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.


 


        


Reprinted as an historical reference document under the Fair Use doctrine of international copyright law. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html