Paradox: Christian Creationism Bad – Native American Creationism Good

Over at the New York Times today,
science reporter George Johnson has a
remarkably frank column about how researchers who would
otherwise vociferously fight against Christian creationism back
down when it comes to indigenous creationism. Johnson opens by
citing protests by Native Hawaiians against the building of the
gigantic Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea based on claims that
the mountain is sacred. From the article:

For them the mountain is a sacred place where the Sky Father and
the Earth Mother coupled and gave birth to the Hawaiian people.

They don’t all mean that metaphorically. They consider the
telescope — it will be the 14th on Mauna Kea — the latest insult to
their gods. Push them too far, the demonstrators warned, and Mauna
Kea, a volcano, will erupt in revenge.

It can be difficult to tell how motivated such protests are by
spiritual outrage and how much by politics. …

Adding more complications, the indigenous protesters were
allied with environmental activists
denouncing the encroachment of what they call “the international
astronomy industry,” as though there were great profits to be made
from studying black holes and measuring redshifts.

Of course, since the summit of Mauna Kea is “owned” by the U.S.
government, who gets to use it is necessarily adjudicated in the
win/lose arena of politics instead of through the win/win dynamics
of private property rights and markets.

Johnson then goes on to talk about how the Native American
Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) affects scientific
research. Back in 2004, Reason published a fascinating
article that focused on the fight over the remains of
Kennewick Man. That article, “Grave
Injustice,” outlined the uses and abuses of NAGPRA:

Imagine an America where the federal government takes an active
role in promoting the spiritual values of a certain cultural group.
This group rarely documents its largely unknown religious practices
and in fact considers many rituals too secret for public knowledge.
Yet should outsiders violate its beliefs, the government can
threaten them with lawsuits, fines, or prison sentences….

In practice, NAGPRA’s opponents say, the law has done far more
for new age sophistry and legal abuse than for science and
justice.

Now a decade later, Johnson inquires of Steve Lekson, a
professor of anthropology and curator of archaeology at the
University of Colorado Museum of Natural History what he thinks of
the requirement to turn over skeletal remains and cultural
artifacts stored in museums and universities to Native American
groups? Lekson replied:

“There’s no question we are losing information,” he said. But he
had become persuaded that complying with the artifacts law was the
right thing to do.

“It’s bad for science, but good (I suppose) for the Native
American groups involved,” he wrote in an email. “Given that the
U.S.A. was founded on two great sins — genocide of Native Americans
and slavery of Africans — I think science can afford this act of
contrition and reparation.”

But how is letting Indian creationism interfere with scientific
research any different from Christian creationism interfering with
public education — something that he would surely resist?

Logically they are the same, Dr. Lekson agreed. But we owed the
Indians. “I’m given to understand that the double standard
rankles,” he said.

Johnson ends by citing a
letter defending the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope
from Native Hawaiian Chad Kalepa Baybayan:

The science of astronomy helps us to advance human knowledge to
the benefit of the community. It teaches us where we have come
from, and where we are going. Its impact has been positive,
introducing the young to the process of modern exploration and
discovery, a process consistent with past traditional practices.
…

I firmly believe the highest level of desecration rests in
actions that remove the opportunity and choices from the kind of
future our youth can own.

Sounds right.