THINK THE U.S. GOVERNMENT CARES WHAT'S SACRED TO NATIVE PEOPLES? THINK AGAIN!
Here's What's In Store For Hawai`i If The Akaka Bill Becomes Law -
Indian Country Today - by Tanya Lee
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - In a stunning Jan. 11 opinion, U.S. District Court Judge Paul Rosenblatt rejected every argument American Indians presented to prevent further desecration of the San Francisco Peaks in northern Arizona.
The Peaks, sacred to 13 tribes, are federal lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Despite decades of protests, a ski resort has operated there since 1938.
''This is another slap in the face,'' said Rex Tilousi, tribal council member and former chairman of the Havasupai Tribe, who testified during the trial on religious freedom issues raised by the lawsuit.
The suit, brought against the Forest Service by six tribes and three environmental groups, was filed in June 2005 after the Forest Service approved Arizona Snowbowl owners' 2002 application to make changes at the ski resort.
The most controversial is a plan to use recycled wastewater to make snow.
The case is one of the first legal challenges to RFRA and as such has set an important precedent.
Yavapai-Apache Nation Tribal Chairman Jamie Fullmer and Apache Historian Vincent Randall said in a Jan. 12 statement: ''Recent history has shown the federal courts are not supportive of Native American sensibilities and traditions when it comes to issues concerning the landscape and spiritual health of our People.''
Phoenix attorney Howard Shanker, who represented the Navajo, Yavapai-Apache and White Mountain Apache tribes and the environmental groups, said in a statement Jan. 12: ''[T]he federal government felt, and the court affirmed, that the economic viability of the Arizona Snowbowl Resorts Limited Partnership was more of a priority than the beliefs of hundreds of thousands of Native Americans.''
