People leave things in wilderness areas: toilet
paper, orange rinds, even beer cans. But in the San Francisco Peaks
north of Flagstaff, Ariz., it’s human remains that are littering
the Coconino National Forest.
Last month, Native
Americans in Arizona were upset when newspapers reported that a
deceased Navajo woman’s ashes had been scattered in the peaks area,
an important center of Hopi and Navajo spirituality. Some believe
the presence of human remains could make ceremonies held there less
effective.
The Arizona Daily Sun reported, weeks
later, that the original story was a hoax. But the incident brought
the practice of scattering human ashes on public land to the public
eye. Sammie Slivers Sr., president of the Diné Spiritual and
Cultural Society, told the Navajo Times on June 12 that Navajo
people view the peaks as their church, and burying people there is
insensitive.
Now, tribal leaders who plan a
cleansing ceremony to purify the site have brought their case to
the Forest Service. They say wilderness burials must
stop.
Jon Nelson of the San Francisco Peaks
Ranger District says the Forest Service already prohibits using
public lands for burial, but that few people know about the policy.
The agency is working with the tribes, “but what it comes down to,”
he says, “is that it’s pretty religious for the people who are out
there doing the burying, too.”
Nelson says
wilderness burials are more common than the Forest Service or the
tribes realize. But, he adds, “There just aren’t enough of us out
on the ground to possibly enforce the law.”
*
Emily Miller
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Get your ash off our mountain.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
