Chronology
1862
- 2004
The
San Francisco Peaks have been held sacred,
since time immemorial, by the Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, Tewa,
Haulapai, Havasupai, Yavapai-Apache, Yavapai-Prescott, Tonto Apache,
White Mountain Apache, San Carlos Apache, San Juan Southern Pauite,
Fort Mcdowell Mohave Apache, and Acoma.
All tribes traditionally
hold that if this Sacred Mountain is disturbed by any means, than their
ways of life are violated.
The Hopi and Navajo
Tribes have historically objected to any development which has had the
potential for disturbing this sacred mountain.
The Homestead Act
of 1862, which offered
160 acres of free land in the West to settlers willing to move and live
on the homestead. This law led to 270 million acres of land passing
into private hands.
Late
1800s: First Anglo occupation of the present day Flagstaff
area, leading to the persecution and forced removal of many Native American’s
from the area.
Early settlers primarily viewed the extensive forests of the San Francisco
Peaks region exclusively for their economic value.
1924:
United States Congress grants Native Americans the rights of citizenship,
including the right to vote, however Arizona does not recognize the
native right to vote until much later.
1930s:
Several enthusiasts started using an old cabin in Hart Prairie as a
base for skiing
1934:
United States Congress passes the Indian Reorganization Act to replace
policies of assimilation and the breakup of tribal lands with the promotion
of tribal cultures and purchase of lands. Elected tribal councils are
given power to handle their budgets, hire attorneys, and incorporate.
1935:
The Historic Sites Act calls for the preservation of significant national,
historical, and archaeological properties, the designation and acquisition
of national historic landmarks, and a survey of valuable historic and
prehistoric sites.
1937-38:
The Coconino National Forest built a ski lodge at the present location
of Snowbowl Ski Resort, as well as an access road. At the same time,
the Flagstaff Ski Club was formed and operated there under permit from
the Forest Service until 1941.
1941: the Ski Club’s
“improvements” were purchased by Arnal Corporation.
1948: Arizona finally
grants Native Americans the right to vote.
The 1948 Universal Declaration
on Human Rights declares that freedom of religion is a fundamental human
right. Article 18 reads: "Everyone has the right to freedom of
thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change
his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with
others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief
in teaching, practice, worship and observance."
1956: Present lodge built.
1960s:
The United States Forest Service began incorporating a policy of sustained
planning and multiple use management in an effort to balance grazing,
logging and recreation interests.
1966:
Passage of the National Historic Preservation Act strengthens national
preservation efforts.
1969: The development
of a full-scale ski resort with shops, restaurants and lodges was proposed,
community and tribal opposition rose in strong response.
1969: The National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) was a Congressional effort to ensure that federal
agencies consider the effects of their proposed actions on the environment.
This Act created the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), and was
followed by other executive orders and implementation documents which
elaborate on the specific conditions under which the Act should be used.
NEPA was a landmark piece of legislation in that it requires rigorous
assessment of both the ecological and cultural impacts of federal undertakings.
NEPA specifies that the federal government must "preserve important
historic, cultural, and natural aspects of our national heritage."
1970: Summit properties
purchased Snow Bowl from Arnal Corporation.
1971: President Richard
M. Nixon signs Executive Order 11593 — "Protection and Enhancement
of the Cultural Environment" — requiring all federal agencies
to inventory cultural properties on their lands.
1974: The San Francisco
Peaks Land Use Plan allocates the Snow Bowl permit area to winter sports
development.
1974: The Archaeological
and Historic Preservation Act is passed requiring all federal agencies
to conduct archaeological investigations prior to initiating any project
that would disturb or destroy significant cultural remains.
1978: The American Indian
Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA) was originally intended to protect all
forms of Native American spiritual practices, but the law failed to
protect sacred sites in subsequent court tests. AIRFA was a policy statement
that had no enforcement power.
1978: Hopi Tribal Council
and Navajo Nation submitted comments for the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement strongly opposing any development. The Hopi Tribe stated,
“it is the policy of the Hopi Tribe to take all appropriate steps
to prevent any further development on the sacred mountain, Nuvatukya’ovi.”
1979: After years of debate,
legal action, and government intervention, the Forest Service issued
its final decision: a new lodge, four new lifts and fifty acres of trails
would be added. Appeals to this decision went as far as the Supreme
Court, but were denied.
1979:
The Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) strengthens protection
of archaeological resources on federal lands by clarifying and expanding
the Antiquities Act of 1906.
1980s:
Snowbowl underwent Forest Service approved expansions.
Wilson v. Block
[708 F. 2d 735 (1983)],
Hopi and Navajo attempt to preclude expansion of the Arizona Snow Bowl
ski area in the San Francisco Peaks, near Flagstaff.
FN2. The plaintiffs claim that further development of the Snow Bowl
could have a serious and adverse impact upon their tribes' cultures
and social organization. Abbott Sekaquaptewa, then-chairman of the Hopi
tribe, stated in "Narrative Direct Testimony" submitted to
the district court:
It is my opinion that in the long run if the expansion is permitted,
we will not be able successfully to teach our people that this is a
sacred place. If the ski resort remains or is expanded, our people will
not accept the view that this is the sacred Home of the Kachinas. The
basis of our existence as a society will become a mere fairy tale to
our people. If our people no longer possess this long-held belief and
way of life, which will inevitably occur with the continued presence
of the ski resort ... a direct and negative impact upon our religious
practices [will result]. The destruction of these practices will also
destroy our present way of life and culture. (Wilson v. Block 1983)
1990:
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)
is signed into law by President George Bush providing procedures for
determining cultural affinity for the purposes of reburying Native American
human remains and returning to the tribes burial artifacts and sacred
objects.
In 1993, the Native American
Free Exercise of Religion Act was introduced, which included provisions
for sacred site protection; however, this was dropped and the section
protecting the ceremonial use of peyote use was eventually passed as
an amendment to AIRFA in 1994.
1994: a draft Declaration
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was proposed. It is a far-reaching
document that has yet to be approved by member nations. Two particular
articles have direct relevance to the protection of sacred lands. Article
13 states: "Indigenous peoples have the right to manifest, practice,
develop and teach their spiritual and religious traditions, customs
and ceremonies; the right to maintain, protect, and have access in privacy
to their religious and cultural sites; the right to the use and control
of ceremonial objects; and the right to the repatriation of human remains.
States shall take effective measures, in conjunction with the indigenous
peoples concerned, to ensure that indigenous sacred places, including
burial sites, be preserved, respected and protected." Article 25
states: "Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen
their distinctive spiritual and material relationship with the lands,
territories, waters and coastal seas and other resources which they
have traditionally owned or otherwise occupied or used, and to uphold
their responsibilities to future generations in this regard."
1996: Executive Order
13007 instructed every federal agency to evaluate their policies regarding
Native American sacred sites. Land managers were ordered to: "(1)
accommodate access to and ceremonial use of Indian sacred sites by Indian
religious practitioners and (2) avoid adversely affecting the physical
integrity of such sacred sites" and to "maintain the confidentiality
of sacred sites."
1997:
Snowbowl Resort proposed the addition of another 66 acres of trails,
along with major upgrading of existing trails, stating that these developments
are within the legal scope of the original 1979 Forest Service decision.
However, the Forest Service, at least partially in response to continued
opposition from Native Americans and conservationists, has ruled that
before any new development is approved, a new Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) must be completed at the resort's expense
1998:
Resolution of the Navajo Nation Council to Oppose the Desecration of
Dook’o’osliid (San Francisco Peaks) also calls to dismantle
existing facilities.
1998: A proposal by Tufflite
to expand the White Vulcan pumice mine on the San Francisco Peaks served
to unite Native Americans and local conservationists in opposition.
Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt joined the opposition in early
1999, and on August 28th an agreement was forged between Tufflite and
the federal government to close the mine within 6 months, and guarantee
full restoration of the site within 5 years. In addition, Tufflite agreed
to relinquish all of their 49 mining claims, approximately 8000 acres,
and withdraw their pending patent application to turn 20 acres of the
mine into private land. Subject to appropriation by Congress, the government
will pay Tufflite $1 million, and dismiss its pending legal action against
the company.
The Forest Service also recommended to Secretary Babbitt a 74,000-acre
mineral withdrawal around the Peaks, which would prevent any new mining
claims for 20 years.
Forest Service files
a request to designate the peaks as a Traditional Cultural Property.
This designation would permanently exclude mining on the mountain and
is currently in review.
July, 2002: Sacred land
protection legislation was introduced at the federal level and in California.
H.R. 5155, The Sacred Lands Protection Act, introduced on July 18, 2002
by Congressman Nick Rahall (D, WV), and S.B. 1828, The Native American
Sacred Sites Protection Act, sponsored by State Senator John Burton
(D, San Francisco).
February 2, 2004: Forest
Service issues the Draft Environmental Impact Statement on proposed
Snowbowl development which indicates its support for the plan to make
snow from reclaimed wastewater, cut 74 acres for trails, add a new lift
and expand its existing facilities.
February
2, 2004: Save the Peaks Coalition formed to address
environmental and human rights concerns with Arizona Snowbowl’s
proposed developments.
References:
Arizona Snow Bowl Ski Area Proposal, Final Environmental Statement 1979.
Anderson, M.F. 1998. Living at the Edge: Explorers, Exploiters and Settlers
of the Grand Canyon Region. Grand Canyon Association, Grand Canyon,
AZ, 184 pp.
Cline, P. 1976. They Came to the Mountain: The Story of Flagstaff's
Beginnings. Northern Arizona University with Northland Press, Flagstaff,
364 pp.
Kaufman, C.A. 1997. The San Francisco Peaks: Three Aesthetic Views of
a Natural Area. M.S. Thesis, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff,
115 pp.
Notarianni, D.M. 1985. The San Francisco Peaks controversy: application
of the segmentary-opposition model to an intercultural conflict. M.A.
Thesis, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, 69 pp.
Phillips, K.A., Niemuth, N.J., and Bain, D.R. 1997. Active mines in
Arizona. Arizona Department of Mines and Mineral Resources, Directory
46, Phoenix, AZ, 28 pp.
www.sacredland.org/legal.html
http://www.ic.arizona.edu
Oral testimony
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