National Day of Prayer to Protect Native American Sacred Places

Sunset Vigil for the Sacred San Francisco Peaks
Wednesday, June 21st - Summer Solstice
6:30 p.m. at Buffalo Park in Flagstaff, AZ
Click here for a map

Observances and ceremonies will be held across the country on June 21 to mark the 2006 National Day of Prayer to Protect Native American Sacred Places.

Join us in Flagstaff for a sunset vigil at 6:30PM in Buffalo Park in Flagstaff, AZ to share prayers and songs for the protection of the San Francisco Peaks and other sacred places.

Volunteers from the Save the Peaks Coalition will also give a brief update on the court battle to save the holy mountain from Arizona Snowbowl’s expansion and plan to make snow from wastewater.

For more information please contact: coalition@savethepeaks.org, www.savethepeaks.org

Buffalo Park is located at 2400 N. Gemini Dr. in Flagstaff, AZ.

JUNE 21 SET FOR 2006 NATIONAL PRAYER DAY FOR NATIVE SACRED PLACES
Sunset Vigil in Flagstaff for Threatened Sacred Peaks

Flagstaff, AZ (6/19/06)—Observances and ceremonies will be held across the country on June 21 to mark the 2006 National Day of Prayer to Protect Native American Sacred Places.

Among the endangered sacred places that are being desecrated and damaged now are Hickory Ground in Wetumpka, Alabama; the Maze in southern California; and Mount Graham and the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona.

Community members will gather Wednesday, June 21st for a sunset vigil at 6:30PM in Buffalo Park in Flagstaff, AZ to share prayers and songs for the protection of the San Francisco Peaks and other sacred places. Volunteers from the Save the Peaks Coalition will also give a brief update on the court battle to save the holy mountain from Arizona Snowbowl’s expansion and plan to make snow from wastewater.

“The National Day of Prayer for Native Sacred Places is an important day for everyone, no matter what religious beliefs you hold,” said Jeneda Benally of the Save the Peaks Coalition, “No one’s place of worship should be threatened with destruction. Religious freedom and respect must be honored for all.”

The San Francisco Peaks are sacred to Apache, Hopi, Hualapai, Navajo, Yavapai and other Native nations. The San Francisco Peaks are home to many sacred beings, medicine places and origin sites.

There are plans underway to expand the Snowbowl ski resort that could have a disastrous impact on the Native religions and people and on the water and health of the entire region. The creeping recreational development has concerned Native spiritual leaders and tribal officials for decades, but current plans far exceed the past activity at the resort.

In January a U.S. District Court judge ruled against tribes’ and environmental groups’ lawsuits to stop the ski area expansion, appeals have been filed.

There are other holy places which are being threatened with immediate injury or destruction: Bear Butte in South Dakota; Little Creek Mountain in Tennessee; the Medicine Lake Highlands in northern California; Ocmulgee Old Fields in Georgia; the Petroglyphs in New Mexico; Snoqualmie Falls in Washington; and the Wakarusa Wetlands in Kansas.

“Native and non-Native people nationwide are gathering to honor sacred places, with a special emphasis on those that are endangered by actions that can be avoided,” said Suzan Shown Harjo (Cheyenne & Hodulgee Muscogee). She is President of The Morning Star Institute, which organizes the National Prayer Days.

This will be the fourth National Day of Prayer for Sacred Places. The observance in Washington, D.C., will be held at the National Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall.

The first National Prayer Day was conducted on June 20, 2003, on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol and nationwide to emphasize the need for Congress to enact a cause of action to protect Native sacred places. That need still exists.

“Many Native American sacred places are being damaged because Native nations do not have equal access under the First Amendment to defend them,” said Ms. Harjo. “All other people in the United States have the First Amendment to protect their churches. Only traditional Native Americans cannot get into the courthouse through the Freedom of Religion Clauses. That simply must change as a matter of fairness and equity.”

In 1988, the Supreme Court told Congress it had to enact a statutory right of action, if it wanted to protect Native sacred places. “Eighteen years have passed without Congress creating that door to the courthouse for Native Americans,” said Ms. Harjo, “and some of these places cannot withstand many more years of legal and physical onslaughts.

“Native and non-Native people are gathering, again, to call on anyone who will listen to help protect these national treasures and to do something about this national disgrace that threatens them.”