10.13.2014

Who knew?

1883 - Congress passes Religious Crimes Code | Savages & Scoundrels

"The Religious Crimes Code passed by Congress formally denied Indians First Amendment protections for 'freedom of religion.' The effect of this law was to drive Indian religious ceremonies such as the Ghost dance and the Sun dance, 'underground' - far from the prying eyes of white Indian agents. This odious piece of legislation was not repealed until the 1970s."
[Emphasis mine. The 1970s law was passed during the Carter administration.]

I came across this in a book I’ve been reading (more about which later); the dances mentioned were considered blasphemous and (of course) indecent.

(I’m old enough to remember people of my grandparents’s and even parents’s generation who considered any kind of dancing indecent. Even a few of my own generation, but I like to think they were only kidding and have got over it by now.)

No comments: