New Mexico Considers Protection of Ceremonial Native American Dances

A committee of the New Mexico State Legislature gave a sympathetic ear recently to a presentation calling for the protection of ceremonial Native American dances. The Farmington Daily-Times reports that the co-founder of a group called Sacred Preservation, Shawn Price, told the Indian Affairs Committee that non-Indians are viewing sacred dances, then performing them themselves for money. The Daily-Times says Price pointed out that although Native Americans’ arts and crafts are protected from exploitation, their dances are not. He is seeking state action to stop such behavior.