For more information on the controversial telescope project, please visit: <http://users.skynet.be/kola/mtgrah.htm> Online petition against the Mt. Graham telescopes at: <http://kola-hq.hypermart.net/actmtg.htm> San Carlos Apache Moccasin, Globe AZ Wed. Sep 13, 2000 MT. GRAHAM RUN DRAWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD The Mt. Graham Sacred Run has become a yearly event, drawing people from across the United States and around the world to participate and bring their blessings to the mountain. This year's run added nine runners who covered the entire distance from San Carlos to Mt. Graham in three days. The purpose was to gather the Sacred water which surfaces at the very top of Mt. Graham. This holy water was used by Apache ancestors and recognized by other tribes within the Southwest. It was obtained for illness, ceremonies and blessings. Apaches as well as others were forbidden to continue their religious practices between 1850 and 1954. The runners were very honored and blessed to continue the religious practice without fear of hostility which they featured during the conquest of the white Americans. At 4:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 12, the Sacred Run started. The run crossed the railroad tracks, went through San Carlos, Peridot, and then toward Bylas. This year's race had runners from Cibecue, San Carlos, Bylas, Tucson, Oklahoma, Phoenix, North Carolina, Pasqua Yaqui, France, Italy and Nicaragua. The runners covered 100 miles in 13 hours, reaching the summit at 5:30 p.m. The run coordinator, Ernest Victor, stated, "This run was different from other runs. Just seeing them in the rain was moving spiritually. No one gave up. The more it rained, they kept getting up and running. When they reache the end and stood in the circle, you could see the glow on everyone's face. They weren't feeling any pain from the long distance run." The Pasqua Yaqui group blessed the mountain and the runners that evening with their traditional deer dancne. Ernest Victor reflected, "To see Pasqua Yaqui was spiritual, letting their mentor go into the spirit world was something to wonder. They released his spirit into the spirit world. It was like telling him that down here we will keep working." He added, "Every year, for as long as it takes, we will bring more young kids. They will experience it. Apaches for Cultural Preservation did a good job of bringing everyone together." Other coordinators such as Carlos Nosie, Ray Apodaca, Lamont Hoffman, Caty Carmen of Pasqua Yaqui and Anthony Hoffman of Cibecue all agreed, "You have to be here to witness and believe in what each of us as well as our children have experienced." Wendsler Nosie, organizer of the three-day run recalled, "My daughter asked why all these people pass by in their cars without looking, with a straight face like we aren't here, why?" "I told her, You see the young child in the back of the car turn and look? They are asking their parents, why are those people running? The parents have to say that Mt. Graham is holy and they used to live here." Apaches for Cultural Preservation is thankful for Mr. Raleigh Thompson, who participated by praying, singing and told the people of the blessed gift God placed on Mt. Graham. His moving speech brought tears to the eyes of all in attendance. Elder Elvera Nosie spoke about the history and their religious ways, as children surrounded her. Wendsler Nosie concluded, "I would like to thank everyone who was involved from the cooks to the support groups. The spirit of Mt. Graham has touched many people throughout the world and it will take all of us through prayer to remove the telescopes from the Holy Mountain. We are facing a struggle that involves millions and millions of dollars with investors seeking prestige and disregard the rights of our religious ways. "There must be a balance between spirituality and science. If we fail as a person, we face the same consequences as those who are destroying Mother Earth," he added. [In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only.]