Last week, Notre Dame Law School’s Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic filed an amicus brief in a case before the Supreme Court of Texas, advocating for the protection of a sacred Indigenous site in San Antonio. The brief, filed on behalf of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers and Carol Logan, an elder from the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, supports two plaintiffs who seek to preserve the sacred area surrounding a bend in the San Antonio River, known as the Yanaguana. This site holds profound spiritual significance for members of the Lipan-Apache Native American Church and other Indigenous groups.

The sacred site is central to the Coahuiltecan creation story and is the only place where certain religious ceremonies involving the river, sacred trees, and nesting cormorants can be performed. The site, however, is threatened by a proposed retaining-wall restoration project by the City of San Antonio, which would remove the sacred trees and disturb the nesting cormorants, destroying the area's spiritual ecology.

Although the case was filed in federal court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently certified a question of state law to the Supreme Court of Texas, seeking its view on a 2021 state constitutional amendment protecting religious services. In its amicus brief, the Clinic sought to provide guidance on the meaning of the amendment and highlighted the long history of governmental disregard for Indigenous sacred sites.

Notre Dame law students Annie Ortega, Jessica Smith, Steven Tu, and Breck Giltner drafted the brief under the supervision of Professor John Meiser, director of the Religious Liberty Clinic, and Domenic Canonico, a legal fellow at the Clinic. The Clinic filed the brief alongside Notre Dame Law School alumnus Rob Dunikoski (‘05), a partner at Castañeda + Heidelman LLP in Dallas, Texas.

Smith explained that “this case was particularly interesting to work on because it involved a never-before-interpreted provision of the Texas Constitution.”

“It was an honor to participate in this case by providing some interpretive guidance that may help the court decide this matter of first impression,” Ortega said. “I am optimistic that the court will honor the people’s decision to afford greater protections for religious services in Texas.”

“It is rare for a lawyer, or even a judge, to have the chance to help interpret a new constitutional provision for the first time,” said Meiser. “I am thrilled that our students have that opportunity even while they are still in school – and that they are able to do so in support of such vital needs of our clients and people of all religious beliefs.”

The Clinic's brief urges the Supreme Court of Texas to reject an artificially narrow interpretation of the 2021 amendment, warning against constricting it in ways that could especially disadvantage Native American sacred practices. The brief reflects the Clinic’s commitment to advocate for religious liberty for people of all faiths, especially those that may be misunderstood or overlooked.

“Religious freedom is a fundamental aspect of human dignity,” said Canonico. “It’s important to ensure that people of all faiths enjoy the full and equal protections of religious liberty laws.”

The amicus brief was filed on behalf of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers and Carol Logan.

The International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers is a global alliance of Indigenous elders who come together in prayer, education, and healing for Mother Earth. The members are united by their shared mission to protect Indigenous ways of life and to preserve the lands where Indigenous peoples live and upon which their cultures depend.

Carol Logan is an elder from the Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde and a lineal descendant of the Clackamas People. She has advocated to prevent the federal government’s seizure and destruction of sacred lands in Oregon — including a sacred site that the government seized and destroyed to expand a highway, only to later admit that destruction was totally unnecessary. Logan seeks to prevent similar unnecessary destruction from happening along the Yanaguana.

About the Notre Dame Law School Religious Liberty Clinic

The Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic is a teaching law practice that educates, forms and prepares Notre Dame law students to become the rising generation of religious liberty leaders by training students in the practice of the law as they defend religious freedom for all people.

Under the guidance of law school faculty and staff, students work on a broad variety of legal matters to promote religious freedom on behalf of individuals and organizations of all beliefs—both domestically and abroad. The clinic represents clients from all faith traditions to promote not only the freedom for people to hold religious beliefs but also their fundamental right to express those beliefs and to live according to them. Learn more about the work of the Clinic here.

Originally published by Elyse Paul at religiousliberty.nd.edu on December 11, 2024.