Gallery
Mount Taylor
Blanca Peak group
Hesperus Peak
San Francisco Peaks
The Four Sacred Mountains of the Navajo are the four mountains along the boundaries of the Navajo Nation. According to Navajo belief, each mountain is assigned a color and direction and is seen as a deity that provides essential resources for Navajo livelihood. However, the environmental integrity of these sacred mountains has been compromised for decades, by uranium mining and other resource extraction procedures [1] leading to unfavorable consequences for the Navajo community. According to the Navajo, the destruction of sacred places of power can release dangerous power, which the Navajo attribute to the seen social disintegration in today's society.
The Navajo attribute supernatural power to geographic features, especially mountains, which they consider to be deities. The four sacred mountains in the cardinal directions of Navajo Country hold great importance. They are named in sunwise order and associated with the colors of the four cardinal directions: Sisnaajiní or Blanca Peak (white in the east), Tsoodził or Mt. Taylor (blue in the south), Doko’oosłííd or the San Francisco Peaks (yellow in the west), and Dibéntsaa or Hesperus Peak (black in the north). These mountains are located in south-central Colorado; Grants, New Mexico; Flagstaff, Arizona; and La Plata Mountains, Colorado in relation to U.S. boundaries. [2] [3] [4]
According to a narrative from Father Berard Haile, the color scheme of each peak was based on observations of the land from the Navajo's initial settlement in the area. [5] The inner forms of each pole are oriented in a clockwise fashion, and their descriptions are linked to the previous pole's color. For example, Dawn Boy in the East has the white of dawn, which is the color of the East. Blue Sky Man in the South has the keystone form of the blue daytime sky, which is the color of the South. Yellow Evening Light Girl in the West is of yellow twilight, which is the color of the West. Darkness Girl in the North is surrounded by darkness, or black, the color of the North. [3]
Orderly and proper conditions are about balance. Navajos view both day and night as necessarily interdependent - they are opposite, yet necessary parts of the world we live in. This concept is similar - though not identical - to the Asian concept of Yin and Yang, where each component is part of a whole, larger, balanced system. Male and female, life and death, and good and evil are all complementary states that are interrelated and interdependent in the universe. [6]
The four sacred mountains represent the essence of life and cosmic harmony for the Navajo. They hold the sacred stories of their ancestors and all those who have inhabited the area throughout history. These stories are deeply intertwined with the Navajo culture and way of life, serving as a source of guidance and wisdom for the present and future generations. The mountains are also viewed as a living entity that has witnessed the arrival and departure of people from various tribes and races over time, further highlighting their importance as a place of shared history and cultural heritage. Despite the passage of time and the changes that have occurred, the Navajo people continue to hold these sacred places in high regard, recognizing their enduring spiritual and cultural significance. [7] The necessities of the Navajo, such as food, water, timber, and vegetation, flow through them. By cherishing these mountains and not wasting resources, the Navajo can earn their livelihood. [2]
The mountains have been subjected to what is considered defilement and destruction at the hands of not only non-Indians but also some tribal authorities, those to whom have allowed development and resource extraction projects to take place on the sacred sites. These activities have resulted in the physical destruction of the mountains, as well as the disruption of the spiritual balance of the land. [8] [9]
The Navajo attribute the social disintegration seen in today's society to the desecration of their sacred sites. They believe that the loss of respect for the land and its spiritual significance has contributed to a breakdown in the social fabric of their communities. This includes the erosion of traditional values, the rise of substance abuse and other social problems, and a general sense of alienation and disconnection from the land and its spiritual traditions. [2] [10]
Overall, the treatment of sacred sites is a source of great concern for the Navajo people, who view the preservation and protection of these places as essential to their cultural survival and spiritual well-being. [9] [11]
In 1971, Gulf Mineral Resources Corporation purchased property on Mount Taylor. Gulf began mining uranium ore in 1980, a radioactive mineral. Above ground mining took place as well as extensive drill-and-blast operations that used large quantities of ground water in the operations. The New Mexico Environmental Department reports that Gulf "dewatered three aquifers through a series of groundwater withdrawal wells installed in the 1970s." Later Gulf engaged in a corporate merger with Chevron Resources Company to extract 675,000 tons of uranium ore which left behind 698,000 tons of radioactive tailings on the surface. [1] The Mount Taylor area has several Superfund Sites and is considered one of the most highly polluted sites in the U.S. to do radioactive contamination from uranium mining. [12]
In the 1890s, gold and silver mining commenced on Blanca Peak. [13]
The Navajo Nation, also known as Navajoland, is an Indian reservation of Navajo people in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. The seat of government is located in Window Rock, Arizona.
An American Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a U.S. federal government-recognized Native American tribal nation, whose government is autonomous, subject to regulations passed by the United States Congress and administered by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs, and not to the U.S. state government in which it is located. Some of the country's 574 federally recognized tribes govern more than one of the 326 Indian reservations in the United States, while some share reservations, and others have no reservation at all. Historical piecemeal land allocations under the Dawes Act facilitated sales to non–Native Americans, resulting in some reservations becoming severely fragmented, with pieces of tribal and privately held land being treated as separate enclaves. This intersection of private and public real estate creates significant administrative, political, and legal difficulties.
Navajo National Monument is a national monument located within the northwest portion of the Navajo Nation territory in northern Arizona, which was established to preserve three well-preserved cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Puebloan people: Keet Seel, Betatakin, and Inscription House. The monument is high on the Shonto plateau, overlooking the Tsegi Canyon system, west of Kayenta, Arizona. It features a visitor center with a museum, three short self-guided trails, two small primitive campgrounds that are free to the public, and a picnic area.
Blanca Peak is the fourth highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the U.S. state of Colorado. The ultra-prominent 14,351-foot (4,374 m) peak is the highest summit of the Sierra Blanca Massif, the Sangre de Cristo Range, and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The fourteener is located 9.6 miles (15.5 km) north by east of the Town of Blanca, on the drainage divide separating Rio Grande National Forest and Alamosa County from the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant and Costilla County. The summit is the highest point of both counties and the entire drainage basin of the Rio Grande. Below the steep North Face of Blanca Peak two live Glaciers once developed, until extinction sometime after 1903. North & South Blanca Glaciers were located at 37° 35N.,longitude 105° 28W. Blanca Peak is higher than any point in the United States east of its longitude.
Mount Taylor is a dormant stratovolcano in northwest New Mexico, northeast of the town of Grants. It is the high point of the San Mateo Mountains and the highest point in the Cibola National Forest.
The Navajo or Diné, are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States.
Hesperus Mountain is the highest summit of the La Plata Mountains range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The prominent 13,237-foot (4,035 m) thirteener is located in San Juan National Forest, 13.2 miles (21.2 km) northeast by east of the Town of Mancos in Montezuma County, Colorado, United States. The summit of Hesperus Mountain is the highest point in Montezuma County.
Dinétah is the traditional homeland of the Diné or Navajo, an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. In the Navajo language, the word "Dinétah" means "among the people" or "among the Navajo". In the geographical sense, Dinétah encompasses a large area of northwestern New Mexico, southwestern Colorado, southeastern Utah, and northeastern Arizona. The boundaries are inexact, and are generally marked by mountain peaks which correspond to the four cardinal directions.
The Crow Canyon Archaeological District is located in the heart of the Dinétah region of the American Southwest in Rio Arriba and San Juan counties in New Mexico approximately 30 miles southeast of the city of Farmington. This region, known to be the ancestral homeland of the Navajo people, contains the most extensive collection of Navajo and Ancient Pueblo petroglyphs or rock art in the United States. Etched into rock panels on the lower southwest walls of the canyon are petroglyphs or rock art depicting what is believed to be ceremonial scenes and symbolic images that represent the stories, traditions and beliefs of the Navajo people. Dating back to the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, the petroglyphs have maintained their integrity despite the environmental conditions of the canyon and the effects of tourism. Among the ruins in the Crow Canyon Archaeological District there is also a cluster of Navajo defensive structures or pueblitos, which were built in the 18th century during periods of conflict with the Utes and the beginnings of Spanish Colonialism.
Sacred mountains are central to certain religions, and are usually the subjects of many legends. For many, the most symbolic aspect of a mountain is the peak because it is believed that it is closest to heaven or other religious realms. Many religions have traditions centered on sacred mountains, which either are or were considered holy or are related to famous events. In some cases, the sacred mountain is purely mythical, like the Hara Berezaiti in Zoroastrianism. Mount Kailash is believed to be the abode of the deities Shiva and Parvati, and is considered sacred in four religions: Hinduism, Bon, Buddhism, and Jainism. Volcanoes, such as Mount Etna in Italy, were also considered sacred, Mount Etna being believed to have been the home of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and the forge.
Uranium mining in the United States produced 224,331 pounds (101.8 tonnes) of U3O8 in 2023, 15% of the 2018 production of 1,447,945 pounds (656.8 tonnes) of U3O8. The 2023 production represents 0.4% of the uranium fuel requirements of the US's nuclear power reactors for the year. Production came from five in-situ leaching plants, four in Wyoming (Nichols Ranch ISR Project, Lance Project, Lost Creek Project, and Smith Ranch-Highland Operation) and one in Nebraska (Crowe Butte Operation); and from the White Mesa conventional mill in Utah.
Uranium mining in Arizona has taken place since 1918. Prior to the uranium boom of the late 1940s, uranium in Arizona was a byproduct of vanadium mining of the mineral carnotite.
Uranium mining in New Mexico was a significant industry from the early 1950s until the early 1980s. Although New Mexico has the second largest identified uranium ore reserves of any state in the United States, no uranium ore has been mined in New Mexico since 1998.
The Church Rock uranium mill spill occurred in the U.S. state of New Mexico on July 16, 1979, when United Nuclear Corporation's tailings disposal pond at its uranium mill in Church Rock breached its dam. The spill remains the largest release of radioactive material in U.S. history, having released more radioactivity than the Three Mile Island accident four months earlier.
The relationship between uranium mining and the Navajo people began in 1944 in northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah.
The uranium mining debate covers the political and environmental controversies of uranium mining for use in either nuclear power or nuclear weapons.
Nuclear ethics is a cross-disciplinary field of academic and policy-relevant study in which the problems associated with nuclear warfare, nuclear deterrence, nuclear arms control, nuclear disarmament, or nuclear energy are examined through one or more ethical or moral theories or frameworks.
The World Uranium Hearing was held in Salzburg, Austria in September 1992.Anti-nuclear speakers from all continents, including indigenous speakers and scientists, testified to the health and environmental problems of uranium mining and processing, nuclear power, nuclear weapons, nuclear tests, and radioactive waste disposal.
Bears Ears National Monument is a United States national monument located in San Juan County in southeastern Utah, established by President Barack Obama by presidential proclamation on December 28, 2016. The monument protects 1,351,849 acres of public land surrounding the Bears Ears—a pair of buttes—and the Indian Creek corridor rock climbing area. The Native American names for the buttes have the same meaning in each of the languages represented in the region. The names are listed in the presidential proclamation as "Hoon’Naqvut, Shash Jáa [sic], Kwiyaghatʉ Nükavachi/Kwiyagatu Nukavachi, Ansh An Lashokdiwe"—all four mean "Bears Ears".
The Indian burial ground trope is frequently used to explain supernatural events and hauntings in American popular culture. The trope gained popularity in the 1980s, making multiple appearances in horror film and television after its debut in The Amityville Horror (1979). Over time the Indian burial ground trope has become viewed as a cliche and in its current usage it commonly functions as a satirical element.