Nick Rahall: “throughout this Nation, sites on Federal lands held sacred for religious purposes by Native Americans are being…”

“throughout this Nation, sites on Federal lands held sacred for religious purposes by Native Americans are being desecrated, often needlessly, by adverse developments. In response, I have introduced the ``Native American Sacred Lands Protection Act.'' This legislation would make the protection of Indian sacred sites on Federal lands a matter of Federal law and put into place a petition system that may lead to the designation of these sites as unsuitable for development. Tex Hall, the President of the National Congress of American Indians, described this bill as protecting ``the essence of what Indian Country is.'' Unable to have this legislation considered under regular order and considering the immensity of the threat posed to these sacred sites, I am now offering an amendment that would simply prohibit the expenditure of funds made available under the pending legislation for activities which would adversely affect the physical integrity of sacred sites. Long before my ancestors arrived on these shores, American Indians were the first stewards of this land. They respected the Earth, the water and the air. They understood that you take only what you need and leave the rest. They demonstrated that you do not desecrate that which is sacred. Most Americans understand the reverence for the great Sistine Chapel or the United States Capitol.…”