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''Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association'', , was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled on the applicability of the Free Exercise Clause to the practice of religion on Native American sacred lands, specifically in the Chimney Rock area of the Six Rivers National Forest in California. This area, also known as the High Country, was used by the Yurok, Karuk, and Tolowa tribes as a religious site. == Background == In 1982, the United States Forest Service drew up a report known as the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that examined the environmental impact of constructing a road through and possibly harvesting timber in the Six Rivers National Forest. Due to the religious importance of the area, the study found that if the U.S. Forest Service’s plans went forward, the damage done to the land would be severe and irreparable. Therefore, the report advised against both the road and timber harvesting. Additionally, the EIS suggested possible alternative routes that avoided key religious sites. However, this recommendation and the rest of the report was rejected by the U.S. Forest Service.〔http://supreme.justia.com/us/485/439/case.html〕 The report commissioned by the United States Forest Service recognized that the construction of the road would destroy the religion of the American Indian tribes. American Indian groups (led by the Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association) and the State of California sued for an injunction, challenging both the road building and timber harvesting decisions. The court issued a permanent injunction that prohibited the Government from constructing the Chimney Rock section of the road or putting the timber harvesting plan into effect, holding, inter alia, that such actions would violate respondent Indians' rights under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment and would violate certain federal statutes.〔http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0485_0439_ZS.html〕 The Trial Court found for Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association and issued an injunction. The USFS appealed. The Appellate Court affirmed and the USFS appealed again bringing the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. As a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, ''Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective'' was argued on November 30, 1987. The petitioner, Richard E. Lyng, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture at the time, claimed that constructing a road and harvesting timber through lands considered sacred by Native American tribes violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.〔http://law.jrank.org/pages/13679/Lyng-v-Northwest-Indian-Cemetery-Protection-Association.html〕 The respondent in the case was the Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association, et al. With the claim at hand, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to rule on the question of whether the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause prohibited the government from harvesting or developing the Chimney Rock Area.〔http://www.oyez.org/cases/1980-1989/1987/1987_86_1013〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Ass'n」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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