| "Loop 202" freeway project was proposed by the government and traffic managers because of growing urban area in Phoenix, USA [1]. However, for Native people and activist Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Pee-Posh (Maricopa) tribes, the demolition of 33 acres of desert peak due to the freeway project represented the loss and desecration of a sacred place. In fact, the mountain is Indigenous cultural and historical heritage, including petroglyphs or Indigenous rock carvings, sometimes referred to as “The Teaching Rocks”, from several hundred to more than 7,000 years of age [1-2]. Moreover, it is place for rituals, ceremonies, or gathering, and collecting medicinal plants [2]. See moreTherefore, the Native groups united to express their concerns about the freeway project [1]. A coalition of O'odham and Pee Posh youth, elders and cultural practitioners was formed [1]. During protests, activists camped in the area, held sacred runs and passed out graphic pamphlets to other community members to help them better understand the issue regarding their sacred lands. Protesters took the cause in the court system and demanded the project to be allocated to another place, which would not affect their sacred land directly. But the attempt failed [1]. The main reason for the project approval was that the mountain [sacred land they protect] is outside the [legal] boundaries of tribal lands [1,2]. (See less) |