US tribe fights use of treated sewage to make snow on holy peaks

The Hopi tribe is taking on an Arizona ski resort over its use of artificial snow: 'People compare it to baptizing a baby with reclaimed water'

• As threat to America's public land increases, so does our coverage

To the Hopi tribe, the San Francisco Peaks are sacred. The cluster of mountains rise dramatically from grasslands and ponderosa forests in northern Arizona, and the Hopi say they are home to spiritual beings called kachinas, believed to bring the rain and snow to their reservation.

But the tribe has been allowed to move forward with a lawsuit against a local ski resort over what the tribe deems to be a desecration of the holy mountains: spraying artificial snow made from treated sewage.