Controversy has surrounded the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff for several years — most recently, the debate centered on treated wastewater being used by the Arizona Snowbowl ski resort. The peaks are considered sacred by a number of Native American tribes.
William Holly has researched the history of the peaks and the controversies that’ve come up related to them over the past several decades. Holly is an historian of the American West and specializes in the San Francisco Peaks and Flagstaff.
His work, called “The Mountain is Part of Us: Tourism, Community, and American Indian Sacred Land in Northern Arizona since 1969” is the winner of an award given out by Brigham Young University. He’ll be teaching at the University of Idaho this fall.