Dook’o’oosłííd still stands tall: Snowbowl remains visible picture of disrespect to Arizona tribes
Navajo Times | Kianna Joe
Snowboards lean on a storage rack at the Arizona Snowbowl as recreationists spend the day at the ski resort in Flagstaff, Ariz.
FLAGSTAFF – Recycling is the green way to go but it doesn’t mean it’s always the best way to go.
On Indigenous Peoples Day, observed on Oct. 9 of this year, Indigenous students from Northern Arizona University and allies, rallied together to continue their stand against the Arizona Snowbowl.
The students and other Indigenous communities want to keep the message alive after 11 years that the Snowbowl is still reusing wastewater from Flagstaff and it’s disrespectful to the mountain that many Indigenous people consider sacred.
The Arizona Snowbowl resort opened its doors in 1938 on Dook’o’oosłííd, one of the four sacred mountains for Diné, just north of Flagstaff.
In 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency allowed water to be reused as man-made snow where the Snowbowl quickly began the process to recycle water.
“Primarily, the use of recycled water to make snow, is to provide consistent skiing for all people of Arizona,” said Robert Linde, the general manager for the Arizona Snowbowl.
According to Linde, there have been many conversations with different tribal members about any projects they conduct, and they continue to be open to having more conversations with tribal members to further a relationship.
Read the full story in the Dec. 28 edition of the Navajo Times.
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