Peaks opponents optimistic
Crowd supports 13 tribes in San Francisco Peaks court hearing
By
Karen Francis, Diné Bureau
Gallup Independent, DECEMBER 12, 2007
PASADENA, Calif. — Tribal members and
other concerned citizens came out in force to Pasadena
yesterday for the rehearing of the Navajo Nation vs.
U.S. Forest Services case.
The case centers on the use of artificial
snow made with recycled sewage water on the San Francisco
Peaks, which are sacred to some 13 tribes in Arizona.
The tribes and several environmental
groups filed suit after the U.S. Forest Services approved
the use of treated waste water to make artificial snow
on the mountain by the Arizona Snowbowl, a ski resort.
Beginning at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, the
9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments lasting
about an hour.
Howard Shanker, who represents the Navajo
Nation, White Mountain Apache, the Yavapai-Apache, Havasupai,
the Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity
and the Flagstaff Activist Network, said that most of
the questions from the 11 justices of the court yesterday
focused on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
“The court really seemed to be interested
in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, trying to
determine where to draw the line when it comes to these
types of cases,” Shanker said.
He added, “It’s unfortunate that we
have to go to court to protect these sacred sites which
are on federal land.”
Klee Benally, a volunteer with the Save
The Peaks Coalition, said that a lot of people were
hopeful after the hearing ended.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen
but we’re going to continue our prayers,” he said.
About 300 tribal representatives and
concerned citizens had marched from the All Saints Church
in Pasadena to the courthouse at 1 p.m. Some 100 people
kept vigil outside the courthouse during court proceedings.
Members of the Hopi, Hualapai, Navajo
and Yavapai Apache tribes led the march, which Benally
said was “very peaceful and powerful.”
Benally added that the courtroom was
overflowing with supporters to protect the sacred mountain
while the Snowbowl’s supporters consisted of its general
manager and one other individual.
Present at the hearing was Speaker of
the Navajo Nation Council Lawrence T. Morgan, Iyanbito/Pinedale,
who has sought to bring attention to the San Francisco
Peaks issue throughout his terms as speaker.
“The federal government and the courts
must provide Native Americans with guaranteed protection
for our religions freedom as afforded to all other Americans,”
Morgan said.
He added that Native Americans have
the highest number of active-duty servicemen and women
serving in the foreign wars per capita and that he hears
countless stories of them writing home to tell the Navajo
leaders they are fighting for their sacred land.
The Ninth Circuit Court had ruled earlier
this year that the use of wastewater to make artificial
snow violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
However, in October, the court granted an en banc hearing,
a hearing with a majority of the court’s justices. En
banc courts are convened to maintain uniformity of the
court’s decisions and to resolve questions of exceptional
importance.
Morgan and President Joe Shirley had
issued a joint letter calling for a National and International
Day of Prayer for Dook’o’osliid, or the San Francisco
Peaks, to be held today.
“We will continue to stand strong and
remain unified to protect our religious and cultural
convictions to protect our sacred mountain to the west,”
it stated.
The letter further stated, “We have
been able to continue to remain here as a people because
of the spiritual prayers of our ancestors. Our prayers
will assist us in this new challenge again.”
Shirley issued a statement yesterday
in which he said, “Today the Navajo people will continue
to pray. We will pray that the original decision of
the 9th Circuit stands.
Our prayers will continue to go up to
the Creator. We will pray for our sacred places, for
our sacred ways of life and for the preservation of
our culture despite the opposition that comes in the
guise of federal decisions.”
Also planned to be at the court hearing
were the Hopi Tribal Chairman and the Yavapai Apache
Chairman.
Others who could not make the trip to
Pasadena planned to gather in Flagstaff at the Heritage
Square at 4 p.m.
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