State questions religious protection for fishermen

[rug]

Jan 17, 2013 - 09:59 AM AKST
RACHEL D'ORO, Associated Press

(AP) — State prosecutors are disputing religious protection claims by Alaska Native fishermen cited for illegal fishing who say bans on their subsistence lifestyle violate their spiritual freedoms.

The fishermen "raised an issue without adequately briefing it," the state said in a court filing this week.

Prosecutors were responding to a motion seeking to consolidate the April trials of 21 fishermen to allow two specialists to testify as pro bono experts on Yup'ik Eskimo culture and spiritual matters.

The fishermen were among dozens of Alaska Natives cited last year during a weak king salmon run.

http://www.alaskajournal.com/Alaska-Journal-of-Commerce/January-Issue-3-2013/State-questions-religious-protection-for-fishermen/

[Angry Dragon]

1. I guess some religions get more protection than others

[cbayer]

2. Not sure what you mean. Examples?

[Angry Dragon]

3. Native Americans have a history of having their lives very intertwined

with their religion ............. but they are just heathens so it does not count as much as Christianity and other beliefs

[cbayer]

4. That's not really true. There are many exemptions to laws given

to native groups for religious reasons.

The question here is whether this qualifies as part of their spiritual/religious belief system.

Who has called them heathens in the last couple of centuries?

[Angry Dragon]

5. couple of centuries = 200 years 2013-200 = 1813 .... many religious people and politicians

[cbayer]

6. I haven't heard of anyone referring to native americans as heathens for

a very long time and really don't think it's applicable in this day and age.

[Angry Dragon]

7. I used heathens as a sarcasm

I do not think of them as heathens
I feel they have a better understanding of what a god or religion is than the religions that sit in church on Sundays


I am sure I have heard some tv preachers use the term in the last two years

[cbayer]

8. You used it as more than sarcasm. You used it to imply that others (specifically christians)

saw them as heathens. At least that was my read.

I have also heard preachers talk about heathens, but they are generally talking about everybody that doesn't see it the same way they do or hasn't fully converted to their religious POV.

[Angry Dragon]

9. Perhaps sarcasm is not the correct phrase

and how else would one use the word heathen??

[cbayer]

10. It's just a slur, imo. Anyone that would use it is most likely bigoted against those

that are different than they are. It has been used to attack atheists as well.

I don't mean to imply that you were using it as a slur, but you were implying that christians in general would, and that was what I objected to.