News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Tuesday, January 6th 2009
Contact: Klee Benally - Save the Peaks Coalition
Email: indigenousaction@gmail.com
Website: www.savethepeaks.org
Tribes & Environmental Groups Petition Supreme Court in Appeal to Protect Religious Freedom & Environmental Integrity of Sacred Mountain
FLAGSTAFF, AZ – On Monday, January 5th 2009, Tribes & environmental groups in Arizona filed a unified petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to hear appeals in a precedent setting legal battle to protect religious freedom and the ecological integrity of the holy San Francisco Peaks.
The slopes of the holy San Francisco Peaks, located in Northern Arizona, have been at the center of a historical and lengthy battle that has pitted economic interests on public lands against environmental integrity, public health and cultural survival. Arizona Snowbowl, a small private ski business that leases land from the U.S. Forest Service, is attempting to expand current development and use millions of gallons of recycled sewage water to make fake snow.
"This is an important case for the Supreme Court to hear. The Supreme Court, in a split decision, previously deprived Native Americans of First Amendment rights vis-à-vis sacred sites under the control of the federal government." said Howard Shanker, who represents Navajo Nation, Havasupai Tribe, White Mountain Apache Nation, Yavapai-Apache Nation, Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, and the Flagstaff Activist Network. "This case represents the last, best chance for Native Americans to have some substantive protection of sites that they hold holy or sacred through application of existing law." stated Shanker.
"In a country that supposedly values the free exercise and accommodation of all religion, it is unconscionable that Native American religious and cultural beliefs have essentially been relegated to second-class status by the federal government. The Supreme Court now has an opportunity to right this wrong." Shanker said.
Tribes' primary arguments have focused on religious freedom issues by utilizing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which they had hoped would provide the necessary legal protection where other laws such as the American Indian Religious Freedom Act have failed.
"The proposed development at Snowbowl, particularly the use of treated sewage effluent for snowmaking, would have profound effects upon the ability of several tribes to engage in vitally important religious practices at the sacred San Francisco Peaks." said Jack Trope of the Association on American Indian Affairs who is working together with DNA Legal Services, representing the Hualapai Tribe, Navajo medicine practitioner Norris Nez and Hopi spiritual practitioner Bill Preston. "The en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit's narrow interpretation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in this case, which rejected the claims of the tribal plaintiffs, conflicts with the intent of Congress and the interpretation of the law by other Circuits. For these reasons, we have asked the Supreme Court to review this case in order to clarify the law and interpret it in a manner that would require the government to show a compelling interest in this case (and similar cases) before it can implement its land management decision. We do not believe that the government can show that approval of the Snowbowl development is in fulfillment of a compelling governmental interest." Trope said.
The Forest Service manages the San Francisco Peaks as public land and has faced multiple lawsuits by the Navajo Nation, Hopi, White Mountain Apache, Yavapai Apache, Hualapai, and Havasupai tribes, as well as the Sierra Club, Flagstaff Activist Network, Center of Biological Diversity, and others after it initially approved the proposed ski area development in 2005.
In a recent ruling, a 9th Circuit Court "en banc" panel overturned another 9th Circuit decision protecting the holy place. The divided en banc panel found that using recycled sewer water to make snow for skiing on an admittedly sacred site posed no 'substantial burden' on the Plaintiffs' exercise of religion in this case. According to the Court, the "only effect of the proposed upgrades is on the Plaintiffs' subjective, emotional religious experience. That is, the presence of recycled wastewater on the Peaks is offensive to the Plaintiffs' religious sensibilities…the diminishment of spiritual fulfillment – serious though it may be – is not a 'substantial burden' on the free exercise of religion." The Court dismissed Plaintiffs' religious beliefs as calling them mere "damaged spiritual feelings."
It is not clear on when the Supreme Court will decide whether it will hear the case or not. Pending a decision, Snowbowl is legally barred from development on the holy mountain.
While the current appeal focuses on RFRA, many citizens and environmental organizations continue to be concerned with potential health implications of the use of recycled sewage water upon the fragile mountain ecosystem and the untested impacts that would occur if humans ingested the artificial effluent snow.
"This case should concern everyone who values religious freedom, human rights, public health and environmental integrity." said Klee Benally, a volunteer with the Save the Peaks Coalition. "This issue also isn't just about one mountain, there are a number of sacred places located on public lands that are being threatened by development right now; Mt. Tenabo in Nevada, Medicine Lake in Northern California, Bear Butte in South Dakota, Mt. Taylor in New Mexico, for example. We are asking for everyone to call their Congressional representatives to hold hearings and to enact new legislation that guarantees protection for Native American sacred places."
The City of Flagstaff still maintains a contract with the ski area to sell up to 180 million gallons of treated sewage effluent during the winter seasons. Without the contract for the treated sewage effluent, it would not be possible for the business owners of Snowbowl to attempt their desecration.
"A ski area should know better than to attempt to make fake snow from treated sewage effluent and dominate Mother Nature in the high desert, especially in the face of global warming. It's not only unsustainable, it's insane." said Rachel Tso, a volunteer with the Save the Peaks Coalition. "The question is, what do we value more: a healthy community, ecological integrity and the cultural survival of more than 13 Indigenous Nations, or the interests of a single for profit private ski business?"
For more information and to read the Petition for a Writ of Certiorari, visit: www.savethepeaks.org.
###
Friday, January 9, 2009
Lac du Flambeau Tribal Historic Preservation Officer wins prestigious award
Lac du Flambeau Tribal Historic Preservation Officer wins prestigious award
Kelly Jackson receives equivalent of Emmy award for historic preservation
By Brenda Austin, Today correspondent
Story Published: Jan 5, 2009
Story Updated: Jan 5, 2009
LAC DU FLAMBEAU, Wis. – Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Kelly Jackson was presented with the first Secretary of the Interior Historic Preservation Award.
Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne presented the awards to four government and tribal employees at the department’s headquarters in Washington.
The award program was created to recognize outstanding contributions in the area of historic preservation by employees of Federal, State and Tribal Preservation Offices and Certified Local Governments. The Secretary’s award focuses on individual accomplishments instead of programs or projects.
“For me this award is really a reflection of the success and commitment on the part of our community. In 1996 Lac du Flambeau was one of the first 12 tribes to have a tribal historic preservation office,” Jackson said. “Over the years our community has been able to grow and build the program into a resource that has been used not only by our tribe, but by other tribes in our region. I think of this award as a milestone for this community as a whole – and of those community members who make historic preservation an important element of our tribe.”
As a winner of the Secretary’s award, Jackson was recognized for her contributions, creativity and expertise which exemplified the overall goals of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).
Assisting in national efforts to enhance the relationship between tribes and the U.S. government, she was an active panelist on the Preserve America Summit held in New Orleans in October 2006 and helped write a position paper on the best practices – or a better approach – to working with tribes and making them a full partner in the National Historic Preservation Program.
Jackson, vice-chair of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation’s Native American Advisory Group, was honored in 2007 with the U.S. Forest Service’s “Connecting Citizens to the Land, Indigenous Earth Walker Award.” She received the award in recognition of her assistance to the Forest Service in the acquisition of the 240-acre area known as Indian Farms by the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in northern Wisconsin.
She also assisted Rebecca Maki, Lac du Flambeau tribal member, in the development of a guide to help Indian country “See the value of building historic preservation programs and assume the functions of the state and the jurisdictional benefits of assuming states functions within the boundaries of reservations,” she said. The guide, published by the Great Lakes Indian Law Center, University of Wisconsin Law School, is called “What is Tribal Historic Preservation, A Guide to Tribal Historic Preservation in Indian Country.”
Jackson also serves as the chief grant administrator for the Native American Graves Repatriation Act and is active nationally in the Native American Tribal Historic Preservation Officers organization as a board member and treasurer.
“Historic preservation seems like a dry word for what I do,” she said. “I don’t think what I do is about preserving something old. This is really about protecting who we are as Native people, continuing a life way and making sure resources are available for anyone interested in learning more about where they come from and passing that knowledge on from one generation to the next. I think what has always motivated me in this work is the fact that in seven generations my children’s children will continue to see the value in our culture and teachings – and will continue to pass them on.
“There are mechanisms within the NHPA to allow tribes to have a direct role in interpreting what is historically significant and important to protect. I think the NHPA encourages agencies to engage with tribes on a government-to-government basis. We have been battling for centuries to protect burial sites and sacred places and I think the NHPA gives us one of many tools to do that,” said Jackson. “Probably the most frustrating part of the process has always been the fact that tribes are constantly fighting agencies to protect places of importance rather than engaging in dialog to be partners in interpreting American history.
“One of the greatest things about preservation is that it is very diverse,” she said. “Locally we are working on a wonderful project called “A Legacy of Survival.” We are restoring one of the government boarding school buildings in Lac du Flambeau. It was a boy’s dormitory and was listed on the national register in 2005 as a nationally significant property.
“It is a challenging project because the boarding school era is an extremely difficult era for many of us and yet we felt it was critical to share the survival of history, tradition and culture – despite the governments attempt to eradicate native people and native connections with cultural identity,” she said.
The restoration project is currently in the final design phase and includes plans for an interpretative center, an archival storage facility for research and records storage with temperature and humidity control, and teaching traditional and cultural skills such as reed mat making, ricing and other gathering activities.
“The first phase of the project is complete – which was taking off the modern influence in the building and bringing the property back to it 1906 footprint. We are hoping to break ground for the restoration project in early spring with a grand opening by summer.
“We continue to do review and compliance, perhaps not as beautiful as a restoration project or an interpretative center, but it is the foundation of these programs. So we continue to work with state, federal and local agencies to ensure that historic places, sacred sites and traditional cultural properties are considered and protected as a matter of policy and procedure within our ceded lands,” she said.
More information about the Secretary of the Interior Historic Preservation Award can be found at www.doi.gov/initiatives/preservation.html.
http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/national/greatlakes/37105074.html
Kelly Jackson receives equivalent of Emmy award for historic preservation
By Brenda Austin, Today correspondent
Story Published: Jan 5, 2009
Story Updated: Jan 5, 2009
LAC DU FLAMBEAU, Wis. – Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Kelly Jackson was presented with the first Secretary of the Interior Historic Preservation Award.
Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne presented the awards to four government and tribal employees at the department’s headquarters in Washington.
The award program was created to recognize outstanding contributions in the area of historic preservation by employees of Federal, State and Tribal Preservation Offices and Certified Local Governments. The Secretary’s award focuses on individual accomplishments instead of programs or projects.
“For me this award is really a reflection of the success and commitment on the part of our community. In 1996 Lac du Flambeau was one of the first 12 tribes to have a tribal historic preservation office,” Jackson said. “Over the years our community has been able to grow and build the program into a resource that has been used not only by our tribe, but by other tribes in our region. I think of this award as a milestone for this community as a whole – and of those community members who make historic preservation an important element of our tribe.”
As a winner of the Secretary’s award, Jackson was recognized for her contributions, creativity and expertise which exemplified the overall goals of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).
Assisting in national efforts to enhance the relationship between tribes and the U.S. government, she was an active panelist on the Preserve America Summit held in New Orleans in October 2006 and helped write a position paper on the best practices – or a better approach – to working with tribes and making them a full partner in the National Historic Preservation Program.
Jackson, vice-chair of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation’s Native American Advisory Group, was honored in 2007 with the U.S. Forest Service’s “Connecting Citizens to the Land, Indigenous Earth Walker Award.” She received the award in recognition of her assistance to the Forest Service in the acquisition of the 240-acre area known as Indian Farms by the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in northern Wisconsin.
She also assisted Rebecca Maki, Lac du Flambeau tribal member, in the development of a guide to help Indian country “See the value of building historic preservation programs and assume the functions of the state and the jurisdictional benefits of assuming states functions within the boundaries of reservations,” she said. The guide, published by the Great Lakes Indian Law Center, University of Wisconsin Law School, is called “What is Tribal Historic Preservation, A Guide to Tribal Historic Preservation in Indian Country.”
Jackson also serves as the chief grant administrator for the Native American Graves Repatriation Act and is active nationally in the Native American Tribal Historic Preservation Officers organization as a board member and treasurer.
“Historic preservation seems like a dry word for what I do,” she said. “I don’t think what I do is about preserving something old. This is really about protecting who we are as Native people, continuing a life way and making sure resources are available for anyone interested in learning more about where they come from and passing that knowledge on from one generation to the next. I think what has always motivated me in this work is the fact that in seven generations my children’s children will continue to see the value in our culture and teachings – and will continue to pass them on.
“There are mechanisms within the NHPA to allow tribes to have a direct role in interpreting what is historically significant and important to protect. I think the NHPA encourages agencies to engage with tribes on a government-to-government basis. We have been battling for centuries to protect burial sites and sacred places and I think the NHPA gives us one of many tools to do that,” said Jackson. “Probably the most frustrating part of the process has always been the fact that tribes are constantly fighting agencies to protect places of importance rather than engaging in dialog to be partners in interpreting American history.
“One of the greatest things about preservation is that it is very diverse,” she said. “Locally we are working on a wonderful project called “A Legacy of Survival.” We are restoring one of the government boarding school buildings in Lac du Flambeau. It was a boy’s dormitory and was listed on the national register in 2005 as a nationally significant property.
“It is a challenging project because the boarding school era is an extremely difficult era for many of us and yet we felt it was critical to share the survival of history, tradition and culture – despite the governments attempt to eradicate native people and native connections with cultural identity,” she said.
The restoration project is currently in the final design phase and includes plans for an interpretative center, an archival storage facility for research and records storage with temperature and humidity control, and teaching traditional and cultural skills such as reed mat making, ricing and other gathering activities.
“The first phase of the project is complete – which was taking off the modern influence in the building and bringing the property back to it 1906 footprint. We are hoping to break ground for the restoration project in early spring with a grand opening by summer.
“We continue to do review and compliance, perhaps not as beautiful as a restoration project or an interpretative center, but it is the foundation of these programs. So we continue to work with state, federal and local agencies to ensure that historic places, sacred sites and traditional cultural properties are considered and protected as a matter of policy and procedure within our ceded lands,” she said.
More information about the Secretary of the Interior Historic Preservation Award can be found at www.doi.gov/initiatives/preservation.html.
http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/national/greatlakes/37105074.html
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