Nearly 1,200 people joined local indigenous, environmental, and human rights organizations in Flagstaff, AZ on March 25 to participate in the March for Sacred Sites and Human Rights, which culminated with a series of speeches at Flagstaff City Hall. The march was held in association with the 13th annual National Conference of the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (M.E.Ch.A.), which took place at Northern Arizona University from March 23–26. More than 50 community organizations, businesses, and institutions sponsored the march, including Save the Peaks Coalition, Youth of the Peaks, and Laguna Acoma Coalition for a Safe Environment. Participants hoped that the event would persuade the city council to recall its controversial vote to allow the use of reclaimed wastewater at the Arizona Snowbowl ski area. Although Flagstaff’s city council has yet to respond, Evon Peters, Executive Director of Native Movement, remains optimistic. "This is only the beginning," Peters said in a recent phone interview. "We are going to get at City Hall with petitions, protests. This march only encouraged us to keep fighting."
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