April 27, 2012

Formal Statement to James Anaya, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

“The Creator gave the Aboriginal Indigenous Nations of the People Laws to follow and responsibilities to care for all Creation. These instructions have been passed down from generation to generation from the beginning of Creation. It is the Law that no one can overpower the Creator’s Law, you are a part of Creation, thus if you break the Law, you are destroying yourself.

We speak on behalf of all Creation: the four legged/those that swim/those that crawl/those that fly/those that burrow in the Earth/the plant and tree Nations. This one life system includes the elements of fire, water, earth and air, the living environment of “Mother Earth”.

The Sanctity of the Creator’s Law has been broken. The balance of life has been disrupted. You come into life as a sacred being. If you abuse the sacredness of your life then you affect all Creation. The future of all life is now in jeopardy. We have now reached the crossroads. As Aboriginal Indigenous People we ask you to work with us to save the future of all Creation.”

The Creator created the Aboriginal Indigenous Peoples into the Land at the beginning of Creation and also created into the Peoples the Natural Law. We have followed this Natural law since the very beginning, passing it down through each generation to ensure the survival of all life.

As the Original Stewards of this Land we have the responsibility to follow and uphold the Natural Law. In order to uphold this responsibility we must be free to speak and act on behalf of our relatives who are not easily understood by those who are new to this land and who have little respect for the Natural Laws of this Land. The newcomers have demonstrated their lack of respect for the Natural Law time and again throughout the history of the United States of America, beginning with the abandonment of their own laws and homelands and the creation of new man-made laws that have been designed to serve destructive purposes upon our homelands. The lack of respect and abusive actions that the United States has continually demonstrated in opposition to Natural Law is both offensive and utterly destructive, not only to our Peoples and way of life, but to all Creation.

Since their arrival on our lands, the newcomers have shown very little respect towards our obligation to adhere to the Natural Law of the Creator. Instead of mutual respect there is simply an expectation that we will respect the man-made laws that have been forced upon us. In this way, we find that we are discriminated against, by consistently being required to respond in black and white with a foreign language that is not our own and which does not convey the full depth of our concerns. Our Indigenous ways of decision2 making and speaking are often not accommodated and our ways of interaction are not honored or recognized.

It is our inherent right to follow the Natural Law. And, it is our right to adhere to our obligations under that Law which extend beyond man-made domestic and international law. The government of the United States is also obligated. They are obligated to acknowledge our right to govern ourselves and our lands.

Domestic and International law requires the United States Government to acknowledge the Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination. This includes the right to live on our lands with unrestricted access to our waters and natural areas without fear of contamination or the threat of having our rights restricted or taken away.

In addition, the United States Government is obligated to acknowledge the right of Indigenous Peoples to maintain and protect their “religious and cultural practices.” Based on these legal precepts, our sacred holdings such as Eagle feathers are improperly placed under man-made law. Those who properly maintain and care for these sacred holdings, in accordance with our sacred teachings, are the ones to determine how they are to be used.

These sacred holdings are governed by the Creator’s Law. Yet, the United States Government presumes to control our ceremonies by dictating how and when we can use our sacred holdings, creating man-made laws that govern the use of our sacred holdings and our ceremonial way of life, in direct violation of our rights as Indigenous Peoples. These attempts to disrupt our way of life by dishonoring and disrespecting the Natural Law have consequences. The United States and the international community are experiencing these consequences today. They are being felt in the increased severity and frequency of natural disasters that have been brought about by their activities and they are being reflected in the deterioration of the social and moral standards. The need for manmade laws to be realigned with the Natural Law is urgent. This can only be accomplished if the Natural Law of the Creator, the Law held sacred by Indigenous Peoples, is included in real and meaningful ways. If the United States and International Legal Community does not address their destruction of the natural world and the social injustices that result from this destruction, immediately and urgently, by realigning their values and all future actions with the Natural Law, then we see newly emerging threats on the horizon, threats that pose an immediate danger to our survival as human beings.

As the sole authority on our way of life we must be included in all planning and decision making that affects our way of life and the ability of the natural world to sustain life upon this planet. In regard to the legal consultation requirements set forth under domestic and international law, the United States of America is required to engage in meaningful consultation and to attain the free, prior and informed consent of the Indigenous Peoples before making any decisions that might impact them, their lands or their way of life. However, even with these laws in place, there has been very little meaningful face-toface open dialogue with Indigenous Peoples. When consultation does occur the peoples whose interests and way of life will be most impacted are often disregarded or ignored, while the plans of the United States Government move forward unaltered. Consultation often results in discussions with a few individuals, generally it is with those individuals who will somehow benefit from the decisions that the United States is making. This has endangered our water and subsistence rights and lead to the destructive extraction of our minerals, the introduction of invasive species and numerous pollutants that have contaminated our environment, damaged our way of life and threatened our sacred places. The United States Government has violated our rights and disrupted our way of life, by allowing a few individuals to illegally provide consent on our behalf. Therefore, the United States Government and those individuals, who have participated in the elimination of our rights, by illegally providing consent, must be held accountable for the destruction of our lands, waters and our way of life.

True consultation requires those with decision-making authority to come to us formally and to sit with us face-to-face, to initiate a true dialogue and proceed honorably with consensus, so that we can establish the type of working relationship that is necessary to address the critical environmental issues that all living beings currently face. We recommend that as a first step towards justice and reconciliation, the International Community conduct an independent investigation into all past and current human rights violations, environmental violations and the violation of any and all treaty rights and agreements. We also request that you thoroughly investigate all discriminatory practices and failures related to reaching acceptable standards of consultation, under both domestic and international law. The findings from this independent investigation should be made public and must include participation from Aboriginal Indigenous Nations and people. Recommendations and plans to restore past damage and to prevent future harms to the Indigenous Peoples, our way of life and the natural world should be outlined in legally binding agreements that have clear enforcement mechanisms in place. Today, there are no mechanisms within the laws of the United States that offer any real protections for our sacred places, the natural world or our way of life. The United States must be held responsible for all activities and actions that it has allowed or undertaken that have damaged, destroyed and desecrated our sacred places and the natural world that we rely upon for our survival. Real enforcement mechanisms must be created. Legal authority without enforcement is meaningless.

We are now in the state of survival and we must begin to sacrifice in order to provide a future for our coming generations. We must adhere to the Natural Law. We cannot continue to damage, desecrate or destroy parts of the natural system and expect what remains to live unaffected. We ask that you work with us to save the future of all Creation and to uphold, respect and honor the Natural Law.

We respectfully ask that all Nation States and human beings around the world use the Natural Law, provided by the Creator, as a guiding light and foundation for all decision making, from this point forward. We ask you to stand with us to protect sacred places such as San Francisco Peaks, the Black Hills, Mount Graham, Greasy Mountain also known as South Mountain, Bear Butte, Black Mesa, Bdote and Medicine Lake, and all other threatened sacred places here and around the world.

We have been asked to carry sacred responsibilities for our people, to provide a future for the coming generations. This responsibility includes the protection of all life. We are from various Nations and we are spiritually related. We will not be divided by any terminology that defines us as “recognized” or “unrecognized”, by the Government of the United States or any other body. We are recognized by the Creator and we are united under the Creator’s Law, as United Aboriginal Indigenous Nations, with a sacred covenant to protect and extend Life for all future generations.

REPRESENTATIVES OF THE COUNCIL Chief Arvol Looking Horse 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe Spiritual Leader Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Nations Bobby C. Billie Clan Leader and Spiritual Leader Council of the Original Miccosukee Simanolee Nation Aboriginal People Bucky Preston Hopi Henry Barber President Dine’ Medicine Men Association Leonard Bends Crow Sun Dance Chief Crow Nation -ADDITIONAL SIGNATURES TO FOLLOW

Winnemem Wintu Tribe

For Immediate Release:

May 4, 2012

For more information:

Caleen Sisk, Spiritual Leader and Tribal Chief: 530-710-4817   James Ward, media relations: 530-638-5580   WinnememWintu Tribe needs 4-day closure of 400-yard section of McCloud River to Perform Girls’ Traditional Coming of Age Ceremony

Redding, CA –U.S. Forest Service Region 5 Forester Randy Moore has missed his May 1 deadline to respond to the Winnemem Wintu’s request for a mandatory river closure to protect their Coming of Age ceremony this summer. The tribe has had not received any intention of Mr. Moore to respond in a timely fashion, and because the government’s legal process is clearly a dead end, the Winnemem will now hold a H’up Chonas, or War Dance, in the near future to defend their cultural rites in a traditional way.

Previous Coming of Age ceremonies have been disrupted by drunken recreational boaters motoring through the site and heckling the tribe with racial slurs.

“I am saddened that Moore does not have the courage to do what’s right,” Sisk said. “We lost all our land when they built Shasta Dam, and now all we want is four days of peace and dignity for our ceremony, which is vital to the social fabric of our tribe. A peaceful ceremony is our right, and we are not accepting anything short of that.”

The tribe is placing a call to action.  During the War Dance, the tribe, hundreds of tribal members from around the west coast and allies will gather in solidarity to ensure their sacred ceremony will proceed unhindered as it has for thousands of years before the Forest Service existed.  For more information, contact the tribe at: winnememwintutribe@gmail.com.  Details will be on the Winnemem Wintu web site soon.

The tribe first brought back the H’up Chonas, or War Dance, in 2004 to protest the proposal to raise Shasta Dam, which would flood many important sacred sites, including the site of the Coming of Age ceremonies. The War Dance signifies a commitment to a spiritual and physical resistance to threats to the tribe’s culture. It means the Winnemem are willing to die to protect their tribal way of life.  

Frustrated by being ignored by Shasta-Trinity Forest officials for the past six years, members of the Tribe challenged Mr. Moore at his office in Vallejo, CA, April 16,to ask him directly for the closure for the young women’s ceremony.

Citing the U.N. Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples recently signed by President Obama, Chief Sisk and several women of the tribe sought to convince Mr. Moore that this is an issue of human rights and women’s rights.  The Forest Service’s position has been that they lack the authority to grant the request for the traditional tribe, though sources within the agency have verified that Mr. Moore has the authority to close the stretch of river necessary for the ceremony.

In previous ceremonies, the Forest Service attempted a“voluntary” closure of the river, which has led to the tribe being heckled and abused by antagonistic recreational boaters who are often drunk and have shouted racial slurs like “Fat Indians!”.

At the April 16 event, Chief Sisk reported to the press that a voluntary closure meansthat, “the 10 percent who mean harm, disrespect and possible violence barge through the ceremony by motor boat and prove that a voluntary closure does not work. “

Though the Winnemem are federally unrecognized due to a bureaucratic error, the Forest Service has previously signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the tribe, which states they are the indigenous people from the McCloud River.

Moore said the Forest Service could close the river for a federally recognized tribe on the Winnemem’s behalf. Not only is this an insult to the Winnemem, but it is exceedingly dangerous. It could set a legal precedent that another tribe has authority over the site and the ceremony.   “What if the Mormons had to ask the Catholic Church for permission to have a ceremony?” Sisk asked. “What if one day the Catholics said no? Then what do you do?”

The north end of the ceremony site is private land not accessible to boaters. The river closure would not stop a thoroughfare, but simply cut off a 400-yard corner of the 30,000 square-acre Shasta Lake.   At previous ceremonies, the Forest Service’s law enforcement officers have implemented a mandatory closure of the river on the last day of the ceremony when the young women swim across to symbolize their transition to womanhood.  They have cited safety reasons behind the closure.   Learn more about the Winnemem Wintu at http://www.winnememwintu.us/

Learn more about the ceremony at www.saveourceremony.com.

Download Video of motorboats speeding past ceremony and flashing the participants at: http://vimeo.com/39867112

Footage of April 16, 2012 protest at Forest Service Region 5 Headquarters in Vallejo: http://youtu.be/oglCy–o7oY   # # #

News from the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 8, 2012     NNHRC responds to AZ Snowbowl’s renewed contract with the City of Flagstaff   ST. MICHAELS, Ariz.—The Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission received the signed contract between Arizona Snowbowl and the City of Flagstaff which enables Arizona Snowbowl access to reclaimed water, which was signed earlier today. The news is received by Navajo human rights officials who have grave concerns in improving race relations with the communities surrounding the Navajo Nation.   On March 5, 2012, NNHRC learned the contract might be up for renewal on March 12, 2012, and attempted to verify the information with City officials to no avail. The following day, a City official explained that the renewal was tentatively scheduled for review and discussion for the March 20, 2012 City council meeting.

Not true.

Earlier today, NNHRC learned from the City the contract had been signed and the City withheld the contract from release to NNHRC until a press conference had been conducted.

“Information exchange is a barrier between the City and the Navajo Nation, one we both must overcome,” said NNHRC Executive Director Leonard Gorman.

As part of NNHRCs 25 public hearings, NNHRC recommended MOUs with border towns of the Navajo Nation to improve race relations. Only 5 towns including Grants, NM; Gallup, NM; Farmington, NM; Cortez, Colo.; Blanding, NM have signed MOUs. Flagstaff, Ariz., is next.

The Flagstaff City Council approved the MOU, 6-0, in favor, on February 2, 2012, to improve race relations between Navajos and non-Navajos in the City of Flagstaff.

A month later, NNHRC Commissioners approved the MOU, 2-0, in favor, at their regular commission meeting. Next, the MOU will be considered by the NNHRC oversight committee, the Naab’ik’iyati’ Committee of the 22nd Navajo Nation Council at a date to be determined.

However, on February 28, 2012, the City had begun to act in the spirit of the MOU and stated so about an unrelated matter pertaining to the death of a Navajo citizen.

If there are claims of ignorance about current events in the City government then that may be a poor excuse.  The media coverage has provided coverage about indigenous peoples and indigenous nations’ opposition, contrary to complaints of sparse and fair media coverage.

“The issue is well known in the epicenter of Arizona, Flagstaff,” said Gorman.   Gorman said, “The MOU negotiated with the City of Flagstaff provides for,” and he referenced the MOU specifically, “Together the COMMISSION and the CITY intend to move forward acknowledging and respecting our mutual histories, and in order to build upon the past and improve the future; this UNDERSTANDING is entered into with a spirit of Hózhóogo.”

Gorman further stated, “The contract was renewed without the benefit of input from NNHRC and is certainly contrary to what the MOU states, Hózhóogo.”

With that sentiment, NNHRC had filed a complaint last August with the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The CERD body has convened for its 80th session, now in a closed session about discriminatory actions, including NNHRC discriminatory complaint.

With the advice and recommendation from the Navajo medicine men and Navajo medicine woman, NNHRC pointed out to CERD that:   Navajo Elders teach that manmade snow is a manipulation of nature which should not be mimicked by man. The deities control the nature cycle of the weather and seasons, and should not be mocked.

Navajos and non-Navajos share a responsibility to care for these sacred places. Even if governments do not demonstrate responsibility towards the Peaks, the Navajo government and people and others will continue to honor this scared place to preserve the Navajo Life Way.

The sacred mountains serve as the foundation of the Navajo Life Way. Among the six mountains, the Peaks to the West, Mount Hesperus to the North, Mount Taylor to the South and Mount Blanca to the East represent the sacred elements of earth, fire, water and air. Also, each element symbolizes freedom, cultural integrity and dignity, language, and spirituality and ceremony. Moreover, the mountains serve as the original lands of the Navajo when first man and first woman emerged into this world. Each element of the mountains is inextricably linked to a person’s mental, physical, and spiritual health. When one of these elements is harmed it throws the Navajo Life Way out of balance.   NNHRC will also address the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples S. James Anaya during his United States visit scheduled from April 23, 2012 through May 4, 2012.

Anaya had reported to the U.N. Human Rights Council on September 21, 2011 about the “United States of America: Situation of the Native Americans in relation to artificial snowmaking from recycled wastewater in the San Francisco Peaks.”

A month prior to Anaya’s report to the United Nations, “the Hopi Tribe filed a complaint in Arizona state court challenging the City of Flagstaff’s plan to allow wastewater to be used for snowmaking on the San Francisco Peaks,” according to the Hopi Tribe’s official press statement.

“This act clarifies the need to be part of these discussions and we cannot hope that city officials will hear the cries of our people, instead we need to be at the table and open the discussion,” said Gorman.

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Native Media Not Invited to Participate in Press Conference

FLAGSTAFF, AZ — In spite of at least ten years of sustained public outcry from Indigenous Nations and community members, City of Flagstaff officials have administratively renewed a controversial 5 year contract to sell up to 180,000,000 gallons of treated sewage effluent to Arizona Snowbowl ski area for snowmaking purposes on the Holy San Francisco Peaks.

City Manager Kevin Burke spoke at a press conference today to explain the City’s actions. “Having determined that all obligations have been met by Arizona Snowbowl and the City, the Utilities Director renewed the agreement for a period commencing March 20, 2012 through March 20, 2017.” Burke stated.

Burke stated that of over 60 wastewater agreements, all of them are for uses inside City limits except for Arizona Snowbowl.

When questioned why the decision to renew the contract wasn’t opened to the public after years of public outcry to do so, Burke responded that the decision wasn’t subject to “legislative process.” Burke acknowledged that requests were made to open the process to the public but responded that he “didn’t have any council requests to place it on the agenda, there is no legislative process, its purely administrative.”

Burke responded to critics by stating, “There has been ample public participation. And this was not a legislative action, public participation doesn’t change the conditions of the agreement.”

City Manager Burke also stated that “there has been ample due process”, as he referred to the lawsuits against the Forest Service over human health concerns with reclaimed water, and the Hopi Tribe’s lawsuit against the City which recently lost in Superior Court.

When asked when the media advisory had gone out, Burke said, “This morning.” and when questioned if the media advisory went to tribal newspapers Burke stated, “I dont know.”

A City press officer stated, “It just went to my typical, my usual groups, it did not. it just went to the folks I normally send it to.”

When questioned if new information about concerns in wastewater were part of the City’s deliberations in renewing the contract, Burke responded, “In regards to the wastewater agreement, there are no deliberations in regard to modification to that agreement.”

When asked “How do you respond to critics that say the city has adopted an unofficial policy of cultural and racial intolerance?”, Burke stated, “I think thats an unfair characterization, there’s a lot more to our relationship than a single agreement. We’ve demonstrated in other discussions and work many collaborative aspects between the City of Flagstaff and Tribal Nations. Specifically the agreement reached with the Navajo Nation regarding pumping on Red Gap [Ranch] this past year is evidence these discussions can and do work.”

The City of Flagstaff purchased Red Gap Ranch, located 35 miles east of Flagstaff, near Navajo and Hopi lands, to address water shortage issues.  The Navajo Nation initially threatened legal action against the City of Flagstaff to prevent Flagstaff’s water use from impacting the Navajo Nation.

As of today, Snowbowl has asked and received permission from the U.S. Forest Service to make snow from potable water trucked from an unidentified source, in an attempt to increase profits during Spring Break.

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For more information and background on the issue please visit: www.indigenousaction.org, www.truesnow.org.

“Returning human beings to their descendants and cultural items to their inheritors is unequivocally the right thing to do,” Jarvis said. “These      grants will help to rectify an offense committed against American Indians in the past.” “I am proud that the National Park Service plays a key role  in the implementation of NAGPRA,” added Jarvis. “We take care of many places and objects that are part of our nation’s cultural heritage, and we are  privileged to help American Indians enjoy their right to care for their heritage.”

Enacted in 1990, NAGPRA requires museums and federal agencies to inventory and identify Native American human remains and cultural items in their     collections, and to consult with culturally affiliated Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages, and Native Hawaiian organizations regarding repatriation. Section 10 of the Act authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to award grants to assist in implementing provisions of the Act.

For additional information regarding these awards, contact Sherry Hutt, National NAGPRA Program, National Park Service, 1201 Eye Street (2253), Washington, DC 20005; telephone (202) 354-1479.

Awards are listed below.

Recipient State Award

Hoonah Indian Association (AK) $14,719

White Mountain Apache Tribe (AZ) $15,000

Lone Band of Miwok Indians (CA) $15,000

Wiyot Tribe (CA) $15,000

University of Colorado, Boulder (C0) $10,269

Jena Band of Choctaw Indians (LA) $12,886

TOTAL $82,874

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 397 national parks and work with communities    across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.

Contact Information

David Barna | (202) 208-6843

Sherry Hutt | (202) 354-1459

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on Thursday, February 9, upheld a district court decision dismissing a lawsuit filed by the Save the Peaks Coalition in 2009 against the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). In 2005, the forest service approved an application from the Arizona Snow Bowl Resort to use treated sewage on the sacred site. The Save the Peaks lawsuit was the second challenge to the USFS approval. The Navajo Nation was among a group of Indigenous nations to file the first lawsuit against the desecration of the mountain in 2005.

Erny Zah, spokesman for Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly, said the Ninth Circuit decision was “a disappointment. Although the San Francisco Peaks are not within our reservation, they are within our traditional boundaries, within our realm of dwelling, and we make offerings on the Peaks, we have prayers and songs that incorporate not only the San Francisco Peaks but all of elements of life, and this court decision to potentially allow the use of reclaimed water to generate snow negates our inherited traditional foundations.”

Read article on http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/02/10/ninth-circuit-allows-recycled-sewage-on-sacred-san-francisco-peaks-97013 

Protecting Our Ancestral Remains, Religious Freedoms, and Sacred Places Roundtable

Hosted by Loretta A. Tuell, Majority Staff Director/Chief Counsel

Date: Thursday March 1, 2012

Time: 1:00 PM – 4:00 p.m.

Location: Committee Hearing Room, 628 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC

Topics: The Committee is interested in hearing about the challenges, solutions, and successes in protecting our ancestors, religious freedoms, and sacred places.

RSVP: Please let us know if you plan to attend this event and what issues you are most interested in addressing.

• By Phone: Christiane Cardoza      at 202-224-2251; or

• By Email: roundtable@indian.senate.gov

We are undergoing one of the biggest struggles of our lives in the defense of scared sites. As we know, President Obama’s fast track stimulus money projects have a complete failure as demonstrated by the Solyndar Company’s disaster, the Solar Trust of America Blythe Solar project bankruptcy and other companies which are also filing bankruptcy. In addition, the Imperial Valley Solar, LCC Project was stopped by the Quechan Tribe on February 6, 2012.

La Cuna de Aztlan Sacred Sites Protection Circle has filed lawsuits on 6-other solar projects and currently the Genesis Solar Power Project has been stopped due to the findings of a large 400-acre village and hundreds of indigenous artifacts that we had advice the company of in our public comment letters that was presented to them nearly 2-years ago. In addition, on May 2011 the Solar Millennium Company destroyed the True North and Sun Complex Geoglyphs that are located within the Kokopilli/Cicimitl Twin geoglyph group by the construction of a 150ft. wide by 5-mile long roadway. (Attached are pictures)

In order to amend the failing fast-track stimulus money solar programs concerning sacred sites, on January 17, 2012, the Colorado River, Eastern Riverside County Tribes and members of our organization met at the Agua Caliente Casino Conference Center in Palm Springs, California with the BLM and the Department of Interior representatives. This meeting was to discuss the sacredness of these areas and the vast destruction that has already taken place within the Blythe and Genesis Solar Power Project sites.

We are also opposing to the construction of solar panel projects because of their gross violation to the following indigenous State, Federal, Mexico and United Nation laws that support our demands and why these projects should not be constructed within sacred areas:

*United Nations Declaration on the Right of Indigenous People. Resolution adapted by the General Assembly during the 107^th plenary meeting, September 13, 2007. (61/295) (Includes: Article 11 that stipulates Indigenous archeological rights.)

*Native American Sacred Places, March 6, 2003 (S.B. 18)

*Native American Sacred Lands Act, June 11, 2003 (H.R. 2419)

*The Sacred Land Protection Act, July 18, 2002 (H.R. 5155)

*The Native American Sacred Sites Protection Act, February 22, 2002 (S.B. 1828)

*Accommodations of Sacred Sites and Federal Land, Signed by President Bill Clinton on May 24, 1996 (Executive Order 13007)

*Native American Graves Protection & Repatriation Act of 1990

*Archeological Resource Protection Act of 1979

*American Indian Religious Freedom Act, August 11, 1978

*The Civil Right Act of 1968

*Antiquities Act of 1906

All humans have been placed on earth to be guardians of Mother Earth and not the destroyers so please help us stop the destruction of sacred sites. Please distribute attached information widely and contact your local Federal Congressman, Senators, President Obama and Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar.

Thank you for all your help and support and please feel free to contact us for additional information,

Sincerely,

Alfredo Acosta Figueroa

Elder/Historian of Protection Circle

424 North Carlton Ave.

Blythe, CA 92225

(760) 922-6422

lacunadeaztlan@aol.com

Or

Patricia Piñon

President of Protection Circle

424 North Carlton Ave.

Blythe, CA 92225

(760) 219-2834

paticuna@msn.com

*Pauma Band Joins San Luis Rey Band In Objection To Grading Permit That Authorizes Palomar College To Continue To Disturb Ancestral Burial Site And Human Remains *

San Diego, CA- Today the Pauma Band of Luiseno Indians joined the San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians in its formal request to stop Palomar College from grading activities that are sure to disturb and irreversibly damage ancestral cultural resources, archaeological data and unnecessarily unearth human remains.

The San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians filed a lawsuit and a temporary restraining order on Friday against Palomar College in San Diego County Superior Court in Vista.  The injunction requests Palomar to cease construction on the college’s main road, Horse Ranch Creek Road, to the Fallbrook campus and some three large housing and commercial projects that are planned at the intersection of Highway 76 and Interstate 15.   San Luis Rey filed the injunction just after grading activities resulted in inadvertent discoveries of human remains, significant archaeological resources and distinct archaeological sites.

Despite the knowledge of the site’s well-documented historical significance, San Luis Rey’s filing and new “inadvertent discoveries” of human remains and significant archaeological features during grading, Palomar College continued its construction activities.  Palomar did not cease disturbances, did not consult with tribes, and did not revise its plans or agreements despite the new “discoveries.”

The Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) issued a Section 404 Permit which allows the project to proceed despite potential impacts to wetlands within the project’s footprint.  Because the project relies on a federal permit, federal law applies to the project.

“We have no choice but to join the San Luis Rey Band and halt this illegal and immoral action of unearthing our ancestors without following the law and protocol that applies to these types of projects,” said Bennae Calac, Pauma’s Repatriation Officer and Secretary/Treasurer of Pauma’s Tribal Council.  Ms. Calac further explained that “[i]n this case we have the domino effect of poor project management and compliance:  failed tribal consultation, insufficiently scoped archaeological assessments, erroneous conclusions in the Environmental Impact Report (EIR), data recovery based on an unapproved, unofficial Data Recovery Plan, zero evidence of a curatorial services agreement that complies with the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 that governs the repository and long term curation of the archaeological resources collection and Section 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act which governs the federal agency duty to observe historic preservation practices, and the list goes on and on.

Despite the fact that we have Native American monitors onsite, we remain concerned that the licensed archaeologists that have given the green light to continue grading and cause irreparable harm to the site are acting too hastily.  The grading and resource extraction is occurring more quickly than the archaeologists can identify and assess the resources.   Further, the resources are being boxed and left onsite. If archaeologists are unable to keep up with the inventory and assessment of the collection as it is being discovered and if archaeologists opt to use a repository or curation facility not properly staffed or otherwise inadequate (such as a temperature controlled environment), then those very archaeologists and perhaps even Palomar College have done a great disservice to the people of California, the tribes that have and continue to provide guidance, and the descendents of those buried.  The Palomar project sets a dangerous precedent in the archaeological profession that is contrary to local, state, tribal and federal regulations drafted to protect and learn from the archaeological record.”

The proposed injunction would allow an appropriate modification of the grading permit, in the least, to address the inadvertently found human remains and resources, as well as allow for overdue tribal consultation to take place and an appropriate curatorial services agreement be secured.

Ms. Calac concluded “[i]f the process was conducted correctly, an injunction would not be necessary.”

–

A great article in The Tennessean highlights the state’s incredible mounds, created two thousand years ago in the current Westhaven community.

“In 1 A.D. the Westhaven community in Franklin was a lush, expansive environment, filled with buffalo, deer, fish and clean water. It was also inhabited by a large primitive tribe, whose name and history were lost long ago,” writes The Tennessean’s Helen Meely. “However, Westhaven was left an ancient reminder that they were here. The community has two huge burial mounds, which at the moment are covered in brush and excessive plant life.”

Harvard University’s Peabody Museum carved tunnels through these mounds between 1875 and 1878 in an effort to remove precious artifacts, explained Mark M. Tolley of the Tennessee Ancient Sites Conservancy.

Tolley, a Tennessee Indian site archeologist, and Toye Heate, a former president of the Alliance for Native American Indian Rights and former state commissioner of Indian Affairs, have attempted to preserve Tennessee state heritage, by working closely with a dedicated group of volunteers from Franklin, Nashville and the Westhaven community on these two mounds.

The team the two men have formed have been “patiently clearing away debris and underbrush to expose the stunning mounds for all to see,” Meeley writes. “These dedicated volunteers have been doing an excellent job; however, there is still much to be done. If you are interested in helping, contact Mark at tolleymm@yahoo.com.”