The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

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Introduction

If you’ve ever spent time on the southwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau in northern Arizona, there is no doubt that you have looked to the sky and noticed the former volcanic crater known as the San Francisco Peaks. The peaks, located near Flagstaff, Arizona, are made up of three major peaks, Agassiz, Fremont, and Humphreys, the highest in Arizona. The Peaks are sacred to many Native tribes in the region, however, it is the US Forest Service, particularly the Coconino National Forest, which controls the activities that are allowed to take place on the Peaks. Thus, the land use on the Peaks has long been a source of conflict. Starting in the 1800's the peaks were heavily grazed and logged, later recreational use began and the stream of tourists, hikers, and skiers has only increased. The most recent controversy between Native groups and developers has stemmed from the proposed expansion of the Snowbowl Ski Resort.

Religious Significance

The San Francisco Peaks are a sacred place of worship for thirteen Native American Tribes including the Navajo, Hopi, White Mountain Apache, the Haulapai and the Havasupai. The Navajo people consider the Peaks to be their most sacred shrine. They believe that many of their gods reside in the peaks including White Corn Girl, White Corn Boy, Twilight Girl, Twilight Boy and Yellow Wind. In addition, due to the diverse ecosystems found on the Peaks, they are one of the few locations where tribe members can find many of the plants that they use for medicinal and ceremonial purposes. Also, the San Francisco Peaks represent the West in the suite of the four sacred mountains that mark the traditional homeland of the Navajo. The Hopi are reluctant to reveal the full extent of the spiritual importance of the Peaks to their people because of a belief that the revelation of their beliefs and practices to people outside the tribe will decrease the spiritual significance of their practices. However, it is known that the peaks are central to the Hopi culture and religion. All prayers made by members of the tribe are directed towards the Peaks. They believe the peaks to be the home of the Kachina. The Kachina are gods believed to be responsible for all forms of precipitation on the Peaks and deliver rain to Hopiland only when prayers and offerings are properly given to them. The sense of reverence for the peaks that Hopis have for the peaks is well expressed by Bucky Preston, a Hopi activist, "You don't just go there for fun. When we need something for a ceremony, we have to prepare. We bring and use prayer feathers; it's a journey. And we only take what we need." The San Francisco Peaks are one of four mountains held sacred by the White Mountain Apache. The Apache perform healing ceremonies at the peaks in addition to ceremonies celebrating the coming of age of women in the tribe.

History of Land Use Controversies

A timeline of commercial use of the Peaks reveals uses from logging and cattle grazing began on the peaks during the late 1800s, through mining, to today, when the commercial uses of the peaks have expanded to include skiing, mountain biking, frisbee golf and hiking. The San Francisco Peaks have been found to be rich in pumice – the mineral used to create the “stone-washed” look for jeans. Mining for pumice is extremely destructive. In order to extract the mineral from the ground all vegetation and topsoil must be removed from the site. The Tufflite Mining Corporation built a pumice mine on the Peaks in the early 1980s despite strong opposition from Natives and conservation groups. The company was able to build a mine on the site because of the 1872 Mining Law, which allows mineral deposits found on federal land to be mined by mining corporations. The Natives received sympathy from the Forest Service regarding the mine’s destructive effects on sacred land and in August of 2000 a suit was filed by the Forest Service against the Tufflite Corporation. The suit was settled out of court when Tufflite agreed to close down the mine, and restore the land affected by the mine over the course of five years in exchange for a 1 million dollar payment from the government. Since the settlement, the Peaks have been protected from further mining for 20 years. In efforts to permanently protect the peaks from mining after the 20 years expire, the Forest Service is currently seeking to have the Peaks designated as Traditional Cultural Property under the National Historic Preservation Act.

The Snowbowl Controversy

Since the construction of the Snowbowl resort at the San Francisco Peaks in the late 1930s, skiing has been one of the most debated issue regarding the use of the Peaks. A full-scale commercial ski lodge was proposed in 1969. Under the proposed plan, the lodge requested that 777 acres of land be designated as ski area. The reaction from the Native community and conservation groups initially prevented the construction of the lodge on the grounds that such development would negatively impact the environment and interfere with the Native’s ability to practice their faith at the peaks. However, the Forest Service overturned the 1969 decision ten years later and decided to allow the construction of a new ski lodge, the expansion of the lift system, and the creation of new ski runs. In reaction to this decision, both the Navajo and the Hopi tribes filed suit against the forest service. This case would eventually be consolidated, and heard as Wilson v. Block.

The Navajo and Hopi tribes filed suit on the grounds that the plans to expand the ski lodge would inhibit their ability to practice their faith in the manner they were accustomed. The court ruled in the favor of the defendants on the basis that the resort was in the best interest for the surrounding community and that the plaintiff’s ability to practice their religion was not eliminated. The court admitted that the construction of the lodge would “offend the beliefs” of the Natives but asserted that the construction would not prevent the tribes from practicing their faiths. Some arguments were made that the addition of the new ski lifts would improve access to sacred sites for the Natives – a claim that members of the tribes in question strongly disagreed with.

In 1997 Snowbowl began petitioning for the Forest Service to allow the construction of an additional 66 acres of trails as well as improve the quality of existing trails in the interest of safety, increased skier capacity, and a more regular operating season. In its application petition for the improvements and additions, the resort attempted to use the Wilson v. Block decision as precedent. Snowbowl believes that the addition of artificial snowmaking is integral to making the resort’s operating season more regular – this is also the topic of most concern to the Native American tribes.

Snowfall is extremely erratic on the San Francisco Peaks. As is expected with any ski resort, revenue is directly related to the snowfall. During the 2001-2002 season the resort was only able to open the slopes for four days. This was enough to cover roughly 1.5% of the resorts budget. The owners of the resort contend that the resort contributes 20 million dollars to Flagstaff’s economy, and thus it is in the best interest of the community as a whole to support the resort. Thus, the resort is forced to use artificial snow. The decisive issue in the artificial snowmaking debate is the use of A+ reclaimed water in the production of the snow. A+ reclaimed water is water that is not potable, but is generally approved of for the use of producing artificial snow. Under the proposed plan, the reclaimed wastewater would be piped from the city of Flagstaff to the resort and ¼ of 1% of the Peaks would be subject to being covered with the artificial snow.

The Native tribes believe that the use of wastewater will desecrate the mountain and will significantly affect their ability to practice their faith. The tribes worry that the melt from the artificial snow will run into underground wells that are the source of sacred springs on the mountain and liken the use of wastewater on the mountain to flushing a Bible or a Koran down a toilet. The Hopi believe the Kachina, who are responsible for producing all forms of precipitation on the mountain would take extreme offense to artificial snow produced from wastewater being dumped on the mountain and may leave the Peaks. All tribes agree that one part of the mountain cannot be separated from the whole, and thus the use of wastewater on ¼ of 1% of the Peaks will contaminate the entirety of the mountain. The Navajo Nation brought sued the Forest Service for allowing Snowbowl to expand, and use reclaimed wastewater for artificial snow production in the case of Navajo Nation v. US Forest Service. The case, heard in 2006, challenged the proposed upgrades at the Snowbowl resort. The Navajo opposed the upgrades, and the use of reclaimed wastewater for snowmaking on the grounds that doing so would desecrate the mountain, contaminate sacred sites, and greatly offend their religious beliefs.

Using much of the same language found in Wilson v. Block the court sided in favor of the Forest Service. In the decision the court asserted that it was very unlikely that wastewater would actually come into contact with designated sacred sites on the mountain, or underground springs. The court also stated that certain populations of plants used for medicinal or ceremonial purposes that may be affected by the expansion of the lodge can be found on other parts of the peaks. In conclusion, all of the Native’s claims were dismissed, and Flagstaff was given permission to begin the construction of a pipeline to be used for the transportation of reclaimed water to the resort.

The current resistance to the construction of the pipeline is being led by the Save the Peaks organization. Save the Peaks is composed of Natives, conservationists, and anyone that takes an active interest in preserving the peaks. On May 11th 2006, Save the Peaks submitted a petition signed by 3,000 people opposed to the use of reclaimed water on the peaks to the mayor of Flagstaff. On May 18th 2006, the mayor released a statement in which he said that the petition was unofficial and that it would not affect the plans to expand the resort, or construction of the pipeline. Despite the Native’s recent losses in court, and the denial of the requests of the petition, Save the Peaks has continued to fight the construction of the pipeline. The tribes appealed the decision to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which heard arguments on September 14th, 2006, and is yet to decide the case (Listen to oral arguments).

Conclusion

The controversy surrounding the Snowbowl expansion on the San Francisco Peaks is not likely to dissapear anytime soon, with environmentalists and Native tribes fully entrenched in opposition to the expansion and use of waste water for snow making. The conflict between the Forest Service and Native tribes hinges on the difficulty that Native Americans often have in explaining their religious traditions to the courts and government agencies like the Forest Service. The outcomes of such conflicts often rest solely on how receptive the courts and agencies are to the explanations offered by tribes and how eggregious courts and agencies percieve the intrusion. In the case of the San Francisco Peaks, the pumice mines, which left an obvious physcial scar, were seen by the courts and the Forest Service as intrusive on the religious practices of Native tribes. However, the courts and the Forest Service are not as quick to respond when the physical scar is less obvious, even if tribe members maintain that both activities desecrate their sacred place.

Drafted by Andrew Weber and edited by Nate Chappelle