"The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in Montana are seeking to have a mountain peak listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the hope of calling attention to a copper and silver mining company’s plans to burrow beneath it. The tribe has traditionally used the site, Chicago Peak, for praying, fasting and seeking visions.

A listing on the register would not legally prevent the mine from going forward. Still, the tribes hope to turn public opinion against the “hollowing out” of a spiritual site and to avert negative environmental impacts from the project, Rock Creek Mine.

“The peak is related to origin stories that took place during the time of creation of the Kootenai world,” said Maria Nieves Zedeño, an anthropologist at the University of Arizona who has researched the peak for the nomination of an associated site, Kootenai Falls. “It’s one of the most significant sites to the Kootenai because of its association with knowledge and power.”"

Get the Story:
Green Blog: A Sacred Peak With Rich Ore Deposits (The New York Times 4/9)