Indigenous activists and supporters staged a protest at the Arizona Snowbowl in Arizona on November 16, 2018. Photo: Protectthepeaks.org

Environment | Law | National

Hopi Tribe loses challenge to use of wastewater at sacred site

Thursday, November 29, 2018

The Hopi Tribe has lost a long-running challenge to the use of reclaimed sewage at the sacred San Francisco Peaks in Arizona.

The Arizona Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the tribe cannot make a public nuisance claim against the use of the wastewater at a publicly-accessible ski resort in the peaks. The vote was 5-2 against the tribe.

"Today we hold, as a matter of law, that environmental damage to public land with religious, cultural, or emotional significance to the plaintiff is not special injury for public nuisance purposes," Justice John Pelander wrote for the majority.

Arizona Supreme Court Oral Argument in Hopi Tribe v. Arizona Snowbowl

The decision marked yet another setback for the tribe, whose efforts to derail the Arizona Snowbowl resort previously failed in the federal courts. The tribe's claims of religious harm were repeatedly rejected.

The tribe then sought justice in the state court system. An appeals court in Arizona had ruled that the case could proceed but that decision has now been reversed by the higher court.

The tribe could potentially appeal the new decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Arizona Snowbowl is located on public land within the Coconino National Forest, where the reclaimed sewage is used to make fake snow. Tribal activists continue to stage protests every year at the site but were blocked from getting close to the resort itself earlier this month.

“This is our sacred mountain, our church, how can we be trespassing? How can you restrict access to public lands?” Klee Benally, a citizen of the Navajo Nation who volunteers with Protectthepeaks.org, said in a press release. “Where does the public land end? What gives you the right to restrict access to my church?”

Photos shared by Protectthepeaks.org show federal and state officers blocked the group from entering the Snowbowl. They stood behind a sign that read: "Ski pass required beyond this point."

"We will not be intimidated by police or racist Snowbowl supporters," said Mary Begay, a Navajo citizen who describes herself as a "Mountain Protector."

"When sacred sites and cultural survival is under attack, we must fight back," she said.

The San Francisco Peaks are sacred to the Hopi Tribe, the Navajo Nation and other Indian nations throughout the Southwest. The mountain is home to religious shrines, gathering sites and spiritual beings.