PEYOTE LAW HAS NAVAJOS IN BIND

SHIPROCK -- As illegal use of hallucinogenic peyote buttons rises,
including Navajo teens who are smoking it, Navajo Nation legislators are
looking for ways to restrict the drug's usage without obstructing those who
use it for religious purposes.

Under federal law, only Native Americans can use the hallucinogenic cactus
button as part of their religion. Native American Church members ingest the
peyote cactus in a tea, mush or powder form. Seeing visions is part of the
spiritual experience.

Sun Dancers and Navajo traditionalists also use the cactus button for
religious purposes.

It is the nonbelievers who use peyote to get high or to make money the
Navajo lawmakers are concerned about.

The Navajo tribal government held its first public hearing late last month
in Chinle, Ariz., where the Native American Church of Navajoland's central
office is located. The discussion will continue this week in Shiprock.

In a Nov. 14 letter, Navajoland Native American Church president Jesse
Thompson, said, "It has been documented by law enforcement and the courts
of the Navajo Nation that a stricter policy is needed to reduce
unauthorized use and discourage abuse of the peyote."

Chief Legislative Counsel Steven Boos says some of the problems stem from
the current law, which lists peyote as a controlled substance -- alongside
hashish and five other substances -- but then creates an exception for the
religious use of peyote.

If police seize peyote from a bootlegger, for instance, the prosecutor must
show that the cactus was not used "in connection with recognized religious
practices, sacraments or services of the Native American Church" before the
peyote can be destroyed.

NAC leaders have asked legislators to remove peyote from the controlled
substance list out of respect for what is considered a holy sacrament.
Nonetheless, Navajo lawmakers would like stricter criminal laws.

A proposed new section of the law would authorize the use, possession,
sale, trade and delivery of peyote by an Indian for bona fide ceremonial
purposes in connection with a Navajo religion or a Native American Church.

An "Indian" would be defined as an enrolled member of a federally
recognized tribe with 25-percent or more Indian blood. Violators would be
sentenced to a maximum of 180 days in jail or fined a maximum of $2,500, or
both. Seized peyote would be given to a Native American religious leader or
Native American Church leaders chosen by the parents of the convicted person.

Boos said the blood requirement must be deleted, because the federal
American Indian Religious Freedom Act does not require it. It also would
violate the free exercise of religion clause of the Navajo Bill of Rights,
he said.

The federal law protects the use of peyote as a part of any Indian
religion, Boos said. Some practitioners of the traditional Navajo religion
and the Sun Dance ceremonies have incorporated peyote into their rituals.

In New Mexico and Arizona, there are Anglos who practice the peyote way. An
occasional non-Indian can be seen inside prayer meetings on the Navajo
Nation, too. So, Navajo lawmakers must decide how strict the law will be
for those people, including non-Indian spouses of Indians.

Shiprock Council Delegate Wallace Charley suggests that those people can
partake in the ceremony if the roadman running the meeting or a NAC leader
has invited them.

"The bottom line is it's religious," he said. "It has to do with your faith."

The Navajo criminal code -- which covers all kinds of offenses -- has not
been revised since it was adopted in 1978.