Tribes Release Sacred Ceremonial Stone Landscape Resolution: Prayers in Stone

Submitted by aluta on Sunday, 08 April 2007 Page Views: 6001

**Oley Hills** submitted by aluta : A large cairn built over a stone at the Oley Hills site in Berks County, Pennsylvania. One problem in getting these sites recognized is their size. A photograph cannot capture the complexity and size of these sites, which are composed of numerous large elements, many connected by meandering wall. (Vote or comment on this photo)

The many dedicated amateurs who have spent so much time, effort and money finding and recording the enigmatic stonework sites of the southern and eastern states of the U.S. received a morale boost recently when USET, a coalition of North American indigenous peoples, released a resolution acknowledging those sites as sacred landscapes used by their tribal ancestors.

USET, the United Southern and Eastern Tribes, Inc., is comprised of 24 federally recognized tribes whose ancestral lands are scattered from Texas to Maine . The coalition formed in hopes that joining their voices will help them be better heard on a regional and national level. Since their earliest days as a much smaller group beginning in 1968, they have issued many resolutions aimed at making life better for the First Peoples living in the U.S. This recent resolution, called Sacred Ceremonial Stone Landscapes Found in Ancestral Territories of USET Member Tribes,
calls for preservation of the sacred and ceremonial landscapes spread across the USET areas and by extension of sites in areas that at present are represented by no recognised tribes.

One part of the resolution reads: “whether these stone structures are massive or small structures, stacked, stone rows or effigies, these prayers in stone are often mistaken by archaeologists and State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs), as the efforts of farmers clearing stones for agricultural or wall building purposes.”

Over the years while amateurs fascinated by these sites located them and then watched helplessly as many were destroyed by development, archaeologists pointed to the Indians’ silence on the topic as proof that the sites were not theirs and therefore not pre-European. Despite many passages to the contrary in the writings of early European explorers of North America , orthodox archaeological thought on the subject was that eastern Indians did not build in stone. It is to be hoped that this resolution will convince archaeologists to take a closer look at that assumption and begin to visit the sites themselves and discover their extraordinary nature.

The resolution goes on to request that all relevant government departments and agencies consult with the tribes concerning the sacred ceremonial stone landscapes and that workshops be set up to include archaeologists, government departments and agencies and Historic Preservations offices with the tribes in order to increase understanding and correct harmful policies regarding these sites. It also asks for federal help, when requested, for the preservation of the sacred landscapes.

It is worth noting that the Megalithic Portal has hosted photographs of and articles about some of these sites for a number of years while archaeology has lagged behind amateur groups in their recognition. We can only hope that the resolution will move us closer to the day when important sites such as the one at Oley Hills are permanently preserved.

While there’s still a long way to go before the resolution is recognised by the government and implemented, the acknowledgement of the sites by a native coalition like this was a necessary and long-awaited step in the process toward preservation. For some who have been involved, it is a thrill just to read the words,
“for thousands of years before the immigration of Europeans, the medicine people of the USET Tribal ancestors used these sacred landscapes to sustain the people’s reliance on Mother Earth and the spirit energies of balance and harmony;” coming from a group like USET. Here’s hoping it will help to save some of the dwindling number of sites that remain.

Note: See Comment for links to several of these sites already listed on the Portal.

Contributor Bio for aluta: Well, Clonehenge. Other than that I like ancient sites, ancient stones, long walks and good conversation.

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