Summer 1998 Lady Liberty League Report Published in CIRCLE Magazine Ancient Ways Update Vatican Misrepresents Paganism Zoning Battle Update Cybersitter Blocks Pagan Sites Ricki Lake Show on Witchcraft Druid Wins Custody Battle Religious Freedom Internet Resources Nature Religions at AAR Roundhill Adena Burial Mound Preserved at Last Use this list to link directly to the article you wish to read, or simply scroll down for all articles Ancient Ways Update Ancient Ways owner Ricky Miller was happy to report a victory in her continuing struggle to gain acceptance for her Pagan store in Yuba City, California. As reported in our Spring 1998 issue, the store was the target of an untruthful advertising campaign from a local fundamentalist Christian church. Recently, the local high school newspaper continued this media misinformation by publishing an article that linked Pagans with Satanism. After Miller spoke with several school officials, a retraction was printed stating that it was the school district's strong opinion that Wicca was not a form of Satanism and that the district was firmly against religious discrimination. Further, legal counsel has been employed to instruct journalism students on the need for fact checking and the legalities involved in printing libelous statements. Miller feels that her store and efforts are definitely affecting her community in a positive way and that she was "sent here to open people's eyes." She asks readers to continue to direct prayers of support and positive energy to her: Ricky Miller, Ancient Ways, Mall at Yuba City, 1215 Colusa Highway, Yuba City, CA 95991; 530.822.0560. Vatican Misrepresents Paganism Through the Internet, mail, and face-to-face contact, Pagans have been talking about the Vatican's recent apology for Roman Catholic involvement in the Holocaust, during which it stated that the Holocaust was "the work of a thoroughly modern neo-pagan regime" (USA Today, March 17, 1998, page 1). Since the values of Neo-Paganism stand in sharp contrast to the Nazi's hate-regime, many Pagans are greatly upset by the misconceptions this statement may cause. Circle Network member Robert Murphy sent LLL a report about the situation in which he points out that critics of Paganism frequently ignore Protestant and Roman Catholic support for Hitler while blaming "occult conspiracies" for anti-Semitism and the second World War. For more information, contact: Robert Murphy at PO Box 1593, Greenville, NC 27835. Zoning Battle Update As previously reported in LLL, the Reformed Congregation of the Goddess (RCG) has been fighting to obtain zoning to build a religious retreat center on land they have purchased in Oregon, Wisconsin. Their last round of interactions with the Town Board has unfortunately ended in a rejection of their zoning request and the Board's recommendation to the County to deny their petition. RCG has decided to place their fight on hold as they consider their next move, which they have determined should include engaging legal counsel to assist them with any further actions. RCG welcomes your support and prayers. They can be contacted at: RCG, PO Box 6677, Madison, WI 53716; 608.257.5858. Cybersitter Blocks Pagan Sites Many Pagans are continuing to express concern over web censorship programs that block Pagan sites. Cybersitter is one such program that has banned many minority religion sites, including some Wiccan ones. It has classified them as cults, while not allowing consumers who purchase the program to know which sites are blocked. Accordingly, public libraries using this program have no way of being aware that Pagan sites are being banned from viewing by the general public. For a comprehensive overview of the situation, suggestions on how Pagans can respond, as well links to several Pagan organizations that are fighting against this software, visit: http://www.thewitches.com/censor/blocked.htm on the Internet. Ricki Lake Show on Witchcraft The American television talk show Ricki Lake featured a recent program "Mom, I'm Obsessed with Witchcraft," which served up for entertainment family dysfunction, irate mothers, and teen "Witches." Prior to the show, several attempts, which were rebuffed by the producers, were made by various concerned Pagan groups and individuals to have balanced and accurate reporting in this program. Although during the last part of the show, three Wiccans spoke briefly in defense of the Craft, the total time of their combined comments was only four minutes of this hour long show. The show, which aired in March, has received mixed, but mostly negative, reviews. Circle Network member Elizabeth Barrette reported that, although Wiccans were able to make some accurate statements, she still found the show to be appalling, inaccurate, and irresponsible, making "a mockery of Witchcraft and Witches." Many Pagans have chosen to contact the show and express their opinions by calling: 800-GO-RICKI; or writing: The Ricki Lake Show, 401 5th Ave., 7th Floor, New York, NY 10016. For more information about Wiccan concerns about the show, contact Circle Network member Tracey West, PO Box 416, Sparkill, NY 10976;purewest@rockland.net. Druid Wins Custody Battle Wisewoman, a Florida mother, has won her case against her extended family who were seeking custody of her children because she was raising them within the Druid religion. The two year battle ended on February 6, 1998, when the judge in her case ruled that Druidry is an authentic religion, that the practice of being a Druid is not neglectful or abusive to children, and that one has the right to raise one's children as Druids in this country. Wisewoman hopes that her case and others will help broaden public understanding of Paganism. Religious Freedom Internet Resources With the popularity of the Internet continuing to grow, many Pagans have found they need look no further than the nearest computer screen to find legal assistance. One such source is the Earth Religions Assistance List, also known as ERAL. ERAL is dedicated to investigating and providing "911" assistance to Earth religionists facing religious/legal problems, and is also working to create a bank of Earth Religion related evidence, legal briefs, and judicial and administrative opinions. Since its inception, ERAL has helped with such varying issues as: employment discrimination, prisoner rights, child custody disputes, zoning problems, landlord/tenant disputes, cyber censorship, and school related issues. For more details, see: http://www.conjure.com/ERAL/eral.html or write to lcorncalen@aol.com. ERAL has also created a international directory of other Earth religion rights contacts which can be found at http://www.journey1.org/. Nature Religions at AAR As reported in our Spring 1998 issue, the proposal for a Nature Religions unit was not accepted by the American Academy of Religion for the 1998 Annual Meeting. However, a panel involving a group of Nature Religions scholars has been accepted for a session cosponsored by the New Religious Movements and Comparative Studies of Religion groups. The theme of the panel will be, "'Nature Religion' as a Theoretical Construct: Reflections from an Emerging Field." Roundhill Adena Burial Mound Preserved at Last In the Lady Liberty League Report that appeared in the Winter 1994-1995 issue of Circle Network News, we published a call for help from Jeff Hatmaker, a Circle Network member and Cherokee storyteller from Kentucky. Jeff was seeking help in his efforts to protect an ancient burial mound in Madison County, Kentucky near his home. He requested that our readers write letters, do prayers and ceremonies, and help in other ways. We just received word from Jeff that at last the mound is protected: O-Si-Yo My Friends, I am very grateful to be able to report to you the successful preservation of Roundhill Adena Burial Mound. The owner of the property upon which the mound rests has finally decided to sell the mound to the Archaeological Conservancy. This decision comes after almost four years of hesitation on the part of the landowner to sell. At about the some time as our letter writing campaign, the Archaeological Conservancy had made an offer to the elderly woman landowner. Circle Sanctuary became active in the preservation effort by making their readers aware of the crisis, helping promote the letter campaign, and by praying for the mound's preservation in various ceremonies. However, all hopes at first were seemingly dashed when the landowner, who erroneously feared that the mound would be excavated by the Conservancy without her receiving her fair share of what the contents were worth, reneged on her verbal agreement to sell. I spoke with an Elder about what I should do, and was given the best advice that could be had at the time. He said to pray. I drove by the mound occasionally after that, but was reluctant to check up on it very often, since it seemed to me to be such a painful defeat. Ours was not the first attempt to preserve Roundhill Adena Burial Mound. Efforts to preserve the mound have been in the works on and off for almost twenty years. When the mound was not designated as an Historical landmark (in spite of Kentucky's approval of its nomination to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980), efforts to preserve the mound stalled. The mound was declared 25 percent destroyed by vandals, according to the Richmond Register, and this destruction was cited as both the reason for the need for preservation as well the reason for the mound's ultimate denial for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. The practical upshot of all this is that, for many years, the future of this sacred site has been in question, and at times, very real danger from vandals and even the landowner herself, who at one point tried to destroy it because the vandalism activities terrified her. The Roundhill Adena Burial Mound is at last preserved and protected. The Archaeological Conservancy has had the larger trees on the mound cut down across the paths that quad runners had previously taken. Now the fallen trees and dense undergrowth serve to prevent access to the mound, and to help prevent the erosion problems inherent in the trails made by the vandals. Hopefully the future of the mound is secure at last. Roundhill Adena Burial Mound is in the hands of an organization which will see to its ongoing stewardship, and not part of a transient's (on the mound's time scale) personal property. Although it took a very long time, I am confident in my assertion that all of you who took part in the letter campaign and those among you who prayed and held ceremonies each played a part in the preservation of Roundhill Adena Burial Mound. The landowner told me that she saw your letters to the editor in the Richmond Register and she was very touched by your concern for the mound. Most of your letters were printed, and they even inspired a few local people to write to the editor. Each of you, as well as the good folks on the Circle Sanctuary staff, have my heartfelt gratitude for the efforts that you have made. The results that we were working and praying for have been achieved. It is time to offer not only congratulations to each other for the small part that we have played in this twenty year long epic, but prayers of thanks as well. Thanks again for all that was done, and your many prayers which manifested themselves in such a wonderful way.  Jeff Hatmaker