United States Law protecting Native Americans' religious practices
American Indian Religious Freedom Act
Long title
Joint resolution American Indians Religious Freedom
Acronyms (colloquial)
AIRFA
Enacted by
the 95th United States Congress
Citations
Public law
95-341
Statutes at Large
92 Stat. 469
Codification
Titles amended
42 U.S.C.: Public Health and Social Welfare
U.S.C. sections created
42 U.S.C. ch. 21, subch. I §§ 1996 & 1996a
Legislative history
Introduced in the Senate as S.J.Res. 102 by James Abourezk (D-SD) on December 15, 1977
Committee consideration by Senate Indian Affairs
Passed the Senate on April 3, 1978
Passed the House on July 18, 1978 (in lieu of H.J.Res. 738, 337–81) with amendment
Senate agreed to House amendment on July 27, 1978 ()
Signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on August 11, 1978
The American Indian Religious Freedom Act, Public Law No. 95–341, 92 Stat. 469 (Aug. 11, 1978) (commonly abbreviated to AIRFA), codified at 42 U.S.C. § 1996, is a United States federal law, enacted by joint resolution of the Congress in 1978. Prior to the act, many aspects of Native American religions and sacred ceremonies had been prohibited by law.[1]
The law was enacted to return basic civil liberties to American Indians, Eskimos, Aleuts, and Native Hawaiians, and to allow them to practice, protect and preserve their inherent right of freedom to believe, express, and exercise their traditional religious rites, spiritual and cultural practices.[2] These rights include, but are not limited to, access to sacred sites, freedom to worship through traditional ceremonial rites, and the possession and use of objects traditionally considered sacred by their respective cultures.[2]
The Act requires policies of all governmental agencies to eliminate interference with the free exercise of Native American religions, based upon the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, and to accommodate access to, and use of, Native American religious sites to the extent that the use is practicable and is consistent with an agency's essential functions.[3] It also acknowledges the prior violation of that right.[4]
^Powell, Jay; & Jensen, Vickie. (1976). Quileute: An introduction to the Indians of La Push. Seattle: University of Washington Press. (Cited in Bright 1984).
^ abCornell.edu. "AIRFA act 1978". Archived from the original on May 14, 2006. Retrieved July 29, 2006.
^United States (2013). Indian Sacred Sites: Balancing Protection Issues with Federal Management. America in the 21st century : political and economic issues. Christopher N. Griffiths (ed.). New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc. ISBN 978-1628082845.
^Canby, John C. Jr. American Indian Law in A Nutshell. West Publishing Company, 1988. Pg. 339, 340.
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