In 1629, a group of Franciscans stationed in the village of Oraibi named the giant mountains they saw San Francisco, in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. Opinions about the native tribes' use of the peaks and this new influx of culture are as distant as the names they call the mountain itself. The San Francisco Mountains, more than a mile high, tower above the predominantly Anglo-Saxon city of Flagstaff to the south. The mountain range was actually formed by a now inactive volcano. These peaks have long been considered sacred ground by thirteen Native American tribes, including the Hopi and Navajo. As the importance of peak use has intensified both recreationally and economically to the city of Flagstaff, the controversy has also generated more heat among native tribes. Opened in 1937, Arizona Snowbowl is one of the oldest ski resorts in the country. Since then, the Snow Bowl has created adversity everywhere from environmentalists to Native Americans. The only way to understand the legitimacy of these Native American claims is to take a closer look at how the peaks connect to their religion and way of life. This will be done through the two dominant voices of the battle, the Navajo and the Hopi. This understanding is necessary to fully understand the trials and tribulations that many spiritual natives have endured in attempting to protect their sacred land, even when the law is seemingly on their side. Evidence produced by archaeologists suggests that the Hopi have inhabited their sacred mountain for well over a thousand years. These mountains hold the sacred spirits of the Hopi called kachinas. These spirits are essential in the Hopi religion and serve as a medium between the Hopi and... middle of paper... rest The service has not had much difficulty in allowing the woodpeckers to develop. Similar results were seen in 1981, when part of the Hopi tribe, the Navajo Medicinemen's Association, went to Washington to challenge these decisions. Judge Charles Richey gave the first interpretation of the new law in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. This was a major blow to the tribes, with the Court of Appeals upholding Richey's decision stating that AIRFA does not require "traditional Native religious considerations to always prevail to the exclusion of all else." After years of delay and multiple owners, the Natives' lawsuit to stop expansion on Snow Bowl failed. Although AIRFA was not necessarily a success for the natives, the struggle continued to rage despite cultural differences and an inability to see the issue equally..