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Article: American Indians, panel discuss religious law.
- Article from:
- National Catholic Reporter
- Article date:
- March 26, 1993
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 National Catholic Reporter. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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MINNEAPOLIS - "We do not wear an eagle feather as an ornament. We wear it only when we are worthy, only when we earn it. We don't ask for it - we struggle for it," explains Oglala Lakota holy man Pete Catches.
The 82-year-old healer from the Pine Ridge Reservation, resplendent in a red ribbon shirt, refers to the two long eagle feathers pinned to a red bandanna holding back his hair. "This is all I can wear in my life. ... I cannot wear one more feather on my head, even though I'm a medicine man. It is hard to be worthy, to earn it, to wear it."
The religious use of eagle feathers and peyote, access to sacred sites and religious rights of American ...