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January 24, 2009
Navajo Nation v. US Forest Service sent to Supreme Court
Indian Country Today reports that the Navajo Nation and other interested parties have now sought review of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision that the Arizona Snowbowl ski area can spray "reclaimed" sewage water on the San Francisco Peaks to make artificial snow. Read the full story HERE.
The Peaks are considered sacred to at least 13 different tribes. The 9th Circuit, consistently the most reversed Appellate Court in the country, says that spraying sewage on them would "not substantially burden the tribes' exercise of religion." We've made this comment before, but we can't help but wonder......how about we take that "reclaimed waste" and spray it all over every church in Flagstaff, then? Or, better yet, how would the members of the 9th Circuit like it if we sprayed it on the James R. Browning Courthouse that houses the Circuit Court in San Francisco? Think that would "substantially burden" the Circuit Court very much?
twp
January 24, 2009 in Federal Indian Law and Jurisdictional Matters | Permalink
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Comments
How can you compare single churches owned by their worshippers to Federal owned lands and mountains, with huge amounts of land, of which an extremely small percentage will use treated sewage for skiing.
That's just disingenuous. I am pro-RFRA and religious rights, but there must be some limitation, as provided in the RFRA legislation itself ("substantial")!
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The editor responds:
"Disingenuous" is often used as another word for "lying through your teeth," which, indeed we are not. I agree fully that there must be some limitation. Every right has limitations. However, I don't believe that the comparison is an unfair one. The tribes in the case are not attempting to claim total and exclusive control over the mountains. They are claiming that they wish to have respect shown to their beliefs regarding those mountains by not having sewage water sprayed over a (and I've skiied that area) significant portion of them, just so others can engage in purely recreational activities. Neither would the Catholic Church care to have sewage water sprayed over the sanctuary in Flagstaff, just because someone thought it was fun. twp
Posted by: milhouse | Feb 25, 2009 9:57:38 AM
Unless I am thoroughly mistaken, reclaimed sewage water is not sewage. It's thoroughly cleaned. Spraying it on churches would be fine in any circumstances in which spraying churches with regular water would be fine. I'm sure that these churches water their lawns with reclaimed sewage water, and the courthouse likely also does the same.
Editor replies: I think you're missing the point of how this offends the tribes who believe the mountains are sacred places.
Posted by: AwayAway | Apr 28, 2009 7:40:17 PM
