Sacred dance essay prompts tribal banishment (fwd)

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Sacred dance essay prompts tribal banishment

TAOS PUEBLO, New Mexico (AP) --A college professor has been banned from
a New Mexico Indian community after writing an essay about a sacred
tribal dance that was published in a newspaper.

The banishment means Tito Naranjo, 66, could be arrested if he enters
Taos Pueblo, which has about 1,200 tribal members near the city of
Taos, about 110 miles northeast of Albuquerque.

Many tribes prohibit sacred dances from being recorded in stories or
photographs because they believe doing so detracts from the ritual's
spiritual significance.

Naranjo, who lives in nearby Mora, said he was inspired by the "deer
dance" and submitted a short essay to a newspaper writing contest. The
essay, published December 21, took first place in the adult category
and earned Naranjo $100.

Leaders of Taos Pueblo accused Naranjo of using tribal religious
activity "for self promotion by writing an essay of a sensitive
activity for publication."

Naranjo, a professor of Native American studies at the University of New
Mexico at Taos, said the only way to preserve the tribe's oral
traditions is to write them down and record the sounds of the dance.

"Young tribal members are watching television instead of doing community
work," he said. "CD-ROM will record the entire language of the elders
and preserve precise intonations and authenticity of the language for
future generations."

The order banishing Naranjo says he "caused irreparable harm to the
sensible nature of the religious activity through exploitation." Taos
Pueblo Gov. John Mirabal declined to comment.

Naranjo hopes the banishment will be lifted, but he acknowledges he
considered the consequences before writing the essay. Naranjo is
married to a Taos Pueblo woman whose father lives in the community.

"I thought immediately, Taos Pueblo is going to disagree," he said. "Am
I going to be a wimp, or am I going to write about this?"


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