Indigenous Land

The mountain known as the “San Francisco Peaks” (hereafter “the Peaks”) has sustained life in northern Arizona for hundreds of thousands of years. By drawing moisture from the air to make rain and snow, the mountain has supported unique ecological communities, filled aquifers that now support Flagstaff and other nearby cities, and fed the Little Colorado and Verde Rivers.

The Original Peoples of this region, including the Hopi, Diné, Havasupai, Hualapai, Southern Paiute, Apache, Yavapai, Zuni, and others have understood the mountain as a sacred being, a place where dieties reside, a giver of water and life. As such, they have culturally and spiritually tended the mountain for countless generations.

The United States laid claim to this land in 1848 as public domain. It began exerting its authority over the mountain in 1908 with the creation of the Coconino National Forest, which views the mountain as a resource to be managed for multiple uses, primarily recreation. Despite this, Indigenous Peoples continue to defend the sanctity of the mountain. They have done this through cultural and spiritual practice, prayer, public dissent, legal action, and protest. Many peoples more recently arrived in the region have joined in solidarity with Indigenous resistance to protect the Peaks. The timeline below captures the story of this resistance.