The San Carlos Apache Tribe of Arizona has rejected an offer to drop its opposition to a telescope project.

The University of Arizona, part of a consortium for the telescope, offered $120,000 in credits for various school programs. But the tribal council voted against the deal, which one tribal elders aid was an attempt to buy their sacred site.

The tribe and several others oppose the project, located on the sacred Mount Graham. The mountain used to be part of the San Carlos Apache Reservation but is now part of federal land. So far, attempts to stop development have failed.

Several schools, including the University of Minnesota, have purchased time to use the observatory. "The Apache have demonstrated that this issue is important to them, that Mount Graham is paramount to their religion and that they feel this observatory tramples on their spirituality," The Minnesota Daily says in an editorial. "The rest of us should take these convictions at face value."

Get the Story:
San Carlos rejects UA proposal (The Eastern Arizona Courier 4/20)
Telescope sits high as cultural divide runs deep (The Minnesota Daily 4/21)
Telescope is an opportunity and a controversy (The Minnesota Daily 4/21)
Editorial: Telescope: U�s position dicey (The Minnesota Daily 4/21)