Calling all defenders: Plans are underway for a nationwide protest in defense of the San Francisco Peaks in north central Arizona! Please see the press release below for details.
For more than 2 months, Indigenous and non-indigenous activists have been organizing protests, prayer vigils and other non-violent actions to protect the San Francisco Peaks.
Thanks to the US Forest Service, the Peaks are being descecrated so the Arizona Snowbowl ski resort can expand. Needless to say, the commerical exapansion violates basic religious freedoms and the cultural integrity of the Apache, Dineh, Hopi, Hualapai, Yavapai and other Indigenous Nations who hold the San Francisco Peaks sacred.
For more information, please visit www.IndigenousAction.org and www.TrueSnow.org. News and updates are also available at bsnorrell.blogspot.com
Press statement
Greetings friends,
This is a call to see if anyone can organize protests at any of the 10 regional Forest Service Headquarters, including the main office in DC!
Even a few people holding banners outside FS offices would greatly help us put necessary national pressure on the Forest Service regarding the Holy San Francisco Peaks crisis, i.e. current clear-cutting and pipe-line construction in conjunction with Snowbowl ski resort’s expansion and plans to make snow with treated wastewater.
It is also important to note that some of the regional foresters have good working relationships with Indigenous Nations and so please consider this when organizing.
Folks in the Flagstaff area have been very busy as Im sure you’ve heard. (If you haven’t heard, check out www.TrueSnow.org and www.IndigenousAction.org) Not only have 26 arrests been made so far in response to out efforts to stop desecration and eco-cide of the Peaks, but harassment and bogus citations are given to Peaks campers by USFS agents on a daily basis.
The goals of the protests are to:
1. To call for an immediate halt to desecration of the Holy San Francisco Peaks.
2. Call for the USDA to revoke the Special Use Permit for Arizona Snowbowl for greater public interest.
3. Draw attention and elicit comments for the U.S. Forest Service draft report (http://www.fs.fed.us/spf/tribalrelations/sacredsites) outlining its policies and procedures for protecting Sacred Sites.
4. Demonstrate nationwide support for protection of the Peaks and all Sacred Places!
We can provide a template news release for media contacts in your area.
We can also provide banner templates and tips (or send banners depending on the need).
Below is a sample call out from the already planned Albuquerque, NM protest.
Please email me at indigenousaction@gmail.com or protectpeaks@gmail.com if you can help organize a demonstration.
Please forward to your contacts who maybe able to help as well.
For some background please visit: www.IndigenousAction.org and www.TrueSnow.org.
Here are the regions:
http://www.fs.fed.us/contactus/regions.shtml
Southwestern Region – Albuquerque, NM (CONFIRMED!)
Northern Region – Missoula, Montana (FOLKS ORGANIZING NOW!)
Rocky Mountain Region – Golden, CO
Pacific Northwest Region – Portland, Oregon (FOLKS ORGANIZING NOW!)
Intermountain Region – Ogden, UT
Alaska Regional Office – Juneau, AK
Pacific Southwest Region – Vallejo, CA (FOLKS ORGANIZING NOW!)
Southern Region – Atlanta, GA
Eastern Region – Milwaukee, WI
US Forest Service HQ – Washington, D.C.
PROTECT SACRED SITES! DEFEND HUMAN RIGHTS!
PROTECT THE PEAKS PROTEST
When: Thursday, Aug 25th – All day 9am to 5pm.
Where: Southwestern Regional Forester Office
333 Broadway SE, Albuquerque, NM.
Why: Since May 25, 2011, the owners of Arizona Snowbowl, with the support of the U.S. Forest Service and the Flagstaff City Council, have laid over five miles of a 14.8 mile wastewater pipeline and have clearcut over 40 acres of rare alpine forest on the Holy San Francisco Peaks in Northern, AZ.
The Peaks are Holy to more than 13 Indigenous Nations.?They are a place of worship, a place where deities reside, a place where offerings are made, where herbs are gathered, where emergence has occurred, and a location where other sacred religious practices take place .
The USDA, the agency in charge of the Forest Service, has been holding hearings on protection of sacred places due in part to the Peaks controversy.
Urge the Forest Service’s Regional Forester and USDA to immediately halt all Snowbowl development on the San Francisco Peaks!
The Forest Service and USDA can stop this desecration and eco-cide!
More info: TrueSnow.org
TAKE ACTION:
1. Contact the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Urge the USDA to immediately halt all development on the San Francisco Peaks!
The USDA heads the Forest Service. Urge them to revoke the Special Use Permit for Arizona Snowbowl for greater public interest.
Tom Vilsack?U.S. Department of Agriculture?1400 Independence Ave., S.W.?Washington, DC 20250
Phone: 202-720-3631
2. Comment on USDA Draft Sacred Sites Report.
Public Comment Deadline: Oct. 4.
The draft report is available for review at
http://www.fs.fed.us/spf/tribalrelations/sacredsites
Public comments can be sent to:
U.S. Forest Service
Office of Tribal Relations
1400 Independence Ave., SW
Mailstop Code: 1160
Washington, DC 20250-1160
Comments also may be submitted by fax to (202) 205-1773 or e-mail to
sacredsitescomment@fs.fed.us.
3. Converge on the Mountain! Donate supplies!
Join an established base camp or start your own.
Supplies are also needed.
More info: www.truesnow.org
4. Donate funds for legal support for those arrested
Donate online at www.TrueSnow.org or www.IndigenousAction.org
You can also organize fundraiser support and awareness events.
Contact protectpeaks@gmail.com for more info.
5. Contact Flagstaff City Officials and urge them to RESPECT the environment, Indigenous culture, and protect public health by finding a way out of their contract to sell Snowbowl wastewater!
PHONE: (928) 779-7600
EMAIL: council@flagstaffaz.gov
6. Write letters to your local papers about the issue.
Spread the message on your social networks.
Indigenous Peoples are putting their bodies on the line and it's our responsibility to make sure you know why. That takes time, expertise and resources - and we're up against a constant tide of misinformation and distorted coverage. By supporting IC you're empowering the kind of journalism we need, at the moment we need it most.
