The National Park Service's policy of asking visitors to avoid walking near Rainbow Bridge in southeastern Utah does not constitute promoting American Indian religion, a federal judge has ruled.
U.S. District Judge Bruce Jenkins found that the policy of requesting visitors to voluntarily refrain from walking near or under the 278-foot-long sandstone arch in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area does "not coerce visitors into practicing the Native American religion associated with the belief about not walking under the Rainbow God."
Glen Canyon Superintendent Kitty Roberts was pleased with the ruling. "Our message to the visiting public has always been to ask for voluntary cooperation in not approaching or walking under the bridge," she said Thursday.
Navajos, Hopi and other American Indian groups consider Rainbow Bridge a sacred site that should be approached closely only during their traditional religious ceremonies. A prehistoric altar once stood near the arch, but it was destroyed in the 1930s.
The Denver-based Mountain States Legal Foundation brought suit in 2000 on behalf of members of the Natural Arch and Bridge Society, who claimed the Park Service was illegally restricting the rights of the public to walk beneath the world's largest natural bridge.
Society members contended that park rangers ignored the rule's voluntary nature and threatened visitors with citations if they got too close to the arch.
Worse, the suit argued, by informing the arch's annual 300,000 visitors of its spiritual significance, the rangers were unconstitutionally promoting American Indian rites.
"This is a most disappointing ruling," said William Perry Pendley of Mountain States Legal Foundation. But while Pendley said the ruling was not "correct," he did not indicate in a written news release that the group planned an appeal.
In his ruling earlier this month, Jenkins did not find such educational programs in violation of church-and-state separation. He wrote that the policy and programs are in line with the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, which requires the government to "protect and preserve for American Indians their inherent right to believe, express and exercise . . . " their traditional beliefs.
Said Roberts: "We will continue to consult with the American Indian tribes and nations on management issues relating to Rainbow Bridge and provide visitors to the national monument with an opportunity to learn of the natural and cultural significance of the bridge."