In the case of Richard E. Lyng, Secretary of Agriculture, et al. v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association et al., 1987, Native American tribes sought to prevent the U.S government from building a road and harvesting timber on federal land in California that was considered sacred by several tribes. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the government with a 5-3 decision stating that while they acknowledged the spiritual importance of this land to these tribes, there was no violation under First Amendment rights as long as their religious practices were not coerced by law or penalty into violating their beliefs; merely having their religious feelings affected did not constitute an infringement upon free exercise rights. This ruling established precedent for future cases involving conflicts between tribal cultural heritage and federal development projects.

In the dissenting opinion for Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association, Justice Brennan argued that the government's decision to build a road through sacred Native American land violated their First Amendment rights. He asserted that this action would severely damage or destroy the Indians' ability to practice their religion, which is centered around these lands. Brennan criticized the majority's narrow interpretation of religious freedom and its failure to recognize indirect burdens on religious practices. He emphasized that while building a road might not directly prohibit religious activities, it could render them meaningless by destroying their spiritual context. Furthermore, he pointed out inconsistencies in previous rulings where courts had protected other religions from less severe infringements on their practices.