On Tuesday December 11, 2007, I joined in a community effort to welcome and support a coalition of Native American Nations and environmental
justice groups in their ongoing effort to defend Arizona's San Francisco
Peaks from proposed ski area development. The coalition had traveled
from Arizona in order to be present for a Federal Appeals Court hearing
in which developers would challenge a precedent-setting court victory
won by the coalition, which halted plans to expand the skiing business
by making fake snow out of sewage waste. This case is viewed as
precedent-setting in the realms of religious freedom and public health,
and particularly in establishing an interpretation for the 1993
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
As a person of faith, what struck me about the gathering is how deeply
important the theme of religious freedom was. . .
Full report from
newswire: This is how we
(could) pray by Amy L. Dalton
Report on the court
proceedings: Tribes &
Environmental Groups Defend Religious Freedom & Human Health in Federal
Court | |
Report with photos: March and Vigil
to Save the San Francisco Peaks by Self-Hating Caucasian | |
More
photos: by
Raul Roa | |
Related: A Native
American
on How Non-Indigenous People Can Stop Colonialization
This is how we (could) pray: saving the San Francisco Peaks