To all California Indians,
This issue is an important one as the state is attempting to pass laws
making it easier to protect our sacred sites. For a moment let us discuss
just what a sacred site is. First of all in our language (Wintu) there was
no recollection prehistorically of a term sacred site locality or place.
Only a word that translates roughly to the word "charm" or Xochi. Rather
than referring to sacred sites as localities or a place occupying a
specific area, the Wintu prehistorically believed whole tracts of land (
mountain ridges, whole creek or river systems (now covered by the Great
Shasta Dam and shasta lake, a Reclamation project ensuring the extinction
of the Wintu By land theft and no subsequent relocation for our tribe,
leaving us currently landless people in our own land) and large mountain
peaks are all examples of sacred places of the California Culture type.
Developing contractors, and government agencies under the current state law
(CEQA) while forced to have tribal monitors present during any ground
disturbing activities in known (recorded) cultural areas and to at least
notify aboriginal tribes in the area, try as hard as they can to LIMIT as
much as possible the Boundaries of such sites.
Case in point, I represented my tribe during archaeological mitigation
procedures with a local timber harvester, who�s staff included foresters,
licensed timber operators (LTO's), and a free lance anthropologist not
interested in the protection of native american lands out in the middle of
nowhere(seemingly to him) and certainly not a sacred location offering no
career advancing finds like perhaps a Mckee uniface, because unfortunately
often in times actual cultural debate is sparse at best or not present on
infrequently used prehistorical sacred localities, making it difficult at
best for the professional archaeologist to determine site boundaries
accurately. Assuming the non-ndn professional anthropologist is interested
in accurate recording, or getting out of the woods that day, or simply
putting the LTO's interest of timber or development before that of our
history and spirituality which is protected by law.
Sacred sites are disturbed often, here and elsewhere. How many more
THP's(timber harvest plans) and strip malls will be developed directly on
top of cultural sites( the homes of our California Indian ancestors) and
destroying the sacredness of our most revered sites in the name of
expansion? Hopefully, these new laws if passed by the state will more
openly allow tribes to record formally and as a result protect our sacred
places.
Matt, Cultural Rep.
El-Pom Keswick Rancheria
--
Andr� Cramblit: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Operations Director
Northern California Indian Development Council NCIDC (http://www.ncidc.org)
is a non-profit that meets the development needs of American Indians and
operates an art gallery featuring the art of California tribes
(http://www.americanindianonline.com)
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