Supreme Court Affirms Tribes Have No Religious Rights,

Tribes and others Call For Congressional Action to Protect Sacred Places

Flagstaff, AZ — On Monday, June 8^th 2009, the Supreme Court denied the petition by Tribes & Environmental groups to hear the case to protect the holy San Francisco Peaks.

For nearly a decade, the Save the Peaks Coalition, Tribes, Environmental groups, and community members lead an effort to stop the Snowbowl ski area’s plan to expand it’s development on the Peaks, and make snow from treated sewage effluent. The ski resort operates on the Holy Mountain through a lease by the United States Forest Service, which sanctioned the proposed development in 2004.

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On April 22nd Earth Day, the Navajo Nation Council passed a resolution calling on Obama to protect sacred places. The document also calls on the US to immediately sign onto the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Navajo Nation Council additionally urges the US President to meet with the tribe to discuss the protection of the holy San Francisco Peaks & other sacred places before May 8th 2009.

Obama had previously made statements during his campaign vowing to help tribes protect threatened sacred sites. “Native American sacred places and site-specific ceremonies are under threat from development, pollution, and vandalism,” stated his platform. “Barack Obama supports legal protections for sacred places and cultural traditions, including Native ancestors’ burial grounds and churches.”

Read more here at indianz.com: http://64.38.12.138/News/2009/013723.asp

You can send a message to Obama regarding this issue here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/

 Download the Navajo Nation Peaks/Obama Resolution

More info: www.savethepeaks.org

Klee Benally
indigenousaction[at]gmail.com

Take Action: Contact a US Congressional representative here.

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. Read the rest of this entry »