June 26th, 2024

Took part in Apache ceremonies. schools expelled them for satanic activities

Educators on Fort Apache Reservation expelled Native American teens for participating in a sacred Apache Sunrise Dance, deemed satanic. Conflict arises between Christian teachings at the school and Apache cultural traditions, causing fear and shame.

Read original articleLink Icon
Took part in Apache ceremonies. schools expelled them for satanic activities

Educators on the Fort Apache Reservation expelled Native American teens for participating in a sacred Apache Sunrise Dance, citing it as satanic. The school, founded by a Christian group, has a history of condemning traditional Native practices. The expulsion of students for engaging in their cultural ceremonies has caused fear and shame within the community. The school's Christian teachings clash with Apache traditions, leading to conflicts for families trying to preserve their culture while seeking education. The Sunrise Dance holds deep significance for Apache girls, symbolizing their transition to womanhood and receiving blessings for their future. Despite efforts to preserve their traditions, many families face discrimination and expulsion for practicing their cultural ceremonies. The clash between Christian beliefs and Apache traditions highlights ongoing challenges faced by Indigenous communities in preserving their cultural heritage.

Link Icon 8 comments
By @Anon_451 - 5 months
Story has two sides to it. On one, you have a faith-based private school built on a native reservation with the explicit purpose of being as bigoted as possible toward the people living there, which is horrible, but on par for the behavior of such organizations. On the other, you have natives who continue to send their children to that school despite generations of this pattern because of better educational outcomes than the U.S. federal public school.

There are a few possible calls to action here. You're not going to convince the ministry to change their outlook -- you might as well ask an alligator to stop eating meat. As a religious organization they are exempt from many laws that would get government or corporate groups in trouble, particularly if the families signed a paper to enroll their kids. It comes down to biting the bullet and playing along with the school's BS, or biting the other bullet and seeking alternative educational providers. It would be great if as a community they could find their own path to creating better public schools (having the freedom to build casinos provides a readily-available revenue stream, if you can solve the leadership corruption issue), but failing that, I guess the U.S. federal government could throw more money at the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

I can emphasize with the kids because I grew up atheist in an overwhelmingly Mormon backwoods town, where I was the "devil worshiper" and treated like garbage for it. On the other hand, the families have alternatives available to them. If the alternatives suck, they should look into how to make them better.

By @bee_rider - 5 months
> The morning of Good Friday, Father John Cormack, presiding priest of St Francis of Assisi Catholic church in Fort Apache, agreed to an interview in his office. His ministry – a rarity on the reservation – is an example of the weaving of Apache tradition into Christianity. The chapel is decorated in Apache symbols and sacred tools. When he collects written prayers, Father John uses Apache traditional burden baskets, canes and other ceremonial objects. Above the door are Eagle feathers, a sacred symbol of strength.

What a cool guy.

Historically the Catholic Church has gotten up to all sorts of nonsense, but they seem to be doing a good job of keeping up with the times, to the extent that a church can be expected to.

The East Fork Lutheran school, on the other hand, isn’t looking so good.

By @a_w - 5 months
Morality aside, I was hopping to see a discussion on the legal side of this issue.

1. Doesn't Title VI apply here?

2. Could a company legally fire an employee for practicing their religion/tradition on the weekends, outside of the office grounds?

By @defrost - 5 months
From 19 hours earlier: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40796301 (7 comments)
By @karakfa2 - 5 months
they claim they got it right when it comes to region but

"...there are over 80 churches on the reservation, representing 27 different Christian denominations."

By @qarl - 5 months
We're going backwards.
By @GauntletWizard - 5 months
How stupid, ignorant, and bigoted. Still, I mostly fault the parents for not paying closer attention before deciding to send their kids to these private schools. It's fairly vile that anyone would build an ostensibly educational organization on reservation land with a belief that tribal religion is "satanic" in nature, but the parents chose to send them to this school - There's a large dose of "Caveat Emptor" and a smaller dose of "Sue them for fraud" depending on how much they were paying attention before sending their kids there.