Religious Freedoms of Native Americans Following the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby Decision

Date & Time: Thursday, November 13, 2014 from 5:30pm to 7:30pm

CLE Credit: No

Event Description
“[T]he religious practices of the American Indian . . . are an integral part of their culture, tradition and heritage, such practices forming the basis of Indian identity and value systems.” 42 U.S.C. § 1996. As such, religious practice is the cornerstone of Native culture and has held Native communities together for centuries. Walter Echo- Hawk, Native Worship in American Prisons, 19.4 CULTURAL SURVIVAL Q. (Winter 1995). The federal government regulates the use of bald eagle parts and religious practices while incarcerated. The panel will explore the exercise of Native American religious practices after the Supreme Court’s decision in Hobby Lobby.

The panelists will discuss the tensions between the federal government’s efforts to accommodate tribal religion and the dissatisfaction of the tribal community, recent case law developments and whether the federal government is providing the least restrictive means in furtherance of protecting eagles and maintaining prisons.

This evening program is sponsored by the Indian Law Committee of the Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Section, in cosponsorship with the Native American Bar Association-DC. Doors open at 5:00 p.m.

Location
Greenberg Traurig
2101 L Street, NW
Suite 1000
Washington DC 20037
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Contact Information

Email: SectionsEvents@dcbar.org
Phone: 202-626-3463
Fax: 202-824-1877

Speakers

• Professor Patty Ferguson-Bohnee, Arizona State University
• Professor Kathryn Kovacs, Rutgers University
• Joel Williams, Native American Rights Fund
• Andrew Mergen, Department of Justice, Acting Chief Appellate Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division (Moderator)