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NEWS / WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
RELIGION
Haskell group using peyote in ceremonies
BY ALEX TRETBAR
atretbar@kansan.com
After Corey LeRoy was born prematurely with medical problems, her family, part of the Northern Ponca tribe of Nebraska, took her to a Native American Church ceremony. At three months old, LeRoy took yoe妃 for the first time.
The plant turned LeRoy's life around.
"I was born with a club foot," LeRoy said. "I don't have it now. They thought I was going to be mentally retarded. I'm not because of this. They used that avenue to heal me."
peyotism. Native Americans have used peyote, or Lophophora williamsii, for religious purposes for more than 5,000 years. Peyote is a powerful entheogen, a psychoactive substance used in spiritual contexts. Haskell is the only university in the country that is exempt from federal criminal penalties for religious use of peyote.
Haskell has a charter that allows students to hold meetings on a regular basis in teepees on the outskirts of campus, a convenience no other universities in the country have. The NAC club has about 25 active members, compared to about six members two years ago. LeRoy
"Some people say you just go there to trip,but it's holy to us. We would never insult that."
Students of the NAC chapter at Haskell uphold a centuries-old tradition through the practice of
LeRoy, a sophomore at Haskell Indian Nations University, came to Lawrence last semester from Indiana, where she regularly attended ceremonies. Now, she attends ceremonies as a member of the Native American Church club at Haskell.
COREY LEROY Haskell sophomore
Firemen - 1-2 men who tend to the fire all night and keep it burning safely
"It starts with a God-given thought," Wilson said. "Someone might be in need of prayers or they are worried about certain family members. They can be for birthdays, funeral services, many things. It starts with a thought and it leads to service."
Wilson said the club holds ceremonies for a variety of purposes.
is one of the recent additions to the club.
NAC club sponsor Ernest Wilson, known to many students as "Chief", is a security guard at Haskell and has worked at the school for 20 years. Wilson is one of the men who oversee the ceremonies, which the Haskell NAC club usually holds at the beginning and end of every semester.
LeRoy said that NAC members don't consider peye, their "medicine", a drug and that she has seen miracles many people would not believe. But the meetings don't require everyone to use the medicine.
"You can certainly go to it and not use the medicine," LeRoy said. "The medicine is a holy sacrament to us. Some people say you just go there to trip, but it's holy to us. We would never insult that."
Women - The NAC is hierarchical, meaning men and women have differing roles. Women prepare meals at the beginning and end of the meetings, and bring water to the roadman and other worshippers after the ceremony.
Drummer - Plays instruments like the water drum to keep rhythm for songs
Jeffrey Elizondo, a senior from Oklahoma, is the president of the NAC club at Haskell. Elizondo said people from all over the state and other parts of the country come to pray for various causes.
"It's someplace to pray when you are far from home," Elizondo said. "A lot of students here miss their families."
Roadman - Leads the ceremonies in prayer; similar to the role of a Christian priest
SPECIAL ROLES WITHIN THE CHURCH
Elizondo said the meetings go from sundown until morning and include singing, drumming and
Adrian Primaux, a junior from South Dakota and a member of the NAC club, gained the title of roadman, the leader of ceremonies, two years ago and has since led five ceremonies. Primaux said he tries to attend ceremonies at least every other weekend.
praying all night. The NAC's hierarchy also means men and women have different responsibilities.
"The most important thing about the ceremonies for me is praying." Primaux said. "We're praying for lives, health, happiness and a good road or life. Everybody's seeking the same things."
PEYOTE (LOPHOPHORA WILLIAMSII)
A small cactus native to Mexico and the southwestern United States
Contains mescaline, a powerful hallucinogen
Used worldwide both religiously and recreationally
Listed as a Schedule I drug in the US, meaning harsh penalties for possession
The 1994 Religious Freedom Act gave native tribes the right to use peyote for spiritual purposes
STATE
Freight train backs off saqging Kan. bridge
WELLINGTON — Union Pacific pulled a freight train off a sagging bridge near the south-central Kansas town of Wellington Tuesday.
The crew got off the train safely, and Union Pacific workers spent the afternoon getting the train off the bridge.
said an engineer noticed problems Tuesday morning after two locomotives and two of the train's 66 cars were already on the bridge.
Railroad spokesman Tom Lange
The train came to a stop after the first locomotive crossed the sagging section of track. The second locomotive and all the cars were stranded behind the bowed section.
Officials said a car carrying anhydrous ammonia never made it onto the bridge and didn't leak.
Associated Press
NATIONAL
LANGLEY, Ark. — Crews on Monday found the body of a young girl who was the 20th victim of a flash flood that devastated a popular Arkansas campground, but they continued searching because it wasn't clear whether the girl was the last person reported missing.
Child's body found after Ark. flooding
Officials had said earlier that
they still were looking for a young girl missing from the Albert Pike Recreation Area campground. But State Police Capt. Fletcher said searchers weren't sure if the girl whose body they found was the same one reported missing by her family.
Dozens of people were feared missing after the pre-dawn
Police will wait to announce the girl's name until her identity is confirmed by dental records or DNA, Fletcher said.
Friday flood, but authorities narrowed their search Sunday to just one person known to have been camping at the Albert Pike Recreation Area. They said they believe many others first feared missing were camping in other parts of the state, without cell phone coverage.
State police and other agencies were to decide Monday night whether to continue the search Tuesday, spokesman Bill Sadler said.
Associated Press