| OCR Text |
Show sites of ancient import for Zuni religious organizations. Near the mouth of the Zuni River, a spring rises from the formerly swampy plain. Formerly "Whispering Spring" fed a small lake, but today damming of the Little Colorado and non-Zuni ranchers' channelization have caused the Zunis' sacred lake to dry up. Within the area, which is located in the vicinity of Concho, Arizona, are three very important shrines and a number of other sacred areas, where Zuni religious leaders regularly participate in important ceremonies, repeat ancient prayers, and make offerings. There is evidence to suggest that the Zunis have used this area for religious purposes for at least five centuries, and probably long before the arrival of the first Europeans in that part of the New World. That portion of the trail which is within the Zuni Reservation boundaries has not been described in detail in this report. That portion of the trail which is outside of the reservation boundaries passes through portions of more than fifty sections in some ten townships in eastern Arizona from T. 17 N., R. 31 E. to T. 14 N., R. 26 E. Twenty-two of those sections are owned by Earl Piatt or are leased 15 by him from either the Bureau of Land Management or the State of Arizona. That portion of the trail east of Highway 666 roughly follows the Zuni River channel through mountainous grassland, juniper and occasional piny on pine (the area is classed as a Great Basin Conifer Woodland biotic community). The trail between 14. "Zuni Indian Tribe Lands Bill," Hearing before the Select Committee on Indian Affairs, United States Senate, Ninety-Eighth Congress, Second Session, on S. 2201, "To Convey Certain Lands to the Zuni Indian Tribe for Religious Purposes," April 9, 1984, 113 pp. 15. Stauber, Ronald L. "Zuni Pilgrimage Route: Land Status of Sections Along Pilgrimage Trail," seven different documents relating to land status, 4/21-22/86, MS. - 13 - |
