The following is the second of a three-part series exploring Native American culture in northern Arizona.

To Native American tribes in northern Arizona, the San Francisco Peaks are sacred land.

For the Hopi, the mountain is their focus of prayers for rain and snow. The Navajo observe a natural law that compels them to protect the mountain. Medicine men of various tribes venture to the mountain to use the plants that grow there for the healing powers their traditions dictate.

Rudy Preston, the media liaison for Save the Peaks, said the mountains hold some form of cultural significance for 13 of northern Arizona’s tribes.

“That’s their place of emergence,” Preston said. “In essence, it’s like the Garden of Eden, if you want to put it into Christian terms.”

According to Preston, the relationship between Native American tribes and Flagstaff became hindered because of the pivotal role city officials played in the decision to make snow from reclaimed water at Snowbowl.

“They could have stopped this whole thing,” Preston said. “They could stop this whole project by not selling Snowbowl the reclaimed water.”

Tribal nations are continuing to fight in various ways against the Supreme Court’s decision to allow the snowmaking from reclaimed water on the peaks, including the Navajo Nation’s recent consideration of buying Snowbowl.

Chad Hamill, the assistant professor of ethnomusicology at NAU, said he is a descendant of the Spokan tribe and works to preserve his culture by specializing in Native American music. Hamill said he sees Native Americans in Flagstaff struggling between traditional and modern demands.

“Native people often find themselves walking in two worlds, striving to strike a balance between long-held cultural traditions and mainstream American society,”Hamill said. “The two are often at odds, each reflecting very different value systems and world views.”

Hamill said Snowbowl is just one issue forcing Native Americans to defend their traditional views against a demand for development.

“On the one end, you have the profit motive,” Hamill said. “Making snow with treated waste water will bring more money into Snowbowl — no doubt about it.

On the other end, you have Native people trying to maintain their cultural and spiritual traditions. This has been an ongoing dynamic for 500 years. Native people can have what is theirs until it stands in the way of ‘progress,’ which, translated, means ‘until money is to be made.’ Whether it is oil, gold, uranium or snow, it’s the same story over and over again.”

Despite the snowmaking controversy, George Hardeen, the communications director for the Navajo Nation, said he believes Flagstaff’s overall relationship with tribal nations is strong and long-lasting. He said city officials participated in sessions of Navajo Nation Council and are becoming increasingly sensitive to the tribe’s cultural concerns.

“Without a question, it’s a positive relationship,” Hardeen said. “For decades — and never more than right now — Navajos have traveled from their homes on the Navajo Nation to shop in Flagstaff, work in Flagstaff and go to school in Flagstaff. Many eventually move to and live in Flagstaff. There is a very interdependent relationship.”

While many Native Americans come in search of jobs and education not offered to them on the reservation, Flagstaff benefits from the contribution to the city’s businesses and overall culture diversity.

Hardeen said he agrees some Native Americans living in the ever-growing city of Flagstaff are losing a grasp on their culture because of modern demands and the technological evolution.

“On the one hand, we see an inevitable erosion of the culture,” Hardeen said. “But the growth of Flagstaff cannot be held accountable for that. First it was roads bringing the outside world in, followed by the world delivered by radio and television. Movies came, and eventually we all had the advent of the Internet, e-mail, cell phones, satellite TV and now social media.”

Hardeen said he believes families have a powerful influence over culture preservation.

“Education is necessary for even young Navajos to appreciate the beauty and depth of their indigenous culture,” Hardeen said. “A culture is what is practiced, and if time with video games, being online, and texting exceeds that of attending ceremonies or listening to grandma and grandpa’s stories — well, that’s your culture. Navajo families must be diligent to instill the teachings and life ways in the lives of their children.”

Part One: Native culture continues to suffer from past events
Part Three: Studies challenge Native students to retain tradition and culture