Arizona Snowbowl: Difference between revisions
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Following these arrests throughout the summer of 2011, local scholar and activist [[Randall Amster]] of [[Prescott College]] wrote: |
Following these arrests throughout the summer of 2011, local scholar and activist [[Randall Amster]] of [[Prescott College]] wrote: |
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{{quote|Prioritizing the recreational desires of the leisure class over the spiritual and cultural needs of indigenous nations is a travesty of historical proportions. But it isn’t just native consciousness that suffers in this process; the exploiters eventually render their own habitat unlivable and, in the process, sow the seeds of their own destruction as well.... The residents and activists protesting the further desecration of the Peaks are keenly aware of the magnitude of the stakes involved. When explicitly sacred areas are subject to the developer’s merciless blade, it renders everything disposable.... The time to sit idly by and watch the remaining natural landmarks in our midst be sacrificed on the altar of greed has long since passed.<ref>http://www.truth-out.org/make-some-noise-ward-avalanche-avarice/1314293020</ref> |
{{quote|Prioritizing the recreational desires of the leisure class over the spiritual and cultural needs of indigenous nations is a travesty of historical proportions. But it isn’t just native consciousness that suffers in this process; the exploiters eventually render their own habitat unlivable and, in the process, sow the seeds of their own destruction as well.... The residents and activists protesting the further desecration of the Peaks are keenly aware of the magnitude of the stakes involved. When explicitly sacred areas are subject to the developer’s merciless blade, it renders everything disposable.... The time to sit idly by and watch the remaining natural landmarks in our midst be sacrificed on the altar of greed has long since passed.<ref>http://www.truth-out.org/make-some-noise-ward-avalanche-avarice/1314293020</ref>}} |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 18:33, 25 August 2011
| Arizona Snowbowl | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Coconino County, Arizona, USA |
| Nearest major city | Flagstaff, Arizona |
| Top elevation | 11,500 feet (3,500 m) |
| Base elevation | 9,200 feet (2,800 m) |
| Skiable area | 777 acres (3.1 km2) |
| Trails | 32 total 37% beginner 42% intermediate 21% advanced/expert |
| Longest run | 10,560 feet (3,219 m) |
| Lift system | 5 total 2 triple chairs, 2 double chairs, 1 Surface) |
| Terrain parks | 1 |
| Snowfall | 260 inches (6.6 m)/year |
| Website | http://www.arizonasnowbowl.com |
Arizona Snowbowl is an alpine ski resort located on the San Francisco Peaks, 7 miles (11.2 kilometers) north of Flagstaff, Arizona, and the center of great recent controversy regarding its effect on Native American sacred sites and practices. The base elevation of the facility sits at 9,200 feet (2,804 m) and the resort receives an average snowfall of 260 inches (650 centimeters). It has a 2,300-foot (700 m) drop, the largest in Arizona, and has 5 lifts servicing the mountain. Two lodges, Hart Prairie Lodge and Agassiz Lodge, are located at the ski area. Arizona Snowbowl has been in operation for over 70 years.
Summer activities
Arizona Snowbowl is open year-round. Summer activities include:
- Scenic Skyride: During the summer months, the Agassiz chairlift takes visitors to an elevation of 11,500 feet (3,505 m) for views of the surrounding area including the Grand Canyon 70 miles (112 kilometers) to the north.
- Disc golf course: An 18 hole disc golf course winds among the ski runs.
- Hiking: Several hiking trails begin from Arizona Snowbowl providing access to the Coconino National Forest. Trails include the Humphreys Peak Trail, a 4.5 mile (7.2 km) hike to Humphreys Peak, the highest point in the state of Arizona at 12,633 feet (3,850 m).
Development controversy
The area is under the domain of the United States Forest Service, which has a mandate to protect forests while allowing multiple uses on its lands. In the 1930s, the Forest Service allowed the construction of a ski lodge and access road on the western slopes of the San Francisco Peaks. Full-scale development, with shops, restaurants, and lodges were first proposed in 1969, but the opposition of several tribes and community groups prevented this initial project.
In 1979, the Forest Service approved a new lodge, a paved road, expanded parking, four new ski lifts and 50 acres (200,000 m2) of trails to be added to the existing ski area which would grow to 777 acres (3.14 km2). The Native people of the area protested that this invasion harmed sacred areas and imperiled their religious freedom. As the chairman of the Hopi tribe warned, “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 will become a mere fairy tale.” Despite Hopi and Navajo protests, the Forest Service regional supervisor in 1980 approved the paving of an access road into the ski area. The Hopi and Navajo filed separate lawsuits to stop the development, while the Forest Service argued that religious rights would be unimpeded, and even facilitated, by the ski lifts—a concept that the tribes rejected. Three years later (the suits having been consolidated into one case, Wilson v. Block[1]), the Hopi and Navajo were unable to convince the District of Columbia Circuit Court that the Peaks were "indispensable" to their religions, and the suit was denied. According to the judge, permitting the Snowbowl expansion may have offended their beliefs, but the Forest Service had met the basic provisions of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978.
In July 2008, a panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the tribes. However, this decision was reversed by the full court.[2] The court granted the Snowbowl the go-ahead to start using reclaimed sewage effluent to make artificial snow, and to add upgrades of 2 new lifts, 10 more trails, and lodge expansions. The case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court on January 5, 2009. The Supreme Court denied the tribes' petition for certiorari, allowing the Snowbowl to continue with their proposed updates to the resort.[3]
2011 Protests
Following the onset of wastewater pipeline construction in 2011, native activists and environmentalists have launched ongoing protests against Snowbowl. 25 people have been arrested between May and August 2011,[4][5] including Klee Benally, Diné cultural practitioner and singer/guitarist for the rock group Blackfire, who has been arrested twice since protests began. Benally writes:
How can I be “trespassing” on this site that is so sacred to me? This is my church. It is the Forest Service and Snowbowl who are violating human rights and religious freedom by desecrating this holy Mountain. Although an appeal is in the court system Snowbowl is attempting to undermine judicial process. Additionally, Snowbowl and the Forest Service are violating the 2004 Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that was signed with Indigenous Nations. This MOA stipulates consultation must occur prior to any construction, this has not meaningfully occurred, if at has occurred at all. Not to mention, the Forest Service and Snowbowl are in violation of the Environmental Impact Statement, as they have followed none of the mitigation measures either. Their actions are far beyond "disorderly.".[6]
Others arrested include author and NPR commentator Mary Sojourner, police liaison Rudy Preston, and a number of youth organizers. Mary Sojourner stated:
I took action not just for the Mountain, but for my friend, Klee Benally, who I saw chained to a monstrous extractor, the pipeline trenching machine that had been ripping into the mountain and the peaceful morning air as thirty of us prayed for the Mountain; and so that older women and men would see that one doesn't have to be young to stand up for a place and community that you love.[7] And if I tell you that I heard a Dine woman say that disrespecting the Mountain is a form of genocide, 'because the health of the Dine men is linked with the Mountain; and the health of the Mountain is linked with their health,' I hope you would listen with an open heart.[8]
Following these arrests throughout the summer of 2011, local scholar and activist Randall Amster of Prescott College wrote:
Prioritizing the recreational desires of the leisure class over the spiritual and cultural needs of indigenous nations is a travesty of historical proportions. But it isn’t just native consciousness that suffers in this process; the exploiters eventually render their own habitat unlivable and, in the process, sow the seeds of their own destruction as well.... The residents and activists protesting the further desecration of the Peaks are keenly aware of the magnitude of the stakes involved. When explicitly sacred areas are subject to the developer’s merciless blade, it renders everything disposable.... The time to sit idly by and watch the remaining natural landmarks in our midst be sacrificed on the altar of greed has long since passed.[9]
References
- ^ "Wilson v. R Block Hopi Indian Tribe, 708 F.2d 735 (D.C. Cir. 1983)". openjurist.org. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
- ^ "Navajo Nation v. United States Forest Service, 535 F.3d 1058 (9th Cir. 2008)". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
- ^ "Tribes appeal decision in Arizona Snowbowl case". fox11az.com. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
{{cite web}}: Text "FOX11AZ.com" ignored (help); Text "News for Tucson, Arizona" ignored (help); Text "Top Stories" ignored (help) - ^ http://azdailysun.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/snowbowl-protest-arrests-grow-to/article_7a9d7768-e79a-5c3f-8e6e-92811743644b.html
- ^ http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_northern_az/flagstaff/3-people-arrested-at-arizona-snowbowl-protest
- ^ http://www.indigenousaction.org/direct-action-to-protect-holy-peaks-continues/
- ^ http://beforeitsnews.com/story/952/396/Klee_Benally:_Direct_Action_to_Protect_Holy_Peaks_Continues.html
- ^ http://www.newclearvision.com/2011/08/19/from-sacrilege-to-sacredness/
- ^ http://www.truth-out.org/make-some-noise-ward-avalanche-avarice/1314293020