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23 NARF Legal Rev. 1 (1998)

handle is hein.journals/narf23 and id is 1 raw text is: Native American Rights Fund LEGAL KEVIEW Volume23, No. 1 Winter/Spring 1998 COURT RULESFOR INDIAN RELIGIOUS FREEDOM Our traditional, cultural, and spiritual use of Mato Tipila is vital to the health of our nation and to our self- determination as a Tribe. Those who use the Butte to pray become stronger. They gain sacred knowledge from the spirits that helps us preserve our Lakota culture and way of life. They become leaders. Without their knowledge and leadership we cannot continue to determine our own destiny. (Romanus Bear Stops, Lakota) On April 3, 1998, Judge William F. Downes of the U.S. District Court in Wyoming ruled that the National Park Service's climbing management plan at Devils Tower National Monument is constitutional. In his ruling, Judge Downes stated that ...the voluntary climbing ban is a policy that has been carefully crafted to balance the competing needs of individuals using Devils Tower National Monument while, at the same time, obeying the edicts of the Constitution. Judge Downs upheld all aspects of the Park Service's program, stating that While the purposes behind the voluntary climbing ban are directly relat- 4 ed to Native American religious practices, .... The purposes underlying the ban are really to remove barri- ers to religious wor- ship occasioned by public ownership of the Tower. This is in the nature of accom- modation, not promo- tion, and consequently is a legitimate secular purpose.... The government is merely enabling Native Americans to worship in a more peaceful set- ting. In doing so, the government has no involvement in the man- ner of worship that takes place, but only provides an atmosphere more conducive to worship. Judge Downes' ruling is expected to be appealed. The Native American Rights Fund filed an amicus curi- ae brief last year on behalf of the 4 4,~ , _ -v National Congress of American Indians in the District Court of Wyoming in the case of Bear Lodge Multiple Use Association et al v. Babbitt to defend the National Park Service's Climbing Management Plan at Devils Tower National Monument or Mato Tipila (Bear Lodge) from a lawsuit filed by professional climbers that challenged the federal govern- ment's ability to voluntarily Continued on page 2 N LEGAL N R REVIEW Digitized from Best Copy Available