted the request to ban climbing the mountain. Those opposing this move argued that the government was taking sides by promoting the religion of Indians and denying climbers the right to access the mountain. During a court hearing, the Park Service argued that it was a matter of accommodation and respect for cultural traditions. It adopted a compromise requesting climbers not to climb during June because it was a sacred month for the Indians. The Hopi, on the other hand, have a spiritual covenant of caring for their desert homeland. Mining companies dominate the entire Colorado Plateau to extract coal, gravel, pumice, and water to sell and generate money. Private property rights are prioritized over religious concerns, resulting in the demolition of the Hopi shrine and Woodruff Butte. The government purchased a pumice mine on public land at the San Francisco Peaks, which were considered sacred. There is also a lease to mine coal on the Black Mesa reservation land, resulting in the depletion of important Hopi village springs, where coal mixed with groundwater flowed to a distant power plant. The Wintu conduct healing ceremonies on the Great Mountain and are, therefore, against a proposed resort that will be located on the mountain (Kidwell 141). The Forest Service superintendent grants them their request and fails to give the permit required to set up the resort, citing the tribe’s concerns for the mountain’s spiritual integrity. The Wintu also believe that some New Age practices mock their traditional ceremony and offend the mountain, hence influencing what is allowed/Despite the resistance from non-indigenous people in all three scenarios, the government plays a significant role in protecting the interests of the indigenous group and creating a favorable outcome for both the indigenous and non-indigenous groups.

Works Cited

Kidwell, Clara S. “In the Light of Reverence: Protecting America’s Sacred Lands Christopher McLeod Malinda Maynor (Lumbee).” The Public Historian, vol. 24, no. 2, 2002, pp. 141-142.

Mandy Suhr-Sytsma. “In the Light of Reverence and the Rhetoric of American Indian Religious Freedom: Negotiating Rights and Responsibilities in the Struggle to Protect Sacred Lands.” Wicazo Sa Review, vol. 28, no. 2, 2013, p. 60.

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