Special Blog Series: What "Dook'o'oosłííd" also Known as the San Francisco Peaks Means to Tribes of Northern Arizona
By Darrell Marks from the Navajo Tribe.
For Dinés, it is customary to introduce ourselves in Navajo first:
Yá’át’ééh. Naazhtezhí Taabaha. Naakai Dine’e. Kinłchiihí. Ashiihí. Kinłaní.
I am White Corn Zuni Edgewater. Born for those going home. My maternal grandparents are Red House, and my paternal grandparents are Salt.
I was born and raised in the beautiful northern Arizona region, enjoying landscapes that range from a high-desert plateau to ponderosa pine forests and snowy peaks. Although I am originally from the Tonalea community, located right between Page and Flagstaff, I currently reside in Flagstaff with two of my three children, Makaius and Makairyn.
Before there ever was the Flagstaff, 14 Tribes all lived in this region together near one another collaboratively. Even though each had a distinct language and culture, they cohabitated in this space peacefully. This is a special place for many other Indigenous Peoples in the area. It has been our land, our home, since time immemorial.
Although a lot of people may see just beautiful mountains when they look at them, the San Francisco Peaks or "Dookó’oslííd" ("the shimmering mountaintop or snow-capped mountain ") as Navajos know it, is sacred to different Tribes throughout the southwest region.
As Navajo people, it's our western mountain. We identify it as the mountain of education, home, and community. We believe some of our deities exist there.
But the San Francisco Peaks are not only important to Navajo people. For the Hopi Tribe, these peaks are the one mountain and the home to all of their gods and deities. These mountains hold a powerful significance to many Tribes. They are home for all of us, giving us an understanding of who we are, and how we found our placement in the universe.
Protecting this land, which is part of our religious heritage and the teachings of our ancestors, is our responsibility because it is essential to our culture, existence, and survival. The San Francisco Peaks unite us all. Although we may belong to different Tribes, we are all connected and consider each other relatives and family. That deep connection and relationship with people, nature, and the universe itself, Navajos call it “K’é.”
To this day, our connection to “Dookó’oslííd” remains strong. Just as my grandmother saw snow in the mountains as a child, we are blessed to still see snow now in the middle of summertime. As a parent, this gives me the opportunity to teach and tell my children the same stories my grandmother told me about the importance of these snow-capped mountains.
Many people don’t know that Arizona Snowbowl has exploited and misused our sacred mountains. This corporation keps expanding and developing further than what was agreed upon, desecrating this holy land to all Tribes in the region just for profit.
What they do at the top of the mountain changes everything down at the base of these peaks downstream, impacting the environment and the natural resources vital for our existence and future generations.
It is time for Arizona Snowbowl to be accountable for its actions, for people to learn what this corporation is doing to all of us, not just the Tribes, and our authorities, to take action to prevent further damage.