June 21 Set for 2007 National Prayer Day for Native Sacred Places

June 19, 2007

Source: Indian Country Today

http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415253

WASHINGTON - Observances and ceremonies will be held across the country June 21 to mark the 2007 National Day of Prayer to Protect Native American Sacred Places. The exact times and days for public commemorations are listed below.

Some of the gatherings highlighted are educational forums, not religious ceremonies, and are open to the general public. Others are ceremonial and may be conducted in private. In addition to those listed below, there will be commemorations and prayers offered at sacred places that are under threat at this time.

Among the endangered places listed in the pages of this statement are sacred places that are being desecrated and damaged now, such as Hickory Ground in Alabama; San Francisco Peaks in Arizona; and Wakarusa Wetlands in Kansas.

There are other holy places which are being threatened with injury or destruction: Bear Butte in South Dakota; Little Creek Mountain in Tennessee; the Medicine Lake Highlands in northern California; Ocmulgee Old Fields in Georgia; the Petroglyphs in New Mexico; and Snoqualmie Falls in Washington.

''Native and non-Native people nationwide are gathering to honor sacred places, with a special emphasis on those that are endangered by actions that can be avoided,'' said Suzan Shown Harjo, Cheyenne and Hodulgee Muscogee. She is president of The Morning Star Institute, which organizes the National Prayer Days.