Devils Tower Voluntary June Closure: What are your thoughts?

It's one month, people.

The Native American cultural and spiritual world revolves around the lunar calendar, not the Roman calendar or American school calendar.

The closure happens in June because our modern world follows the Roman calendar. It would be difficult to manage a closure that follows a lunar calendar or ceremonies that may take place at different times each year.

Last February, in the midst of this legal battle, Dr. Irons visited the local parks department to see if the Mount Soledad Memorial
Association had acquired a permit to use the park this Easter. To his
surprise, he discovered that no permit had been requested, and,
indeed, such a permit had not been issued to the Memorial Association
to conduct their Christian worship services for years. It was simply
assumed by the city that the park would be reserved for these
services. Seizing a rare opportunity, Dr. Irons immediately made
application for use of the park on Easter morning. In the
"organization" blank of the application, Dr. Irons listed the Atheist
Coalition, despite the fact that he considers himself a practicing
Christian. Several weeks later, the Atheist Coalition membership
voted nearly unanimously to support Dr. Irons' Easter morning event.
This support was offered even though many members of the Coalition had
already made plans to attend a national atheists convention in the
Midwest on that weekend.

Under the guidance of Dr. Irons and activist Craig Kelso, the theme
for the Easter morning event became "The Park Belongs to Everyone". A
program of speakers was assembled from San Diego's diverse religious
and non-religious minority groups. The message went out that this
secular celebration was to welcome all citizens, without
concern for convictions or beliefs. This open invitation did not
appeal to the local media, which chose instead to cast this gathering
as a battle between atheists and Christians. The local newspapers
contained frequent stories and editorials on the usurpation of this
sacred ground by the childish and mean spirited atheists. The San
Diego Memorial Association refused to join in the celebration, opting
to reserve the park for Memorial Day, instead. One San Diego City
Councilman, who also happens to be a Baptist preacher, reserved the
park for the hour preceding the Atheist Coalition Easter
event, but front page headlines soon thereafter declared that God
himself had told this distinguished gentleman to withdraw his
reservation.

Many people climbed Mount Soledad on the morning of April 7th. With
sleep still in their eyes from the reinstantiation of daylight savings
time, people were forced by limited parking space to climb to the top
of the hill on foot. Arriving in darkness, members of the "The Park
Belongs to Everyone" committee quitely set up for their event while
television cameras captured the wild circus of street preachers and
angry Christian banner wavers which pranced about the cross. As the
sun crept above the mountains, the celebration of freedom and
diversity began.

Dr. Irons and Craig Kelso welcomed the crowd, which numbered between
200 and 300. The sound of their voices over the P.A. system was heard
by the demonstrators at the nearby cross, and a parade of banner
toting crusaders marched towards the podium. The motley crew of
anti-separationists included several bible thumpers shouting
hallelujahs, a mock Jesus bearing a large wooden cross and receiving
flogging by a woman wearing bunny-rabbit make-up, and a collection of
young muscular men wearing clothing reminiscent of inner city street
gangs, chanting "It's the blood that sets me free".

The disruption was significant, but the separationists went on. Scott
Nailor, speaking on behalf of the Atheist Coalition, shouted out his
piece, ignoring the drone of the protesters behind him. Television
cameras ignored his words and focused instead on any interaction that
showed promise of escalating into violence. Brave freethinkers and
other separationists stepped forward to quietly interpose their bodies
between the protesters and the speakers. Then, as if out of nowhere,
several uniformed officers of the San Diego Police Department appeared
and calmly enforced the park permit granted to Dr. Irons. The
Christian protesters were directed to keep their distance, and their
shouts and chants slowly died down to an occasional heckling.

JoAnne Harrison, speaking for the local wiccans, related the pagan
history of Easter. She was followed by the Reverend Tom Owen-Towle of
the First Unitarian Universalist Church. A musical interlude was then
provided by Vincent Clarke, an amiable elderly trombonist who had
played in years past for the Christian services held on Mount Soledad.
On this occasion, Mr. Clarke entertained the crowd with a selection of
secular show tunes.

June was chosen because it is a culturally significant month for the Native American tribes that the tower is sacred to. Many ceremonies take place in June culminating with the summer solstice.

It's been my experience that climbers should be proactive in building good relationships with the land managers of the public lands where climbing exists.

Thank you for starting this thread. Before, I was always determined to honor the June voluntary closure. I have been advocating for Native American rights my entire life whenever I have the opportunity to do so. Those who know me understand the passion I have for spreading accurate history as to what really happened here to the plains Indians, especially during the 1800's and on into today.

After learning more about this closure however, I am planning my Devil's Tower trip this year in the month of June. It will be nice to spend time in the Black Hills during the month of the sun dance.