The Apache Runners and Their Quest to Save a Holy Mountain

Mount Graham is a hulking mass of rock and forest rising from Arizona’s desert floor more than a mile and a half into an infinite sky. The Western Apache call it Dził nchaa si’an, which roughly translates to “big mountain sitting there.” Apache deities known as gaan dwell on the 10,720-foot summit, overseeing territory that has been holy to the Apache for as long as they can remember. In October 1990, despite repeated objections from local Apache tribes, the United States Forest Service—a federal agency that for many Apaches represents genocidal oppressors—started clear-cutting an eight-acre site on Mount Graham’s summit, destroying part of a pristine alpine forest that was a rare environmental relic from the last Ice Age. That’s when San Carlos Apache tribal member Wendsler Nosie Sr. decided it was time to fight—and not just the Western way with meetings and lawsuits, but the Apache way. He started to run. Mount Graham had become a center of controversy in the 1980s when it caught the eye of the Vatican. As far back as the late 1700s, the Catholic Church had conducted astronomical research via telescope from an observatory at the Vatican to verify the holy calendar. In the 1930s, the facility was relocated outside Rome, but by the early 1980s, light pollution was impeding visibility. Jesuit astronomers dispatched by Pope John Paul II to observe the heavens decided that they wanted Dził nchaa si’an, with its dark skies and mild desert climate, to be their perch for a new telescope. Land couldn’t be sacred, they said. Never mind the gaan. [View in Browser]( [Runner's World Logo]( [SHOP]( [RW+ EXCLUSIVE]( [SUBSCRIBE]( [The Apache Runners and Their Quest to Save a Holy Mountain]( [The Apache Runners and Their Quest to Save a Holy Mountain]( Mount Graham is a hulking mass of rock and forest rising from Arizona’s desert floor more than a mile and a half into an infinite sky. The Western Apache call it Dził nchaa si’an, which roughly translates to “big mountain sitting there.” Apache deities known as gaan dwell on the 10,720-foot summit, overseeing territory that has been holy to the Apache for as long as they can remember. In October 1990, despite repeated objections from local Apache tribes, the United States Forest Service—a federal agency that for many Apaches represents genocidal oppressors—started clear-cutting an eight-acre site on Mount Graham’s summit, destroying part of a pristine alpine forest that was a rare environmental relic from the last Ice Age. That’s when San Carlos Apache tribal member Wendsler Nosie Sr. decided it was time to fight—and not just the Western way with meetings and lawsuits, but the Apache way. He started to run. Mount Graham had become a center of controversy in the 1980s when it caught the eye of the Vatican. As far back as the late 1700s, the Catholic Church had conducted astronomical research via telescope from an observatory at the Vatican to verify the holy calendar. In the 1930s, the facility was relocated outside Rome, but by the early 1980s, light pollution was impeding visibility. Jesuit astronomers dispatched by Pope John Paul II to observe the heavens decided that they wanted Dził nchaa si’an, with its dark skies and mild desert climate, to be their perch for a new telescope. Land couldn’t be sacred, they said. Never mind the gaan. [Read More](   [8 Best Roller Blades for a Full-Body Workout]( [8 Best Roller Blades for a Full-Body Workout]( Who says exercise has to be a chore? [Read More](   [This Beginner-Friendly Resistance Band Workout Does What Dumbbells Can't]( [This Beginner-Friendly Resistance Band Workout Does What Dumbbells Can't]( Increase muscle recruitment and correct imbalances with these moves. [Read More](     [She Was One of the Boston Marathon's First-Ever Female Finishers. At 75 Years Old, She’s Racing Again.]( [She Was One of the Boston Marathon's First-Ever Female Finishers. At 75 Years Old, She’s Racing Again.]( To commemorate the 50th anniversary of women’s inclusion, Val Rogosheske recalls her historic 1972 race. [Read More](   [How to Meal Prep Your Prerun Breakfast for the Week]( [How to Meal Prep Your Prerun Breakfast for the Week]( These pro tips and creative recipes will power your workouts and support your recovery. [Read More](   [Des Linden Expands Her Role With Brooks to Chief Running Advisor for Her Longtime Sponsor]( [Des Linden Expands Her Role With Brooks to Chief Running Advisor for Her Longtime Sponsor]( High among Linden’s priorities is connecting the elite side of the sport to people who run for fitness and fun. [Read More](     RUNNER'S WORLD SHOP The Latest from the RW Collection [Shop Now]( [Shop Now]( [Shop Now](   [Check out the 6 essential, mobile-friendly, dumbbell workouts that you can take anywhere.]( Follow Us [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Notice/Notice at Collection]( RunnersWorld.com ©2022 Hearst Magazines, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hearst Magazines, 300 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019