The Native American Church is the largest indigenous religion in this country.
Estimates range to a quarter of a million members.
Indigenous people have treated the peyote cactus as a sacrament for at least 10,000 years in Mexico, and at least 7,000 years in the United States. The NAC is in a crisis situation. Its legal existence is jeopardized. The Federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the NAC work cooperatively in protecting the distribution and use of peyote. Indeed, at least one NAC member is currently being prosecuted for a felony for practicing what earlier courts had held was a constitutionally protected religion.