Managing the Sacred Lands of Native America

Abstract

This research paper is a review of ten years of sacred lands management and policy in the United States. The author reports from the unique position of having been involved in national and international meetings with communities of indigenous peoples and intergovernmental stakeholders during this time. Discussion includesan historical overview of such topics as environmental justice and the 2001 Native American Sacred Lands Forum, one of the first national meetings in the United States to specifically address the sacred lands of Native Americans. Further discussion draws attention to the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007 as a gateway to better sacred lands management and policy for Native Americans in the future.

Keywords

• environmental justice
• freedom of religious expression
• human rights
• indigenous peoples
• Native American
• policy
• sacred lands