Navajo commission holds hearing on sacred mountain

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) – The Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission is holding a public hearing to gather testimony on a mountain that at least a dozen American Indian tribes consider sacred.

The Flagstaff-area has been embroiled in controversy over plans by the Arizona Snowbowl to use reclaimed water to spray artificial snow on the San Francisco Peaks.

The commission has scheduled a Friday meeting at Flagstaff City Hall to give people a chance to talk about the use, preservation and protection of the mountain.

The plan to spray snow likely will come up.

The tribes lost a yearslong court battle to stop the project based on religious grounds. A pending lawsuit challenges the health effects of using reclaimed water to make snow.