Winnemem Wintu - The Journey to Justice

Special Rapporteur statement on Water at UNPFII

2011-06-02T08:25:00.000-07:00

Statement to the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Catarina de Albuquerque, Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation

24 May 2011

Thank you for the invitation to speak here today. This is the first time that I am appearing before this esteemed body and I am honoured to be among such distinguished participants.

I have been working on the mandate on the rights to water and sanitation since 2008, when this mandate was established. During that time, I have had the occasion to be in touch with numerous indigenous peoples’ organizations, not only through my country missions, but also through other meetings and correspondence.

Like in with so many other human rights, indigenous peoples suffer disproportionate violations of their rights to water and sanitation. The people in this room are no doubt well aware of this reality. Today I would like to speak about the types of violations which have been raised with me in my capacity as Special Rapporteur on the rights to water and sanitation. I would like to touch upon some of the measures that we can take to address these violations, and finally, I would like to talk about human rights more broadly and how the human rights framework can be used to analyse the special relationship that indigenous people have to and with water.

Nearly a billion people in the world do not have access to an improved water source. Many more do not have access to safe water. Over 2.5 billion people do not have access to improved sanitation facilities. The numbers demonstrate to us that we are facing a true crisis. However, beyond the enormous numbers, we must constantly ask -- who does not have access and why? In my work, I have seen that it is always the same people who are excluded. It is the marginalized, the poor, those without political voice. In the countries that have indigenous populations, too frequently, it is also these communities who do not have access to water and sanitation. Such lack of access is not simply an unfortunate situation nor a coincidence, but it is a direct result of policies and politics which exclude certain segments of the population.

My very first country visit in 2009 was to Costa Rica. I examined numerous issues related to water and sanitation there, giving also attention to the situation of indigenous people. Let us recall that Costa Rica is on track to meet the MDGs on water and sanitation, which is certainly commendable. However, I was dismayed by the lack of attention towards improving the situation of indigenous peoples. The vast majority of indigenous peoples living in the 24 reserves in the country do not have access to safe drinking water or sanitation services, compared with nearly universal access in urban areas and very high access rates in other rural areas. Hence I was concerned about the country’s focus on the “general” positive trend in providing access to water and sanitation to the “overall” population, while overlooking the fact that specific, targeted and deliberate policies and measures are needed to make sure that progress also reaches the excluded segments of the population, including the indigenous people.

As Special Rapporteur, I also regularly receive information about threats to indigenous rights, including especially concerns about pollution of water sources. For example, I have received numerous reports about the impact of mining operations -- from uranium mining in the US to bauxite mining in India -- indigenous peoples are seeing severe impacts on their access to clean water, as well as on their way of life and culture. Projects to generate new sources of energy, such as dams and geothermal exploration, have also been reported to me as having a serious impact on access to clean water for indigenous peoples.

As the people in this room know well, indigenous peoples often have a special or even spiritual relationship with water. I witnessed this special bond when I visited the Winnemen Wintu tribe in California a couple of months ago. This tribe uses the local river -- the McCloud River -- for spiritual and ceremonial purposes. For example, they hold the puberty ceremony, which honours the coming of age for young women who have to swim across the river and joins tribal dancers as a full-fledged woman. However, the area used has been turned into a recreational campground serviced by the United States Forest Services, where the presence of tourists, campers and boaters challenges the privacy and dignity of the young women undergoing the ceremony, as well as the continuation of tribal practices.

The activism of indigenous communities has been crucial in bringing these situations to light. This Forum is indeed one opportunity to expose these human rights violations and pressure Governments to ensure that indigenous rights are full protected. The past year has also seen groundbreaking litigation in Botswana by the Basarwa concerning their right to water. The Basarwa had been denied access to a borehole which they had been using for decades as part of an attempt to get them to move out of the game reserve where they had been livng even before its designation as a reserve. This decision was very important not only adding to jurisprudence protecting indigenous rights to remain on their ancestral lands, but also further solidifying the status of the right to water under international law. The court referred to the recent General Assembly resolution on the right to water and sanitation, and found that denying the Basarwa permission to use, at their own expense, the borehole located on the land where they resided amounted to degrading treatment – which is prohibited, inter alia, in the Convention Against Torture.

I am very excited about this case, for many reasons. But most of all because the Court very wisely observed the indivisibility of human rights. Talking about water, traditionally considered an “economic, social and cultural right,” in the same breath as degrading treatment, generally known as a “civil and political right.” I think that too often we lose sight of the indivisibility of human rights. And especially for indigenous people, we need consider enjoyment of human rights in a holistic way. This holistic understanding is crucial for analysing indigenous rights and the right to water and sanitation.

The right to water and sanitation provides that everyone should have access to sufficient, safe, affordable and acceptable water and sanitation for personal and domestic uses. With regard to water, this means water for drinking, cooking, washing clothes and dishes, and basic personal hygiene. Water for agriculture falls under the rubric of the right to food. And water for cultural and spiritual life comes within the understanding of cultural rights, as well as specific rights guaranteed to indigenous peoples. Clearly, these lines get blurred all the time, and individuals do not categorize their water uses into these rigid categories. To understand the individual experience, and the loss of dignity which can occur when access to water is denied, we must take a holistic view.

As you may know, my mandate is part of a larger system called the special procedures system. We are experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to examine specific themes related to human rights. James Anaya, the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, who was here last week, is also part of this system. But there are also other experts, on the right to food, the right to health, the right to education, on torture, on arbitrary detention, and so on. You have probably been in touch with these mandates. We have the capacity to work jointly to raise concern about situations of violations of indigenous peoples rights. What I see when I receive information related to water and indigenous peoples is that it very often also concerns many other mandates. When violations of the right to water are being experienced, sadly, a host of other deprivations and violations are also reported.

I would like to conclude by encouraging people fighting for indigenous peoples rights to continue to engage with the international human rights system - including the system of special procedures, as well as the treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review. I express my full support to activism at the national and regional levels as well. I know the sense of frustration that many of you might feel in the interaction with these bodies. They don’t react as quickly and as efficiently as you would hope. Their impact is not as pronounced as you would wish. Rest reasured, because I feel the same! However, these efforts are crucial for ending ongoing violations of indigenous peoples rights, including those rights related to water, and to improving their enjoyment of all human rights. The fact that things are hard, the circumstance that sometimes we do not see the light at the end of the tunnel is no reason for giving up. On the contrary. As my favourite Portuguese Poest, Pessoa, once put it”Stones on the path? I collect them all. One day I will build a castle”.

I am looking forward to the discussion, and thank you again for having invited me to participate today.

UNFPII-10 Agenda Item 4 (a): Implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (DRIP). To include un-recognized / unrepresented peoples, maternal rights, hydropower, borders and border militarization.

2011-05-23T13:00:00.000-07:00

This statement we wrote up was not read as written. I think it should be read as a statement by the tribe regarding these important issues. Thank you to Mariana Francisco for the piece on Maternal rights and NAIPC for the piece on Borders.

UNFPII-10 Agenda Item 4 (a): Implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (DRIP).

To include un-recognized / unrepresented peoples, maternal rights, hydropower, borders and border militarization.

Recognizing that the implementation of the DRIP is a final step of the multi-year process of discussion, negotiation and final approval by member states including the final Member, the United States in 2010

Affirming that, while great excitement rose in the indigenous nations around the world at its inaugural release, the actual implementation of the many articles of the Declaration have become contentious points where the true spirit of the Declaration, diluted and molded to meet narrow definitions of compliance of the member states responsible for enactment, is now a problem,

Affirming further that one of the main obstacles to full implementation is the continued observance by some member states of the principles included in the “Doctrine of Discovery” and The Inter Caetera, Papal Bull of May 4, 1493,[i]

Concerned that if these directives are not actively pursued for revocation as guiding principles by the member states in order that the precepts of the DRIP are implemented without further interference,

Further noting that the following issues:

1) Relative to un-recognized/unrepresented Indigenous people,

2) Those associated with Maternal Rights,

3) Pertaining to the development hydropower dams and the related taking and/or loss of Indigenous homelands, and

4) The more recent escalation of issues pertinent to more strident border enforcement and the militarization of border areas are major issue areas where the implementation of the DRIP, is of utmost urgency,

Submit that this intervention raises the issues sited, to the forefront for thorough scrutiny with the caveat that it is in no way presented as an indictment of member States or of any one particular geographic area over another. It is solely an appraisal of the issues and an issuance, from the global indigenous community, of recommended actions and solutions to the problem areas identified.

Referring to the issue of Un-recognized / Un-represented Indigenous People, it is recommended that:

1) Article 33.1 of the UN DRIP posits, “Indigenous peoples have the right to determine their own identity or membership in accordance with their customs and traditions...” Therefore, it is recommended that all states respect the rights of all indigenous peoples to self identify based on their traditional home territory or area of forced relocation as the case may be. (art 8 2b/c)

2) The UN ECOSOC advises all signatory states that the DRIP does not differentiate between indigenous peoples. Recognized or unrecognized statuses are not terms of art in the DRIP.

3) Reaffirm to States that differentiating between indigenous peoples violates the following items from the DRIP preamble: “Reaffirming that indigenous peoples, in the exercise of their rights, should be free from discrimination of any kind.” Further, “Bearing in mind that nothing in this Declaration may be used to deny any peoples their right to self-determination, exercise in conformity with international law.”

4) The UN ECOSOC also advises the United States, specifically, that the current practice of differentiating amongst indigenous peoples is a form of discrimination that is inconsistent with the basic tenets of the UN DRIP, which applies to all indigenous peoples without regard to State determinations.

5) That State constitutions meet the standards in the UN DRIP for all indigenous peoples.

6) The UN Permanent Forum consider the inclusion and active and full participation of unrecognized, unrepresented Indigenous Peoples in United Nations activities including, but not limited to the Permanent Forum. Funding to implement this recommendation should be open to all requests for assistance regardless of State sanctioned status.

7) The UN ECOSOC remind States that full implementation of the UN DRIP, particularly Article 28 section 1 and 2, requires that States are accountable for prevention and redress of cultural genocide.

8) The Permanent Forum commission a study on indigenous peoples in the US with a focus on the conditions and treatment of unrecognized indigenous peoples.

Regarding the issue of Maternal Rights, it is recommended that:

Re-affirming Article 7 of the DRIP on the rights of Indigenous Peoples to “life, physical and mental integrity…” as well as the right to live in “freedom, peace and security…” and not be “subjected to any act of genocide or any other act of violence…”. And further reaffirming Article 8(2)a and Article 9 in that IP should not be discriminated against for the exercise of their right to live within their own traditions and customs it is recommended that the UNPFII in ensuring the implementation of the DRIP acknowledge the following statement regarding Maternal Rights:

1) “The natural maternal right in a healthy environment will provide a harmonious and complete existence through the good practice of relationship and respect with our mother earth. Such right is conducted and directed through the knowledge of the maternal cosmovision. The maternal right has been in the darkness, is invisible before the practices of genocide by the government states, and has caused a physical, mental and psychological damage in both mother and child. The government state has permitted the criminal activity and narco-traffic and it is not given any value to nor recognized maternal rights. The maternal right can be an alternative for the social peace and order that we are always looking for.”

Article 36.1 states “Indigenous peoples, in particular those divided by international borders, have the right to maintain and develop contacts, relations and cooperation, including activities for spiritual, cultural, political, economic and social purposes…”

In Reference to Borders and Border Militarization, it is recommended that the statement of the North American Indigenous Peoples Caucus be included in toto:

1) On February 5, 2011, President Obama and Prime Minister Harper announced negotiations aimed at sweeping away obstructions to trade while integrating efforts to deter “criminals” and “terrorists” regarding Canada and U.S. border management. Indigenous Peoples in North America are divided physically, culturally, socially and economically by artificial borders maintained under the guise of “homeland security.” The Eurocentric primacy of ‘security’ discriminates against the ability of Indigenous Peoples to maintain their historical cultural, social and economic relationships. Indigenous Peoples also have rights to peace and security as set out under the UN Charter. The NAIPC recommends the UNPFII to urge the Governments of Canada and the United States to work with the Indigenous Peoples to ensure respect for the Jay Treaty and UNDRIP Article 36 in the context of Canada-US Beyond the Border Working Group discussions.

Additionally the following points are raised for inclusion and action:

1) Western Hemispheric Travel Initiative has displaced the Indigenous peoples and increased violence and drug trafficking, affected tribal nations around California, Texas and Arizona, and, as in many areas around the globe has increased the military presence in border areas. Article 36 and Article 30, sections 1 and 2, address the issue as these areas refer to lands seized or ceded but still contain areas of cultural and spiritual significance to the Indigenous peoples;

2) Indigenous people stopped from crossing borders where there are contiguous tribal land areas (whether housing or sacred/ceremonial use lands) have their rights under the DRIP violated;

3) The safety and security of women and children is in jeopardy and some are jailed. Indigenous people are assaulted in these areas as a result of the failure of Member states to follow the basic tenets and spirit of the DRIP;

4) Article 36 referring to those “…divided by international borders…” becomes more important in regions affected by developments post-world war, and those where border wars still occur.

5) In the Final Report of the Permanent Forum 2010, paragraph 98, the Forum commented and urged members to address border issues and take effective measures to implement article 36. It is strongly recommended that the Forum obtain said report to update the people on the progress of the action item cited in Paragraph 98.

Referring to the issue of Hydropower, it is recommended that:

Indigenous people worldwide are targeted by development of dams and the changing waterways of the Worlds Rivers. Indigenous peoples are rarely if ever consulted prior to the development of projects of this nature and surely are sorely if at all compensated. More and more the world has become aware of exterminations and genocide of Indigenous peoples far from public view for the taking of homelands and areas of cultural heritage for flooding or private, corporate development. Article 10 clearly states that Indigenous peoples shall “not be forcibly removed from their lands…” and that “… no relocation shall take place without free, prior, informed consent…” and “after agreement on just and fair compensation…”

1) The rights of Indigenous peoples to access traditional places, protections of waters and tribal lands, and the ability to continue the traditional lifeway as well as the principle of self-determination (Articles pertaining include:10, 25,28,29,31) need to be reinforced and reported on as to compliance by Member States of these basic, human, rights and sureties.

Final Recommendations

It is hereby believed that these recommendations may require

1) Member States to engage in Constitutional change to include their Indigenous peoples, (those recognized or not and whose representation today is limited at best).

2) It will require a remapping of the lands of the Indigenous so that it is included accurately within the boundaries of the Member State.

It is further believed that

1) There will be a need for a reporting mechanism to report on what Member States have undertaken in their pursuit of implementing the DRIP. This is important in areas where a Member State’s indigenous people have been forced to relocate or have migrated due to self-survival.

2) Each agency that works with or is responsible to ensure Indigenous peoples rights need to report on their progress and that consultation with the Special Rapporteur is conducted by the next gathering of the Forum following acceptance of this recommendation.

[i] Papal Bulls of the 15th century gave Christian explorers the right to claim lands they "discovered" and lay claim to those lands for their Christian Monarchs. Any land that was not inhabited by Christians was available to be "discovered", claimed, and exploited. If the "pagan" inhabitants could be converted, they might be spared. If not, they could be enslaved or killed.
The Discovery Doctrine is a concept of public international law expounded by the United States Supreme Court in a series of decisions, initially in Johnson v. M'Intosh in 1823. The doctrine was Chief Justice John Marshall's explanation of the way in which colonial powers laid claim to newly discovered lands during the Age of Discovery. Under it, title to newly discovered lands lay with the government whose subjects discovered new territory. The doctrine has been primarily used to support decisions invalidating or ignoring aboriginal possession of land in favor of colonial or post-colonial governments.
John Marshall, who is most credited with describing the doctrine, did not voice wholehearted support of the doctrine even while using it to justify judicial decisions. He pointed to the doctrine as simple fact, looking at the possession-takings, which had been supported by it as things, which had occurred and had to be recognized. The supposedly inferior character of native cultures was a reason for the doctrine having been used, but whether or not that was justified was not relevant for Marshall.
This Doctrine governs United States Indian Law today and has been cited as recently as 2005 in the decision City Of Sherrill V. Oneida Indian Nation Of N.Y.

Submission from the Winnemem Wintu Tribe on UNFPII-10 Agenda Item 7: Half Day on Water Presented by Caleen Sisk-Franco, Chief and Spiritual Leader

2011-05-23T12:46:00.000-07:00

Submission from the Winnemem Wintu Tribe on UNFPII-10
Agenda Item 7: Half Day on Water
Presented by Caleen Sisk-Franco, Chief and Spiritual Leader

Hestum chaleetun. Ne-to yet Kaa-aktus. Nees Tłheet. Teen teen iyeebaada lenda-mis eelawee Winnemem Wintu. Sawal miiyo mes baales bom, pee ha-t bohaa Wintun Tot.

Good afternoon Madame Chairperson, Members of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and esteemed colleagues. My name is Caleen Sisk-Franco and I am the hereditary traditional Chief and Spiritual Leader of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe.

Sawal mem. Sawal suuhana. Water is sacred. Water is life. Water is a great spiritual being. We are a water people. We come from a sacred spring and are the keepers of the water in our River and of all of the things that rely on that watershed out to the ocean. We understand that all things are connected. Nothing survives without water.

We understand and articulate our human rights to include the right to protect traditional cultural properties for our future generations. The water in our river, the water in our sacred spring, and the water we need to supply our homes are basic to our human rights and we must pass these down to our children and grandchildren. The water in our spring and river is part of our ceremonial practices. It provides the environment for our sacred salmon that holds our world together.

Providing access to water is not sufficient however. Water, the veins of Mother Earth, connected to everything, has needs too. Water needs our songs and ceremonies. It needs to flow freely. It needs our salmon swimming in it to clean it and to distribute nutrients to the rivers and streams and back to the ocean.

For us, salmon are inseparable from water. Both are necessary elements of our survival. We believe that when the last salmon is gone the people will be gone too. We know that salmon are the ultimate climate changers. Without salmon swimming in our waters the climate will continue to change in ways that will be devastating to mother earth. We need our traditional homelands and our homelands, including our water, need us to do the job we were put here to do.

We, like many indigenous peoples around the world, are being denied our human rights to access without interruption, sing to, use, and protect our water. The denial of our tribal existence by the US government leaves us without the basic protections we deserve. For us to achieve our indigenous rights and responsibilities to our water the US must reverse its discriminatory practices that have created two classes of American Indians.

We call on the Permanent Forum to:

Again transmit your recommendation from the 3rd session, Item 82, “that Governments conduct studies on how the diversion of rivers and creation of dams, mining and mineral extraction, energy development, the mining of groundwater and the use of aquifers for industrial and commercial purposes will affect the lives of indigenous communities prior to conducting any of these actions in order to ensure that indigenous peoples are not confronted with such problems as increasing scarcity of freshwater, the toxic contamination of indigenous peoples’ territories and the lack of access of indigenous communities and other life forms to water, including oceans.” Further, the Permanent Forum should clarify that such studies should be conducted prior to modification of any existing projects.
Again transmit your recommendation from the 4th Session, item 29, that, “immediate steps be taken within the framework of the Commission on Sustainable Development to protect water from privatization and from bilateral and multilateral governmental agreements and other incursions that affect the integrity of waters and impoverish communities, particularly indigenous women.”
To urge Member States to implement the findings of the Special Rapporteur on Human Right to Water and Sanitation.
Call for a study to educate people about the number of contaminated streams, springs, rivers, groundwater, dams, and reservoirs, etc. with recommendations to return waters to natural, clean status.
Urge the US to fully implement the Declaration for all American Indians to assure their ability to exercise their indigenous rights to water.

Hee Chala Beskin!

2001 Letter from Florence regarding Recognition

2011-05-11T13:55:00.000-07:00

I was going through some old letters Grams had wanted us to send and this one from 2001 stuck out like a sore thumb. Seems like in the past 10 years we would have been able to garner enough support to have our continually elected "representatives" move our case forward. These are the same concerns written of in the 1889 letter to President Benjamin Harrison. I present it to you again.

Florence V. Jones, Spiritual Leader of the Traditional Winnemem Band of Wintu Indians. This statement made to announce her feelings regarding the recognition of the Traditional Winnemem Band of Wintu by the U.S. Government.

Florence V. Jones believes that the Winnemem Wintu people are in need of protection for their sacred sites and for the perpetuation of their ceremonies and traditional ways. She has always indicated that the Winnemem Wintu have been led by “hand me down to hand me down” through the generations to her and her successor and great niece, Caleen Sisk-Franco. Florence is a direct descendent of the last great chiefs of the Winnemem Wintu: Norelputis, Dolikentilema (her grand father), Dolikentilema (her father William Curl), Jenny Curl, herself and now Caleen Sisk-Franco.

It is for this reason that Florence feels it important to state her opinion of the status of the Winnemem Wintu and their continued struggle for recognition. Primarily, Florence believes that all Wintu are “her people” This includes those Wintu far to the south and to the west of the McCloud River. However, she also believes that the times have changed and with the state of the country as it is each group should decide how they operate and survive in the current world. She continues to pray for all the Wintu, but believes that her ceremonies and her sacred places need to have a special protection that only separate recognition for the Traditional Winnemem Band of Wintu will be able to secure.

Over the past 12 years, Florence has directed the keepers of her ceremony to take on several challenges. The first of these was in 1990 when she directed Caleen Sisk-Franco to undergo a fast on the site of the Toyon-Wintu Center to attain recognition. This fast lasted 21 days, brought the issue of the Wintu as a whole to the attention of the United States government, and generated assurances that a remedy would soon follow.

This fast preceded her directive for the Winnemem to contact the timber company, Sierra Pacific Industries, to obtain easements to allow access and protection to sacred sites on Salt Mountain (aka Cold Spring Mountain) for the Traditional Winnemem Wintu. The keepers of her ceremony, with the legal assistance of Claire Cummings, succeeded in this task and hold easements in the name of the Winnemem Wintu for those sites.

In 1993, Florence again directed her ceremony keepers to undergo a fast, again for recognition and the restoration of health benefits for the Winnemem band and the general Wintu population at large. This fast begun by Mark Franco and Richard Wilson, occurred simultaneously with a trip made by Florence, Caleen and a contingent of Wintu people to Washington DC where she spoke with Ada Deer, then assistant secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs. This trip again was for the benefit of the Winnemem and the general Wintu. Upon obtaining assurances from the government that our health care programs remained intact, Florence cancelled the fast.

In 1998, Florence directed her successors to increase their efforts for recognition of the Winnemem. This followed the deaths of our elders: Emerson Miles, Calvin Sisk, Leona Barnes and others. Since that time, we have diligently performed our tasks making numerous trips nationwide in an attempt to obtain recognition for the Winnemem and the general Wintu people.

Florence is now 93 years old. She has again been our beacon of strength and our direction. She has now told us to work for the Winnemem Wintu as a separate Traditional band. This is our charge and our direction.

Florence has told us to pursue the following course of action:

Separate from the people who do not carry the traditions, attend ceremony or attend to the sacred places. The direction she receives from Olelbes has indicated that this is necessary to preserve the lineage of spiritual leaders and the connection they have to all the sacred sites of the Winnemem.
Direct our attention to the management of our lands in the best way that will preserve them in the face of economic and societal change.
Maintain the ceremonies for the Winnemem and bring our young people up in the spirituality of the Winnemem Wintu, forsaking allegiance to other religions and faiths: Winnemem is the faith of her people.
Direct the operations of the Traditional Winnemem Band of Wintu in the traditional way, meaning that the Traditional Winnemem will follow the “hand me down to hand me down” line of succession for leadership. This is the cause for her to wish our separation. The traditional way of leadership does not set well with many people. Those who do not follow the traditional way cannot be leaders of those who do.

At our Spring Ceremony along the McCloud River, Florence told the people “Those who do not believe in (her) the Winnemem way, should leave, and go over the hill.” She told us all that it is time for the Winnemem to move forward, not for her, but for the little ones who are there to assume their places in the traditional Winnemem world. She believes that all Wintu bands deserve recognition and indicates that we will all work for the better good, however, the Winnemem must move in the direction the spiritual have indicated.

It is for this reason we write to you, the people of the United States and ask your help. We need your support to re-affirm our tribal status. Please write to California’s legislators - Congressman Wally Herger, Senator Barbara Boxer, and Senator Diane Feinstein. Let them know that we are not alone in this country and that you hear our voice. It is with your help that we may go forward.

Under One Sky,

Mark Franco Caleen Sisk-Franco Florence V. Jones

April 16, 1942 - Wick and Crow burnt my house down.......

2011-04-22T12:13:00.000-07:00

1942 Journal of Florence Curl (Jones) describing the burning of her family cabins on the McCloud by Frank Crowe and Wixom, BOR construction men responsible for building the dam and removing the Indians. Sad that the BOR refuses to acknowledge that this actually happened.

Dancing Salmon Home Update from Will Doolittle

2011-04-06T07:01:00.000-07:00

Posted By: Will Doolittle
To: Members in Dancing Salmon Home Documentary
Project News From New Zealand Thanks to the financial, spiritual and moral support from each of you, I have been able to return to Aoteroa (New Zealand), to gather more footage and interviews, to be able to tell the story more completely. I'm happy to report that your faith in my efforts and the larger vision of the Winnemem Wintu people is bearing fruit. I've been able to get more footage of the McCloud Chinook salmon in New Zealand's waters, as well as interviews with a university professor about the introduction of salmon here in the late 1800s, and early 1900s. In addition the Trap and TrNsfer Committee of the Maori people of the South Island have been graciously hosting me as I follow them in their mission of protecting their sacred longfin eel by catching them and transferring them safely around the dams. Today, the team netted a large adult female eel, in the early stages of her migration changes. She's about 80 years old, so has been in the upper waters, above the dams, since before they were built. If she were to head downstream toward the sea, where she wants to mate and spawn deep in the Pacific, she would likely be chopped up by the dams' turbines, and the 600-1 million eggs would never have a chance to return from the sea as tiny glass eels. The Maori-Eel story is the mirror of the Winnemem-salmon story. Two proud peoples, who know who they are, sustained by, and protecting their sacred water relatives. Thank you again for your continued spiritual support for my efforts, and for the larger vision of the Winnemem people. Any additional financial support you can add, no mTtsr how small, will help to bring this important story to a wide audience. With gratitude and respect, Will Doolittle

A message worth repeating

2011-04-04T15:12:00.000-07:00

The Winnemem Wintu have a well-documented history and pre-history in our traditional territory. We have our spiritual healers and doctors who still practice our ways of wellness through herbal medicines, ceremony, prayers, and songs. We go to our sacred places and dance for all our relations. It is this continuous movement of the Wintu people that verifies we have never changed or become extinct.

We, the Wintu Tribe, are a proud religious people. We have survived the settlement of America, the extermination and termination policies of the United States, and the sicknesses brought to us by those who came to "civilize" us. Now we find that U.S. government, after killing our people and taking our land, can't remember who we are so we must prove that we are a tribe in order to regain federal acknowledgment so we can protect our religious practices and sacred places.

Our tribal history is long in the knowledge and tradition of our religion and it is that religion that keeps our people alive. We take care of many sacred places located in northern California on what has always been "our land." We continue to do our religious job that the Creator put us down in this part of the world to do.

We come from Mount Shasta (Bullyum Pui Yuk). This fact makes us people of nature. It also is the foundation of our religion, provides us our place of worship, and makes us responsible for the care of the mountain, which we do through prayers, songs, and dances. We have other places, too, like Cold Spring Mountain (Chi Di Chi De Chi De Kee) that was made by the great Creator for the Wintu Tribe to take care of. In return, the mountains and sacred places take care of the people by sending the healing spirits, herbs and medicines, and by teaching the doctoring ways. Our trails once formed a spider web on our sacred mountain and the many sacred places that must hear us sing and listen to our prayers. Unfortunately, today many huge areas have been lost due to clear-cut logging methods and strip-mining techniques, and land developers who support the non-Indian life styles and economy.

Wintu spiritual elders have known and continue to this day to teach the history of the places and their spiritual significance in the practices of the tribe's spiritual existence. They know the powers the Creator bestowed on Mount Shasta and the history and use of each of the many sacred sites dotting the mountainside. Each spiritual doctor and initiate must know the importance of each place; the uses of the herbs and plants found at each site; the spirits who inhabit each place and how to communicate to those spiritual beings: the rocks and springs and the trees. The mountains are sad when the Wintu cannot come to hold ceremony, dance, pray and sing. When the Wintu can no longer perform our religious jobs, the Creator has said the world will we thrown out of balance.

We fight on, however, because if we are to lose, there will be no place in the world where you will find Wintu people and Mt. Shasta.

Florence Jones (Pui-lu-le-met), my late grandmother asked,

"What gives the white people the right to come here and kill my people, take our homes away and treat us so badly? Our blood is the same as other human beings. We are people, too. Just because the color of my skin is brown that doesn't give them more rights than the Creator put down for all people. I'm trying to make the white man see that the sacred spring on Mt Shasta, the herbal medicines, and the spiritual doctoring we use to heal our people are all connected. It is not something that can be separated out. Don't they know that the Wintu have had religion to stay well all these years before they came to our land? Our children will need our religious ways, our language and sacred places to call themselves Wintu Indians in the future."

We need to educate our children, we need food, clothing and shelter for our elders, we need traditional medicine for all, we need our sacred places to meet with our people, and most of all we need access to and protection for our sacred lands!

We leave you with the Blessings of the Sacred Mount Shasta.

Respectfully We Walk Together,

Caleen Sisk-Franco and Mark Franco

Bruce Tokars "Salmon Speak to Governor Brown: Full Series

2011-03-13T11:03:00.000-07:00

Click on the title to access the movie!!
The entire series on Salmon by Bruce Tokars. From his own words:

What if salmon could speak? We imagine that they would have a lot to say about how difficult their lives have been because of the way humans have treated their environment. The past decade has not been kind to salmon but it is not too late to fix the problems that have pushed wild California salmon to the edge of extinction.

The person who can have the greatest impact on reversing salmon’s march to oblivion is California’s past and current governor, Jerry Brown. The people he hires or appoints to manage and repair California’s water system can make a difference. But they need to follow sound science and reject the hysterical political grandstanding of those who only care about their own greedy ambitions.

Fix the Delta

This is the starting point. Getting the Delta back to health will require stronger flows and much less water diversions. But if sound, peer-reviewed science is followed, then we believe that salmon can come back to health, too.

Habitat Restoration

Restoring habitat is critical to returning salmon runs back to healthy numbers. There is much work to be done in rivers and streams and the Delta. But science knows what needs to happen and if there is a will to fix salmon’s trashed habitat, they will bounce back.

Building Things

Dams, tunnels, and canals are not the answer to salmon’s problems. There are other solutions that make much more sense. Besides, given California’s fiscal health, expensive construction projects should be out of the question. The aborted water bond that was removed from the 2010 ballot and moved to 2012 is still a disaster, calling for more dams and more construction. Building things is still a part of the conversation but it is time to reject that approach, once and for all.

Water Conservation

Agriculture uses 80% of the developed water in California. Urban users account for 11%. Both agriculture and urban water users need to conserve. Price elasticity is the key to encouraging changed behaviors from all users.

The Best Science

Of all the points made in this video series this is THE most important. The best science available must be followed if we are to reverse salmon’s decline and restore them back to health. For too long, sound science has been dismissed or ridiculed by politicians and water managers unwilling to accept any solution that would result in reduced water deliveries. But it is clear that if the Delta is to be restored and salmon habitats renewed, then strong, peer-reviewed science must lead the way.

Governor Brown, the once bountiful runs of wild California salmon are depending on you and those who work for you, to be heroes. To do the right things that will reverse salmon’s sad decline and begin a recovery program that will restore them back to health. After all, salmon are California’s most senior water rights holder and we have a responsibility to fix what has been so wrong, once and for all.

The Human Costs

When salmon are in trouble, people are hurt. Fishing families that have depended on healthy runs of salmon are themselves becoming extinct. Families are hurting. Coastal communities are in trouble. The infrastructure that supports both commercial and recreational fishing is under severe stress and close to collapsing. This video, the last of our six-part series speaks to these issues.

Bruce Tokars

www.salmonwaternow.org

Time to Save California's Pandora

2011-03-12T11:21:00.000-08:00

Time to Save California's Pandora

By Marc Dadigan
In James Cameron’s online video “A Message from Pandora”, the director of Avatar is seen traveling to the Xingu river in Brazil, meeting with Amazonian indigenous tribes and condemning the Belo Monte Dam, a $11 billion behemoth that would displace some 20,000 people. In a compelling case of life imitating art, Cameron has since received some credit when a Brazilian judge last week halted the construction of the Belo Monte, citing the need for more study of its impact on the surrounding rainforest.
“All of a sudden I’m in the Amazon, and living a real-life Avatar.” Cameron says in the video moments after an indigenous woman dashes his face with red paint.
Cameron is to be commended for standing behind his film’s support for indigenous right, but he didn’t need to travel all the way to the Amazon to find his real-life Pandora. He could have driven a few hours north of his Palo Alto home to the pine-quilted mountains of the McCloud River canyon where another tribe’s existence is imperiled by a large dam.
This Sunday, two United Nations human rights experts visited the McCloud and documented the threat the 602-foot Shasta Dam poses to the Winnemem Wintu, a small traditional tribe that still lives in their ancestral territory.
Chief and Spiritual Leader Caleen Sisk-Franco led the U.N. officials on a tour of her tribe’s sacred places that would be permanently submerged if the Bureau of Reclamation’s proposed 18.5 raise of the Shasta Dam is approved by Congress.
Sisk-Franco took them to the sacred Puberty Rock, where the tribe’s adolescent girls pray during their coming-of-age ceremony; a purling creek that’s a healing place for the tribe’s women and Eagle Rock, a raptor shaped outcropping connected to the tribe’s doctoring traditions.
If the dam were raised, they could no longer practice the religious ceremonies that are intertwined with these sacred places, and the Winnemem would have lost what makes them Winnemem.
It would be the equivalent of the government razing every Catholic church in the country, the difference being that Catholics can build new churches; the Winnemem can never replace their sacred places.
It’s a testament to the tribe’s resilience that they still exist. When the dam was constructed during World War II, the resulting reservoir, Shasta Lake, submerged their villages on the McCloud and 90 percent of their sacred places.
For the tribe, the McCloud River is their universe, and their sacred places its constellations. For Shasta Lake to have nearly swallowed them all was an unfathomable loss.
At one point during the U.N. tour, Sisk-Franco noted the boat was above a sacred blessing rock, one that is almost always submerged beneath the reservoir. She poignantly explained how one rainy day in February, the reservoir’s water had ebbed enough to reveal the rock, and five of her young Winnemem boys immediately jumped into the freezing water.
As had once been the tribe’s tradition, they swam to the rock and rubbed their hands against it, not knowing if they’d ever see it again.
I understand if Cameron has never heard of the Winnemem because the BOR and the Bureau of Indian Affairs have done a thorough job of expunging the tribe from our history.
When visitors tour the Shasta Dam, the B.O.R. presents a nearly scriptural tale of a monument to American ingenuity and its enterprising spirit. But no one ever learns that Winnemem were evicted from their McCloud homes to clear the path for Shasta Lake or that Winnemem veterans returned from fighting in the Pacific to find their homes underwater.
Making matters worse, the BIA dropped the Winnemem from its list of federally recognized tribes in the 1980s, meaning they have limited access to federal grants and little legal standing to protect their lands.
B.O.R. says it will complete a feasibility study of the dam raise by 2013, at which time it will go to Congress for a vote. They say the dam raise is needed to slake the thirst of California’s growing population, but the state’s alfalfa farmers could create just as much extra water by conserving only five percent of what they currently use.
I would like to invite Mr. Cameron to come take the same tour the U.N. did, to meet the tribe and see the beauty of their culture and religion, which could soon be lost beneath Shasta Lake’s murky depths.
Some might question why I would compare the Shasta Dam raise to the Belo Monte, which would displace thousands while the Winnemem number only 123. But if there were only 123 dolphins left in the world, wouldn’t we be working like mad to save them?
Why shouldn’t we believe saving our endangered cultures is just as important as saving our endangered species?
The Shasta Dam raise is an unnecessary atrocity in the making, but like the Belo Monte, it’s one that can be stopped.
Sadly, Brazilian authorities overruled the judge's injunction this week, citing the dam's construction as a concern of "national security." Apparently the security of the 50,000 indigenous people who might lose land or their homes is not a priority.
This doesn't have to happen here, not if we listen to the Winnemem's story and respect their right to exist.
There’s still time to save California’s own Pandora.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marc Dadigan is a freelance journalist writing a book about the Winnemem’s spiritually guided salmon restoration project.

Our River is Our Name from International Rivers

2011-03-09T12:49:00.001-08:00

Our River is Our Name

Caleen Sisk-Franco, Tribal Chief and Spiritual Leader, Winnemem Wintu Tribe, (California, U.S.A)

Caleen Sisk-Franco

The name of my tribe, Winnemem Wintu, translates to Middle Water people and is taken from the name of our river, the Winnemem Waywakit, which is bounded by the Upper Sacramento to the West and the Pit River to the East.

Now known to most as the McCloud River, it rises from glacial waters in the Cascades, and it runs so clean you can clearly see the rocks, sand and insects that populate its bottom. A series of well-known waterfalls cascade over its basaltic lava beds in feathery ribbons of white and foam.

Because of its beauty, most people here in Northern California probably believe the McCloud is healthy and pristine. But that is only because they don't remember, as my tribe does, how it used to be before it was butchered by dams and left clinging to its life.

The Shasta Dam was built during World War II and flooded the lower 26 miles of our river under its reservoir. It also blocked our sacred relative, the salmon, from traveling to its traditional spawning places. In 1965, the McCloud Dam was built on the upper river and started diverting water to the Pit as part of a lucrative hydroelectric project. Because of these diversions, our once powerful and rushing river, which once had a winter flow of 6,000 cubic feet per second, now trickles at a mere 200 cfs.

Our river is starved on one side and swollen on the other. And yet they are not done with it. As we fight to bring our salmon back, we also fight against a proposal to raise the Shasta Dam as well as a McCloud Dam re-licensing that could sustain the crippling diversions for another 50 years.

Just as they have carved up our river, so too have they tried to break our bond with it by extricating us from our traditional lands and refusing to acknowledge our history and right to exist. But they underestimate our resilience: our spiritual connection to our river remains strong and unbroken.

Our river is our name. And we are willing to die to defend it.

Winnemem-Wintu: Protecting Women's Rights of Passage

2011-03-08T16:19:00.000-08:00

Winnemem-Wintu: Protecting Women's Rights of Passage

by Christina Aanestad
Tuesday Mar 8th, 2011 8:16 AM

Caleen Sisk-Franco, Chief and Spiritual Leader of the Winnemem-Wintu discusses the Balas Chonas or Puberty Ceremony-which honors a girls transition into womanhood, her decision to declare war against the U.S. government, and her tribes work to return indigenous salmon to the McCloud River, for International Women's Day.

	Download audio: winnemem-wbai.mp3 26.5MB

The Winnemem-Wintu, "Middle Water People" are a small tribe of California Native Americans. The U.S. Government relocated them from their land during World War 2 to build the Shasta Dam. After nearly 80 years, under the leadership of Caleen Sisk-Franco, Spiritual Leader and Chief of the Winnemem-Wintu the tribe has returned to the McCloud river, near Shasta Dam to revive the Puberty Ceremony. "Balas Chonas" in Wintu marks a girls transition into womanhood.

For 3 days and nights, men sing and dance on one side of a river, while the women, pass on traditions to girls on the other side, defining the difference between girls and women. But holding a ceremony on stolen land can be a challenge. The U.S. government has not granted the Wintu's requests to access their ancestral land in privacy and the Wintu say a federal plan to raise the Shasta Dam would flood their remaining sacred land.

The ceremony is held with recreational boaters driving by, and camping as the tribe works to hold it's right of passage. Under the guidance of their Chief and Spiritual Leader, Caleen Sisk Franco, the Winnemem-Wintu declared war on the U.S. government in 004, have since sued the federal government to protect their rights and their ancestral land, and is working to return indigenous salmon to the McCloud River watershed. Caleen Sisk Franco says preserving the Puberty Ceremony is preserving their way of life.

Report by the UN Independent Expert on Water and Sanitation

2011-03-04T09:53:00.000-08:00

Updated UN Independent Expert statement regarding Water and Sanitation visit to the states.

Regarding the History of Shasta Dam - A quick messagefrom our Chief

2011-02-18T13:55:00.000-08:00

Caleen Audrey Sisk-Franco

Maybe one should ask about the earthquake fault line that lies under Lake Shasta and how much time do people of Redding, Cottonwood, Anderson, Red Bluff, etc... have to evacuate? Of course one person in the BOR said that not even a 10.0 earthquake could break the dam.

The water stored here is not for the people here. The giant Agriculture Businesses are the real BOSS of the Shasta Dam. They have the right amount of money and the right friends they put in power. When the Dam was built they made the Wintu Indians the insignificant in the way, now, they are making the Chinook Salmon the insignificant needing water to spawn.

Since the Shasta Dam was built, water pollution has sky rocketed. You can't drink water from the rivers and high mountain streams, but people trusted piped in , filtered water. Talk to the people who are now receiving smelly water, brown water, and no water from the tap. Then think of the 10 million more people moving to California. Why would people be moving to a state that projects a 40% water shortage by 2020? Shasta Dam will not support the water needs even if they raised it another 200 feet. Water has to stop being just a commodity!

Update to Blog Site

2011-02-12T10:38:00.000-08:00

Folks,
As many of you have noted over the years, this blog has intended to reflect happenings by the Winnemem Wintu Tribe in our journey to justice. Sometimes my personal feelings came up in the discussions and that caused a minor "scandal" with some readers who felt my words were unwarranted in what I felt, at the time, was my blog.

Well, not to worry. I have recreated the identifying information of this blog to reflect that it is a "tribal" site. The author(s) now will be able to post articles that are of interest for the followers of our tribe and hopefully educate the greater public audience regarding what it means to be "un-recognized", traditional and still engaged in protecting the lands and relatives (all of them) that we as people owe so much to.

Come back often and check on what may be new and if you have a penchant for the individual rambling and musing of "Mark Franco", check out my personal blog at http://bunkhousediary.blogspot.com/

Alrighty then...let the madness begin!

Winnemem Berkeley Benefit part2

2011-02-10T14:58:00.000-08:00

Winnemem Brower Center Fundraiser, February 3, 2011

The Tribe wishes to express our deep gratitude to all who helped with and participated in the February 3rd Brower Center Fundraiser. More than 200 people attended and helped with the event. Having never held a fundraiser of this sort before, we are gratified and a little awed by the response of the folks who traveled to join us and for the generosity shown the Tribe in your giving, generous bids on the silent auction art pieces and purchase of the other jewelry pieces presented by our tribal artists. We all had an extraordinary evening and hope that everyone else who attended enjoyed themselves too. Below is a quick recap of the evening.

The Tribe would like to offer our special thanks to Amy Vanderwarker and Toby McLeod for being the core local coordinators for the event and Lisa Fay Beatty and Marissa for help with the David Brower Center. We would also like to thank all of those who participated in the program including Reverend Lindi Ramsden, Bill Jenkins, and Malcolm Margolin. Thanks to Will Doolittle and Toby McLeod for sharing clips from their upcoming films. Thanks to all of the artists and donors of silent auction items. Thanks to the event sponsors: Environmental Justice Coalition for Water, Sacred Land Films, Women’s Earth Alliance, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Heyday Books. Finally, we would like to thank the Earth Island Institute and the David Brower Center.

The Film “Teasers “
“Dancing Salmon Home” is a film directed by Will Doolittle that chronicles the Tribe’s journey to New Zealand and the ceremony held on the Rakaia River for the return of the McCloud River salmon sent to the south pacific in the 1880s. A new film in progress by Toby McLeod on the loss of sacred ground was another high light of the evening.

Address by Chief Caleen Sisk-Franco
Chief Caleen Sisk-Franco talked about the importance of salmon to the Tribe, of the direction the Tribe has followed regarding the protection and preservation of the waters of the north state, and how the Winnemem look at all beings as relatives. She also asked for help from scientists and engineers so that the Tribe can further develop the proposal to bring the salmon home.

Insights on the Winnemem Wintu Tribe
Headman Mark Franco emceed the evening and used his time to entertain and inform. Reverend Lindi Ramsden of the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry provided her take on the value the Tribe brings to everyone. Bill Jenkins, a world champion martial artist spoke to the strength and courage the Winnemem demonstrate. Finally, Malcolm Margolin from Heyday Books closed out the event with his thought provoking words.

Berkeley Benefit Part 1

2011-02-10T14:56:00.000-08:00

We would like to express our deep gratitude to everyone who attended and contributed in any way to our benefit at the David Brower Center on February 3rd. We are glad to report that the event was more successful than we could have imagined. We are humbled by the generosity shown by volunteers, donors, and guests. To be kept informed about future Winnemem events, benefits, and ceremonies please visit our website at www.winnememwintu.us in the coming weeks and sign-up for our listserv. We hope to have this in place very soon.

We would like to thank all of the following people and organizations for their contributions:

Individuals
Amy Vanderwarker
Ann Marie Sayers
Bill Jenkins
Dan Bacher
Debbie Davis
Eugenia Clark
Favianna Rodriguez
Jeanne France
John Powers
Lindi Ramsden
Lisa Quinn
Malcolm Margolin
Marc Dadigan
Misa Joo
Ruth Koenig
Sally Carless
Sarah Haase
Toby McLeod
Will Doolittle
Marissa Cadena-Belski

Organizations
David Brower Center
Dignidad Rebelde
Environmental Justice Coalition for Water
Heyday Books
Natural Resources Defense Council
Rainbow Grocery
Sacred Land Film Project
Women’s Earth Alliance

Ceremony in the wrong place

2010-11-19T16:51:00.000-08:00

There will be a "presentation" in Mt Shasta this evening discussing medicine wheels and earth healing and has been the practice a discussion of doing these things on the mountain in our sacred sites and what our old people called "our church". I ask the good people who claim to follow traditional religions to understand that medicine wheel ceremonies and certain other rituals are not native to this area of California and are offensive when done on places we pray for and at.

Please, when you are in another tribe's territory, ask before you set down a shrine or other religious icon in another peoples place. Do not assume, if you follow the "red road", that we all take the same stops along the way. One size does not fit all in tribal religions and cultures.

We are seeing more and more people coming from out of state into our lands and doing these things. We ask this: if you are a medicine person, what do your people at home do when you are traveling around or living in another state? How effective is your medicine way if you do not go to your own sacred places to gather your medicine that you are bringing to outsiders in foreign places?

I wonder why the Forest Service and local agencies are not stopping this type of activity when they place such strict rules on the local California Indian people. Is it because these folks say they are from BIA recognized tribes that you do not check their papers to see if they are in fact legitimate?

I worry for our sacred places and the waters of the high mountains when numerous people come flooding into to pristine watersheds and damage, albeit perhaps accidentally, the land they are using to make a dollar.

I hope that this reaches the ears of those who have, to date not heard, and that you consider what you are doing before you step into an area where you cannot speak to the spirits and whose spirit helpers you bring do not naturally get along with the locals. This is just food for thought. I hope that we can see a reduction in these intrusions and that people will go to their own lands for their own ceremonies and not abuse the places you think are not under the care of the locals.

The elders of our land here said the same thing as that in the below cited passage from the flier for tonight's performance, but that we have a place here to take care of first and foremost. Those who come to unite need to meet the local tribe(s) first before uniting the general public.

"The elders say according to traditions, part of their original instructions as human beings was to serve as Keepers of the Earth. They were also told that one day they would have to step forward in a time of extreme crisis to lead
-- to educate people about how to restore balance to the Earth–
About Shoshoni Elder, Blue Thunder, he has received this message and is willing to unite all cultures, belief systems, and races in prayer and sacred intent, to heal, unify, and shift the Earth and Her Peoples."

You can learn more at Blue Thunder's sites at www.teton-rainbows.com and www.spiritualelders.org

To Restore Salmon, Follow the Creator's Plan, Not Frankenfish

2010-09-28T10:28:00.000-07:00

An op-ed about genetically engineered salmon by the Winnemem's chief and spiritual leader Caleen Sisk-Franco appeared in the California Progress Report today.

In the piece, she discusses the danger posed by the GE salmon, and also how bizarre it is that the government would support this dangerous plan while remaining skeptical about our own far safer plan to restore the salmon to the McCloud River.

Here's an excerpt, and you can read the full column here.

One day coyote noticed fox was smoothing sticks and fashioning them into children who would help him find food. Coyote was filled with envy and soon started to build his own family.

Impatient and greedy, coyote made his children with rugged, knobby sticks and built them much larger than him, thinking they would hunt more food this way.

When he finished, however, his roughly-hewn children disobeyed his orders, turned against him and beat him up.

My tribe, the Winnemem Wintu, is a traditional salmon people who come from Mount Shasta in California, and we learned long ago from coyote it’s dangerous to mimic the Creator. It’s a lesson yet to be learned by AquaBounty, the Massachusetts company behind the genetically engineered salmon likely to be approved by the FDA this month.

New Zealand Salmon

2010-02-27T09:23:00.000-08:00

I would like to thank all of the folks who have offered support and donated to the Tribe's ceremony for the salmon living on the Rakaia River.
Currently, the USF&WS as well as NOAA have been working on a salmon restoration project to return salmon to the waters above the impoundment dams on the west coast. When I spoke with them at a meeting in Sacramento, they were surprised that the genetic stock from the McCloud Baird hatchery were thriving in the rivers of New Zealand. This information was what they had hoped for as the original stock fish are what the projects call for. By bringing the roe of the ancestors of the McCloud fish home, we hope to reverse the decline of salmon we all are suffering from.
Anyway, the video link for youtube, http://www.youtube.com/winnememwintu#p/u/0/n1iMcEwb0BI is a short description of the ceremony and its importance (along with some other discussion, we made in Eugene Oregon this week for the PIELC law conference. We hope you enjoy it and it answers some of your questions about why we are headed to the Pacific.

Ecuador Part 4

2010-02-11T07:57:00.000-08:00

Well, following the last supper (so to speak), Charlie, Myrna and I headed out via bus to banana country (about 175 miles south of Guayaquil). I have ridden in cabs in New York and Washington DC and let me tell you: the drivers in the north cannot carry a fix-a-flat for these vaqueros in South America. I do not think we stayed on our side of the road the entire trip for any longer than to hug the rail as approaching cars pushed our way. I saw people jumping out of the way, construction crews ducking to avoid getting a mirror to their melons, and better marksmanship that Sgt. York as the drivers we had (coming and going) hit every pothole in the road.
Bouncing along and getting one rest stop (at a company sponsored bodega along the roadway, we finally made it to Guabas and the free market banana plantation where Marcos, our guide drove us into the bush and then on foot to look at banana gathering first hand.
I have a new appreciation for the bananas we get here. It was hot in the plantation and the men and women working their labor extremely hard for the fruit many seem to think merely grow on trees. In fact, I learned that these plants are like mini water drums: the water soaks up the stalk of the plant, they grow bigger and eventually a red colored flower appears. This flower is bagged and marked with a colored strip and the folks continue on their way doing this until the plants are covered with multi-colored tags indicating how long the bananas have matured. Inside the flower are these petal that look like tiny baby bananas, and as they grow they are watched until the fruit finally gets to the familiar shape we all know from the store. The thing you don't see, is that as they grow, someone is constantly tending them, pruning them out and then finally harvesting them (after about 12 weeks). The photo of the fellow with the bunch on his shoulder is carrying about 80 kilos in weight (160 lbs?). He carried that about 50 meters to a drag line where the fruit was chained to a pulley and cable system and them drug to the sorting and washing /packing shed. The person in the white shirt of the photo above is the woman who owns this particular plantation.
In the shed area, the bananas were measured (like on the crab boats where they see if they are the right size) but in this case, if the fruit is too big (long and wide) they are tossed in a pile to the side. Seems the delicate mouths of the eaters in Europe and the US can only handle a particular size banana...crazy huh?
Anyway, I asked what happened to the ones chucked to the side (I was eating them by the way - I guess my little mouth was just right for the discards). These bananas are sent to a processor who purees them, packs the mess and ships it to Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream where it becomes...tada..Chunky Monkey Ice Cream. So the next time you enjoy a pint of that delicious desert, remember that it once lay on the jungle floor, after being lugged by a fellow half the size of you, and then, tossed aside because no one would eat it as it was too big.
The free trade farms, allowed the owners to hire permanent staff, and upwards of 50 additional staff to harvest. They did not make a fortune but it was a decent wage for their economy and was guaranteed throughout the year, so that was good. Health care, educational assistance and commods were provided to the permanent staff as well. I am taking a closer look at free trade and the implications of its application across other crops here and in South America.

Anyway, we finished, had a nice little dinner back at the hotel and I traveled home where I now finish this travelogue for you. It was fun writing this, as it brought back a lot of good memories and reminded me that I have friends south of all the borders who are just like me and you, so all is swell again.
We are heading to New Zealand next month for the Salmon ceremony on the Rakaia River. Hopefully I will have some snaps of that trip to share with you.

Ecuador Part 3

2010-02-05T15:06:00.000-08:00

We had a tour of the "marginalized urban communities" near Malvinas and Flor de Bastion I believe they were called. Much like the folks out on the island we saw the day before, these folks had a spirit that burned bright in each and every one. We went to one house where, much to my chagrin, I learned the woman who was deeply involved in the community action network had passed away. I was unprepared to enter this house and worked my way back to the door to listen as the children of this woman explained how the struggle was so great but that their mother carried them through. I was reminded of the women in my life who have passed and the struggles they saw us through and felt a great empathy for these young people, now on their own.

We went to another house where the folks gathered to talk with us and we heard how the water agencies were not meeting their own standards and how the people were still without sufficient water or sanitation. Much like our own central valley communities, these people need access to clean, affordable, reliable water systems for their daily needs (wait that sounds like the human right to water that we fought for here in California but saw vetoed by the Governator this past session!) The Ecuadorian government has added this Human right to their constitution, as well as greater protections for women and children and a reserved Right for Nature! I wonder if the US will ever progress beyond these so-called 3rd worlders who seem to be so much better adapted to change and acceptance of the natural world.

Eventually, we made it back to the hotel to cool off a bit, gather our thoughts and then, for me, a presentation for and meeting with indigenous and social movement leaders in an auditorium of the Central Bank of Ecuador.

I may have mentioned that upon my departure to Ecuador from Atlanta, the plane was delayed. Apparently my luggage sat on the tarmac in the rain for several hours, soaking up the local flavor I guess. Any way, all of my clothes was soaked and as luck would have it, also stained a pretty shade of pink from my cheap suitcase. Anyway, I had to buy a shirt..the final cost for this masterwork was $35 American - I say this like that because, while it fit around me, it was too short in the body and in the arms.

So, wearing my new shirt, I walked into the building with my colleagues, and was immediately set upon by a news camera crew (who were supposed to interview me the day before) for an interview...just before speaking with the folks who came to the auditorium. Being a guest in this country, I talked with the news people because when local people have an issue in any country, I have found, if the norte americanos show up, they will get their mugs on the page. I accepted the challenge and the interview I gave was about the Mi Cometa and Observatorios and the issues they had presented to me during the preceding days. If they wouldn't talk to the locals, I would use my big American tribal voice to speak for them. (Sort o like our commitment to the salmon don't you think?).

I talked for about an hour after that about our issues here in Winnemem land as well as the condition of tribal people in this "great" country, much to the enjoyment of the audience. A Q&A session followed and I found that many of the folks, after my talk, openly expressed that they too were indigenous tribal people, but had been told not to tell. They were moved to step up and joined with their fellows in pledging to help the environment and the needs of all their relations. They also, in the form of the people who were heading up the Observatorios, pledged in the open forum in front of those who came, to included tribal people in the highest levels of their programs and in the government agencies they represented. Not a bad days work for a big old Winnemem on walk about eh?

We closed the day with a farewell dinner for our group and had any of the people who are risking it all for the betterment of their people on hand to share a last meal together. Many of our group were headed to the Galapagos for a tour, I and Charlie and Myrna were heading to the banana plantation in the morning. So we ate, laughed and shared contact information. Hopefully we will be able to assist each other and can recruit others to aiding these folks way down south.

The Banana Plantation and the return to California when we next meet.

Ecuador Part 2

2010-02-01T16:26:00.000-08:00

So, having made it through the first night and into the second day, we headed aboard a bus that took us to the South Guasmo neighborhood where the office of "Mi Cometa" are located. This center houses many projects for the community, including the Utopia Radio station, the door on the bottom left is their entrance (see the kite design). Mi Cometa means My Kite. Any way, the projects also included a music program, housing assistance, a mico-loan program for the community members that the center offers and manages.

We had a luncheon served to us by the folks and then, a musical presentation from the program children (the young man in the green shirt was the lead singer - they sang some wicked Santana).

We finished the day at the Center by walking through the neighborhood, looking at several houses that Mi Cometa had help facilitate the construction for. We saw some in first stage bare walls, open windows and doorways and then on to others that were completed, painted and shiny. I was slightly jealous because these places were cinder block buildings, attached to the foundation (although with limited re-bar) as opposed to the trailers the folks in our own village live in. I was impressed by the willingness of the folks in these areas to help themselves and although they had no real running water or sanitation, for the most part they survived and were happy to have a united community. This message was important to see and one that I will share with whomever I talk with about this trip.

We closed out the day with a visit to the Regulatory agency ECAPAG (www.ecapag.gov.ec) This agency was, in a word, slimy. They had all the answer but seemed to not truly provide regulation or oversight. The waters of Ecuador are privatized. There is raw sewage and untreated water pouring into the rivers and this regulator organ of the government was seemingly casting a blind eye at the problems, to the detriment of the population. I asked the General Director of social communication and community relations, Stalin Poveda, about the dams on the river and how they were impacting the rivers, the lack of water quality assurance and the threat of additional dams to meet the needs of the unabashed development. He neatly sidestepped the question, actually stating that the dams were now allowing for more water to flow in the river than before they were built. He also said that there was plenty of water and thy would never need more dams for supply. Curious note: 45% of the people do not have fresh water and if I remember correctly 65% or more do not have access to sanitation (like sewer or septic). I said they were slimy, I think I know what they are slimy with.

Later this week - the Guayas River Boat trip and the Isla Santay.

To Ecuador and beyond

2010-01-31T16:33:00.000-08:00

I had an opportunity to travel with a group from the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. Let me start by saying that if you have not heard of this group, check them out, they are doing a lot of wonderful things worldwide as well as in the United States.

OK then, as you may or may not know, I am a follower of the Winnemem religion and no other so I was surprised by the invitation to travel and the openness of the folks at UUSC who arranged this trip south. After about 23 hours of total travel time from Nor Cal to Quito, Ecuador,speaking a bastardized version of Spanglish, I was able to negotiate my way through customs and the airport maze from the international terminal to the domestic terminal where I discovered that they were closed until 4:00 AM. Sleeping was impossible, but dozing in and out worked (along with several cups of the home brew there "Nescafe"). I verified my disdain for instant coffee that early morning and was first in line to hop the next leg of my trip. I got off the third plane of this trip and through the oppressive , muggy air, found myself smack dab in the middle of Guayaquil, a riverfront town south west of Quito.

I was greeted in the baggage area by a young man holding a sign with my name on it and let me tell you, I was never happier to see that someone knew I was coming and had actually come for me.

OK, I know this is chatty but stay with me. My suitcase was soaked from sitting hours on the tarmac in Atlanta and then in Quito so I had only the clothes I was wearing and a new pair of socks in my backpack so I hopped in the shower, rinsed and lathered, and headed to the hotel business center where I could send an email home saying I had landed. 15 minutes later I was back in my room waiting for my assigned roommate, Charlie, the President of the UUSC, to arrive. He did about 3 hours later and after setting up his rigging, we headed to the first meeting of the day with the others in our delegation.

Now, I began to get a sense of the folks who traveled south and their rationale for going. Seems that beside the staff members who handle the operations UUSC provides, the folks I traveled with were donors of sorts to the humanitarian programming. We had the general introductions and a meal and closed out the evening with a rundown of the logistics for the next days in the field - this was going to be quite the adventure: a visit to the offices of Mi Cometa, the offices of Los Observitorios, a canoe trip to the Isla Santay, a trip to the offices of the water services regulators department at Ecopag, a filed visit to a housing development by the community people and finally a trip to a free-market Banana plantation.
Over the next few posts, I will write of the events at each of these stops and finally of the presentation I made to the local community activists and indigenous people of the area.

I am happy to be home; I saw that humanitarian funds are being used in foreign lands and that is good but I also want folks to realize that we in Indian country also sometimes live in third world conditions within the United States.

I made some wonderful new friends, have promised aid to several places, saw the results of community intervention through the writing of a new constitution for Ecuador and realized that these folks like all of the folks of color I know in the US are a resilient bunch. All that will come in the next days as I gather myself for a thorough description of Ecuador and beyond.

Congressman Herger Step up or Stand Down on Health Care

2009-11-08T09:47:00.000-08:00

As a tribal member of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, located in the Congressman's district in California, I am not surprised that Mr. Herger voted against reform of a system that has apparently contributed to his campaigns over the years. What is upsetting to me is that people of my Tribe and our fellow citizens of this nation where not truly represented by this man who's record of decisions made "on our behalf" has been so lopsided in favor of his own party's direction.
We have a chance for reform and assistance to many people living in this nation, for those who voted for this Act, we send our thanks and prayers that you can do what you are now promising the people of this nation. For those of you, like our own Congressman, I say take off the glasses that see only your party's pathway and use your heart, not your election funds to direct you to truly representing all the people.
We are not seen by the Congressman, he says he cannot help as there are Bureaus designed to assist us. Because of the failure of the government to live up to its own laws we cannot use Indian Health in our area but must travel over 3 hours to a clinic in Sacramento to have our elders and children see. I hope that with the passage of legislation like this we will have the health care we so desperately need.
I started with "step up or stand down": maybe what we need is for the Congressman to return to California and leave Washington to those who truly believe in the maxim "For the people and by the people."

I'm Back for awhile

2009-11-01T08:26:00.001-08:00

I was looking at my blog page for the last month or so and it dawned on me that I need to get back on the horse and update what has been happening here in Winnemem Country.

We have all been working hard on the State's Water issues. The legislature is proposing some major moves that will be coming up for a vote very soon. Restore the Delta, EJCW, the Environmental Water Caucus and PCL have had their Capitol staff working night and day to ensure that ALL the interests of California are looked after. I suggest those of you who can to get in touch with your representatives and have them vote NO on the Steinberg water package: below, I have copied in Restore the Delta's comments on why and the number of the bill to vote FOR.

Here are 10 reasons why your representative should oppose the Steingberg Water Package, and all its potential ancillary bills, as well as the bond proposals.

1) The purported environmental benefits in SB x7 1 and SBx7 4 hinge on unfunded programs and unstaffed planning processes. There is no identified funding for the Delta Conservancy or the Delta Protection Council. Without identified funding, the restoration projects and consistency processes intended for Delta health will fall
behind the construction of facilities in the Delta paid for by beneficiaries. This repeats a cornerstone failure of CalFed. This creates a real risk of the infrastructure and water supply projects proceeding without environmental gains.

2)There is no assurance that a permit for any future Delta facility will accommodate the instream flow needs of fish. Public trust criteria are not proven tool for ensuring dedicated water for the environment Experienced water lawyers disagree whether the creation of public trust criteria compel the State Board to base apermit for a future Delta project on the public trust.

3)The bond allows public funds to be spent on required mitigation or necessary compliance with environmental regulation. Existing law requires beneficiaries to pay for those activities. This is a massive cost shift to taxpayers.

4) The Delta Stewardship Council holds no fee authority to carry out its mandate. Delta communities, most impacted by this legislation, would not have adequate representation.

5)The Delta Plan is not required to reduce state dependence on the Delta. The objectives for the Delta Plan do not include reducing state reliance on Delta exports. SB x7 1 only states that it's an intent of the state to reduce dependency.

6) The bill lacks sufficient oversight of the BDCP. The Council lacks the authority to ensure the project does not cause greater harm to the fragile Delta ecosystem.

7) One-third ($3 billion) of the SB 7x 2 funds above-ground storage, which is the least efficient way to increase water supplies.

8) Less than 3% of the funds in the bond would be dedicated to disadvantaged communities most in need of safe drinking water.

9) The proposed water conservation package lacks the enforceable goals needed to achieve 20% conservation by 2020.

10) A $9 billion bond will cost taxpayers about $600 million a year for 30 years. The state's debt service on bonds already authorized by the voters will grow to about 10% of the state's budget and will contribute to more state funding cuts for public safety, health, education, and environmental protection have been slashed to the bone. And the Legislative Analyst's Office estimates that the state will see $10 to $15 billion deficits each year until 2014. Even if a bond is delayed until 2015, we will just be at the beginning of financial recover and should not be piling up more debt.

There is one bill they should vote for however!

Delta Area Assembly Member Alsyon Huber, along with co-sponsor Senator Lois Wolk, have introduced AB 13 7x. This bill would require lawmakers to sign off on any canal, and it would require the Legislature's nonpartisan fiscal adviser, the Legislative Analyst, to put together an economic feasibility study of the potential project. We commend Assembly Member Huber and Senator Wolk for pulling this piece of legislation together.

Tell your representatives to support AB 13 7x.

Additionally, the California Water Plan update in being put forth for public comment. Check out PCL's website for information on how the draft plan is misleading and includes references to things that will not happen regarding environmental justice and basic environmentally based issues.

The Tribal Communication Committee (a group of tribal people working on improving communication between the state and tribes will be co-hosting the Tribal Water Summit on November 4 and 5 in Sacramento. this convening was to have the Governor speak in person but I see that all we will get is a recorded message. Secretary Christman will be on hand as will heads of the major department within the state that deal with conservation and environmental issues. If you have not registered, get in touch with them to secure a seat at the "table" to at least here what we have to say.

This meeting will be followed on Friday with a conference at Chico state on "Sustainability". There will be presentations on a variety of issues related to this topic as well tribal concerns presented. Another "must see" event.

Also, keep your eyes open for information on NOAA and NMFS "Salmon Recovery Project". They, like many of us are looking at returning salmon to the rivers and streams above the impoundment dams (Shasta/Folsom). This fits in with the Winnemem effort to have the genetic stock taken from the McCloud/Baird hatchery, returned to us from New Zealand. Keep this in mind. We may need help funding this trip but rest assured we will get them back!

Well that's a lot to digest, thanks for checking in and email me if you have questions about these updates.

On a personal note, I hope that you have all enjoyed the Halloween season and are ready for the next series of holidays. As my friend Bill Jenkins said, be safe, watch out for your little ones and yourself (paraphrasing there Bill).

We have a lot of things coming at us in the new year and we need all of you ready to act.

Mark

Comments section closed

2009-09-11T12:05:00.000-07:00

Readers,
I wanted to have a place for information , things I like and other stuff I feel are important , where I can relax, and share. I have attracted a few flies and a few hummingbirds to the material in the feeder. I can live with that.

However, again, I do not wish to get into a contest with anyone over the content of this blog, or on the topic of personal distaste or dislike. I don't, truly care what is said of me, I never have and never will. I have been cussed by the best but still carry on. Having said this, I also try to keep my word. I asked folks to stop attacking and defending on my pages. Take it home, email each other or settle it in the street. I asked for it to stop, but it didn't', so I am stopping it. As of today, no more comments will be allowed on my stuff. If you don't agree with what I said, send me an email or see me in person. Others who truly enjoy the information and stories are tired of this as am I.

So, in a way, you have won, I pulled the plug on allowing comments freely. Now I truly am a dictator. In another way, I have won, because I can now continue to work on the water bills going through the Ca Legislature without worrying that someone will break a window while I'm away.

Next week the fun stuff will come back, so until then...
Mark

Enough is enough

2009-09-05T12:59:00.000-07:00

Ok, you have my attention.
I have been busy working on some water issues and other sacred lands issues in Sacramento for awhile and have been obliquely looking at the messages surrounding my blog entries.

What started out as mildly amusing has become a distraction from my writing on subjects I choose, on my own blog. I am politely asking Enrollen Wintu Tribal Member (EWTM) to take his hatred of me and what ever he perceives that I have done to him and any other Wintu, to his own web page. I am also asking those who have responded to this person to stop.

EWTM, you are now just writing things that have nothing to do with the intent of my original posting. You are personally attacking me, I don't really care, but it is annoying to have written about "pine cones" and have someone argue instead about the price of eggs in China.

Look, I don't know who you are, I don't really care who you are and from the tone of your responses to my personal blog entries, I do not want to know you. You make claims about me from behind your log in name, but I wonder, will you face me up close and personal and say these things? Will you question my integrity, my honesty and my value system, face to face? You do not know me, I do not know you. You have been asking for answers to your questions, asking for a response, I imagine from me. My response is let it go. Do what you need to do for your people, I will do for those I am responsible for mine. But remember to always be mindful of what you ask for.

Just now I am busy trying to protect the waters of the northern rivers so the salmon can return. I will be busy, probably until October or early November on these matters. When I am free, and if you want, I will answer you, in person. Until then, carry on your dialogue on your own page. I have left these pages open for those few who actually read the articles for the subject matter. I don't want to set limits on what is posted because open dialogue is a good thing. I just wish you would take your dislike for me with you to your page and leave my stuff alone.

Four Funerals and a Wedding

2009-08-29T08:48:00.000-07:00

Since my mother passed away last year, I have been to four more funerals and learned about the wedding of a young person we knew when she was a fresh faced new student.

I realize that we are all getting older; people die - that's the nature of life, and people age, find love, and marry. Both of these thing, funerals and weddings are profound events and both can be cause of tears and joy at the same time.

Here at the village we lost, my Mother, our cousin Randy, our niece Erika, and our sister-in-law, Sarah. Each funeral was held at our tribal cemetery, in the traditional way, and we sang our relative home to the other side where we hope we will be fortunate enough to see them again.

The last funeral I attended on behalf of the Tribe was for my Brother Richard and his very large family in Sacramento, who lost their matriarch at the age of 91 this past week. I, unfortunately missed the days before the burial due to the work being done on stopping the water bonds and canal plans, but made it to Sacramento in time for the grave-side service. I was struck by the difference of place:this was a beautiful, flat, park-like place with thousands of grave markers and monuments. The service was short but moving; I am not a church person but understood the connection of the saints to our spirit people and to the passage to a better place. While the location was different and there were no songs to help the departed in their travel, the grief was the same as the funerals I had been to at home.

I cried for this mother who had welcomed me into her family as one of her own and I cried for her children and relatives she was leaving behind in this physical world but, I was happy to remember that her family had been brought up in the best way possible: with love and respect and a sense of duty to their communities. I remembered from other times seeing one son in his police uniform, a grandson in his military regalia, a daughter caring for those who were sick and another who worked in youth corrections but with a firmness that was like an aunt making sure you stay out of trouble and my Brother who educates and counsels the students of the university. These gifts that Tina left for the world erased the tears from my face as they, like the gifts left by the others I have sung to the other side, will remain strong and vibrant with the memory of their mother.

We are losing the golden generation due to disease and age, just as we are starting to lose the "boomers" and the children of Gen-X. At ceremony this year, my 10 year-old great nephew spoke to the people. He talked of a great many things, but what fits for me today is his statement:"the children need to take care of their parents and the parents need to take care of their children." This lady that passed, just like my own mother, did just that. And for the children, I know you all did just that too! We will all continue on until we too join our people on the other side of the river but until then we need to continue what that young boy said and take care of each other.

The wedding, I didn't get to, but I want to add the Winnemem family congratulations to Yvonne C and her spouse. Remember that it is the female eagle who chooses her mate and we know that you have chosen well.

Ted Kennedy and the Winnemem

2009-08-26T16:15:00.001-07:00

As we all now know, Senator Ted Kennedy passed away. Why is this noteworthy to the Winnemem? Well, although he was from Massachusetts and had a past that was not all that stellar, he made up for it and served the country to the best of his ability.

He died due to a cancer in his brain I hear, and I wonder if the stem cell research he was talking about awhile back might have saved him? I don't know but I do know that of all the Senators in Washington, even including those from our state here of California, Mr. Kennedy, gave the Winnemem some of his time and encouragement.

Caleen and I met him at a dinner we attended and spoke to him about his brother Jack's visit to Redding for the dedication of Keswick Dam. We talked to him about Bobby's committment to Indian people while he was running for President in 1968. We talked to him about the broken promises made to the Winnemem and all California Tribal people and you know what? He listened, offered some suggestions and shared a laugh with us, not at our expense but from his heart.

We join those who knew him and respected him for his work in the Senate in expressing our condolences to his family: one that seems to have had its share of misfortune amidst the fortune it realized. We are sad that he has gone: as I said he, a man from the East Coast, took the time to meet with us and talk with us. Perhaps Senators Feinstein and Boxer will some day do the same.

Water Isssues in the Delta and the Effect Upstream

2009-08-26T10:01:00.000-07:00

I am constantly asked by folks, "Why are you involved in Delta issues - you are from up north and the delta is way south?"

I have to wonder if these folks know where the water in the delta comes from and how, when diverted, like the proposals for a new, Panama Canal sized conveyance canal, will affect the salmon and all of the estuary residents as well as those in streams and creeks up and down the state's water system.

The plans being presented represent the worst in long term thinking imaginable: water for people, not for fish, is a big campaign hot button these days as well as the really swell "congress created dust bowl" signs along I-5 from Tracy to Bakersfield. What is not being looked at is that these large agribusinesses have usurped the small farms and are hoarding water (see Dan Bacher's articles on Westlands), development is rampant in areas that, we all know to be arid, desert like places, and while the water we have is sufficient, if conserved through water efficient systems, the cry is for "More, More, More!"

Folks need to take a better look at the plans being pushed and those that should be pushed and help make better decisions for our "leaders". Those in the State Legislature have good hearts, their heads however, keep them from seeing the entire picture.

I spoke recently at the Capitol and likened the situation we face to a patient (the state) being pushed to take on dialysis because its Kidneys (the Delta) are in bad shape. The bad shape comes from the body, once a powerful California Indian Warrior now reduced to a fat lazy hybrid who won't take any action to lose the fat that is causing the body to shut down. I say, reduce the fat, take better preventative measures (like water use efficiency and conservation) stop being wasteful and thinking that you just have to have that extra doughnut (like another dam or swimming pool) and start looking at how to fix the body rather than subject the delta/kidneys to an unnecessary procedure that is sure to cause more harm than good.

I invite your comments to this and hope this opening salvo makes some sense, coming from this old brain.

Sacramento Court Hearing Postponed

2009-08-20T19:34:00.000-07:00

In what may be a sign of hope, the Judge hearing the Government's motion of dismissal in our case in Sacramento Federal Court, has asked both sides in the litigation for additional information in order to make his ruling regarding jurisdiction. The hearing scheduled for Friday the 21st, is postponed until all sides have submitted their documents to the court.

In an email to tribal members yesterday, Tribal Spiritual Leader Caleen Sisk-Franco, reported, "At ceremony we danced and prayed for the judge to see us and hear us. Thank all of you for that prayer because it now looks like the judge wants to take a closer look at our complaint. We will keep our fire burning and keep up our prayers. We will let you know as soon as we have a new date for the court hearing."

The tribe continues it efforts to protect the sacred land scape around us and continues to work hard on issues that affect all of your water and land issues being heard in Sacramento.

Thanks again to all who indicated they would join us in Sacramento on Friday, we will keep you informed and hope that you continue to support the tribe's efforts to rectify the wrongs committed against the earth and our cultural places.

Red Rider, The Virginian, Hoss Cartwright, Hondo

2009-07-19T17:03:00.000-07:00

Red Rider, The Virginian, Hoss Cartwright, Hondo. Characters on TV shows running the range free and easy, killing when necessary, sanitary, no fuss no muss. Indians and Mexicans need not apply … unless you wanted to live in the High Chaparral.
I wondered as a child who my heroes might be: Gene Autry back in the saddle changing with time to Willie Nelson singing about mammas and their babies growing up to be cowboys and such. I marveled at the fool on the hill, Tonto (Spanish for fool) for those who speak the southern tongue, riding with the Lone Ranger, chasing the bad guys, knowing the signs and speaking a very clean, yet stilted version of English. Was he my hero? I’m not sure, was he yours?
I wonder why it is today people get up in arms and offended by a cartoon version of the herstory of Virginia (Pocahontas) yet allow Turner Network Television to present the worst in stereotypical caricatures imaginable. Have you seen the transformation of a rabbit into an Indian or for that matter a shufflin’ black man from the south? How about the daffiest of ducks “woo wooing” around in a war bonnet on his mallard head? Do you see the cartoons everyday or do your kids hide them from you?

TV images that no one really sees and TV images that cause every one to see. Why worry? It all comes out in the wash … I know this from the commercials on the box. Lately an Indian in a cupboard had the attention of folks. How racist they say. “Buy the video and have your own Indian!” I hear what people say and have to laugh, not so much at them, but at the idiocy of the arguments. We have people, Indian people, dying from the effects of poverty, cold weather, indifference, apathy and every other unspeakable act you can imagine.

We have California Indian people, terminated at the hand of a malevolent-benevolent government, denied services essential to their well being. And we have people dying, no longer recognized as Indian, but being buried in a cemetery sanctified by an act of congress for those very same Indians. Buried so close to their ancestral lands, now under the water of another Lake Perfidy, holding in their cold, still hands the papers, signed by President Grover Cleveland, allotting them tracts of land … and people are more concerned about an Indian and a key and a cupboard.

In this day and age, we the people need to get on the right page of the TV Guide. We need to reevaluate our thinking and forget the images we have seen residing within the magic box. We need to see what needs to be seen and not ignore it but act upon it! Forget the previous images, those that showed you a noble Redman or the one that shows the Redman drunk or dead in the gutter. Look at the people as people … do what we can and what needs to be done. Our old people are crying for us: the Indians, the white people, and all those of the other colors of the sacred circle. The old people are crying for us because we have too long been accustomed to seeing an image and allowing that image to color over the actual picture within our heart’s eye.

I see so many people in trouble, so many people with little hope and when I speak of these things I see the images coming from the mouth of those I speak with. Visualize a TV set with hair and eyes showing only the same picture over and over again. I don’t get the reaction that one would expect from such a caring, loving society … yeah right … America first brother, keep out the immigrant. Good thinking, only 500 hundred years too late.

You can read the future history of the United States by looking at the way it has treated the

Cremations and Tribal sacred landscapes

2009-07-04T08:47:00.000-07:00

Why is it that folks find it necessary to dump their cremated remains in tribal springs and places that have been, unfortunately, revealed as sacred to Indian people?

I hate to report, again, that the Winnemem spring on Mt Shasta has been visited by the grim reapers again, with, I'm told 3 new cremains left since the Forest Service, unadvisedly I must say, opened the meadow to people this week. Readers will remember that we had to have the area closed off a few years back to remove remains that permeated the walls and earth around the spring and refused to come pout of the springs pores...it was disheartening them, as now, to watch bone fragments swirl around in our Genesis place, like debris in a washing machine. Back then the Forest Service to us, "those are animal bones!" Well, when we started pulling teeth, bridgework, gold crowns and metal tabs from Levi's, they changed their tune and closed the water area off because of the health hazard it posed.

Japanese people who came all the way here were appalled when we told them remains were in the water that they were reverently drinking. I wonder if other "pilgrims" to the spring feel the same way.

I took a cruise around the web and found sites that advocate spreading your dead at sites sacred to "Indians", because it will get your relative closer to "God". I don't think that god or the Creator, would want one of their creations (clean, pure water), defiled in this manner.

So, if you see stuff like this happening, in Winnemem Territory or anywhere tribes stand humble and reverent, ask the folks with the urns to think about what they are doing. I believe that good old Uncle George or Aunt Sue, would rather be anywhere else then stuck in the spin cycle of someones washing machine.

Government Misdirection and other ailments in Washington

2009-06-28T10:12:00.000-07:00

Those of you who remember all the way back to last year may recall that the State of California adopted in both houses a resolution (AJR 39) which supported the Winnemem Wintu effort to have Congress and the president look into our tribal status and called upon them to correct the mistake of our omission from the list of recognized tribes. The document was sent, from the State here all the way across the country to Washington DC, where it was to be delivered to all of the California legislative representatives and Senators as well as the President, the Secretary of the Interior, the BIA and the Committee on Indian Affairs. Now, that must have cost a lot of stamps and time to get that sent and we are now almost a year into its sending and guess what: No response from anyone, not even a staffer named Joe or Billy or Johnny (anyone of Indian Staffers at least) has sent anything...nothing, zip, nil, Nada.

So, we send letters and emails to the Indian keepers in the District asking: "Hey Chalit..what's up with our papers? Did ya read 'em yet?" To these messages; many sent to folks we helped when they were itty bitty guys and gals, also go unanswered. Hmmm, I says to myself, what gives with this..looking a mirror I still see my mug and looking across the room I see the Chief and all our folks, so I ask, mostly to myself what gives?
The government apparently is way too busy: they have elections, get people in, make promises, and then start campaigning for the next election. All the while misdirecting those of us who count on at least hearing something back, into blind alleys and dead end hallways where no ones lives and no one answers the door. What are they afraid of exactly?

So, we follow the AJR 39 mailing with one to the President of the United States himself: President Obama. Now the letter we sent him was 25 or so pages long with another 60 or so pages of attachments (I may be off a bit on the numbers but trust me - it was a lot).
Now I know, he ain't gonna read it, he may not even see it, but someone should look at it and address the issues it raised. Nothing about filing for recognition, nothing about restoration, it only asked for the government to make good on its promises to our people (all based on their own congressional act in 1941 - the CVP Indian Land Acquisition Act.

Well, let me tell you, it cost us that time to send out all the copies (Senators, Congressmen, Secretaries, assistant Secretaries and such.) Now remember, this was addressed to the President, a guy who all the Indians think walks on water and is the best thing since sliced bread and the folded napkin. He did not respond, not even one of those auto signed letters presidents are famous for (I have them from Bush2, and Nixon), no instead, we get a letter from Lee Fleming, the guy we have been shuttled to more times than the flight crews at Reagan get shuttled to the Holiday Inn. Know what his reply says? He says our petition (which we never filed and we discussed with him about 5 or 6 times now) has a deficiency letter and cannot be acted upon.

The letter, again, was a government to government complaint to the President. As a Sovereign we thought we would at least get a courtesy response from someone other than Mr. Fleming. Misdirection, misinformation and plain old idiocy in the district. If anyone knows anyone in Washington or who knows the new 'Skin admins, let them know that the unreckoned with are still here, we will always be here and our sense of direction will never be messed with by the masters of misdirection in DC.

UPDATE: California, Winnemem Wintu: Prayer Day Ceremony

2009-06-21T16:06:00.000-07:00

The Winnemem Wintu conducted the prayer day ceremony at the village for tribal members to pray for the preservation of our sacred places and to pray for a successful outcome to the lawsuit filed in April regarding harms committed by the government against the tribe and the destruction of sacred places within the McCloud River watershed.

When we entered our prayer house, we found the fire that we had lit prior to starting the War Dance, held in Sacramento in April of this year, almost completely out. Even though it has been tended and just the evening before stoked with wood to carry through the night, the fire was almost gone. We were, as you may imagine crestfallen and concerned that we had caused irreparable harm to the ceremony and our commitment made in 2004, by allowing the fire to die.

We began our effort to resuscitate the fire, and although finding a single, large coal, we were unable to bring life back to this sacred fire. We began to pray in deep humility for forgiveness and for a solution to what we perceived to be an event of great importance. For almost two hours in silent prayer, our Spiritual Leader prayed and gestured to the fire and those of us gathered in the prayer house. The temperature outside was over 90 degrees, but none of the people gathered did not say a word nor did any show any sign of discomfort. I sat, as I always do, on the right side of Caleen as she prayed, smoking our pipe and sending the prayers to the Creator. Finally, after sitting with her eyes closed all the time, Caleen spoke to me in our language, saying “light the fire with your pipe.”

Having just started another bowl, I went to the fire circle and, moving the earth to clear a spot, set down a small nest I made out of cedar bark fibers, stripped from our bark house. Setting this down, I puffed a few times on the pipe, inhaling a great lungful of smoke and gently tapped the contents of the bowl into the nest. Gesturing for Jamie, my nephew to assist me, I then blew the smoke and breath onto the tobacco embers and with Jamie’s added breath saw the nest catch fire and start to blaze. Quickly adding small sticks of manzanita, the fire grew and grew as we added larger and larger pieces, until the fire burned almost 2 feet high toward the smoke hole in the center ceiling of the house.

It was at this time we all noticed that a strong breeze was blowing outside and that it was raining – hard! Quickly putting the pipe down, Jamie, Jared and I went outside and began cutting long pieces of manzanita into fire size chunks and stacking them in the prayer house and in two large caches outside that we covered with tarps to keep dry. We worked about an hour, the rain steadily washing us until we finally had run out of gas and needed to sharpen our chain. I signaled the boys that this was it – the saw stopped, the rain stopped and the sun came out again, taking the temperature back up and causing steam to rise from the sopping ground around us.

What does all this mean? We asked Caleen and she explained that, as she sat there, the fire told her that we had asked for it to burn for sixty days; when we started our quest to war dance and file our lawsuit against the government. Yesterday was the 60^th day since that request of the fire was made. That was why, even though we had a large coal that normally would have caught the twigs and cedar fibers on fire they did not. Caleen was told to have us use the pipe to start this new fire as a new beginning and with our breath, a connection of the people directly to the fire: new fire, new responsibilities but renewed understanding that we do not control the sacred things of our world. We can only ask for prayers and help from the Creator and this new fire is burning for what we asked when we started to go in yesterday: to pray for the preservation of our sacred places and to pray for a successful outcome to the lawsuit filed in April regarding harms committed by the government against the tribe and the destruction of sacred places within the McCloud River watershed, and also to include prayers for those Indigenous Peoples facing violence and the suppression of their voices by governments around the world.

Catching Up and Laying Back

2009-05-26T12:47:00.001-07:00

It has been almost a month since I updated this blog. A month filled with all kinds of trials and tribulations, the war dance in Sacramento, the constant fight to hold ceremonies in our traditional places without interference. You name it and the Winnemem have seen it.

We recently completed the review of the Draft License Application that PG&E filed with the FERC for the re-license of the McCloud Reservoir. This document and the accompanying technical reports was a vast number of pages and information that, unfortunately did not include an accurate portrait of the Winnemem, our sites or the importance of both to the overall intent of the reports purportedly completed to protect and preserve natural and cultural assets. Check out the FERC comments page for our detailed findings regarding this project.

We are still waiting for a response from the government on our lawsuit: I have learned that folks who were allies when they worked in other government agencies are now unable to talk with the tribe about issues affecting sites and habitat because "of the lawsuit". So while we wait for a response, areas continue to be abused, sites endangered and destroyed, and our ability to enjoy our religious freedoms still denied by the government. Updates on the lawsuit will be posted as they occur, but as I said, so far nothing - they are taking their fully allotted time to respond.

The Puberty Ceremony is scheduled for the week of June 4-7 (ending on the full moon). We are hoping this happens without the problems of 2006: drunken people in boats, profanity, naked women showing their bodies to the children on shore etc. The Forest Service has indicated they will not provide any security or additional protection measures for us because, we have not filed for a permit. Oh well. hopefully no one will get injured due to unwarranted interaction with drunken pilgrims coming to see the Indians.

We are trying hard to keep our people healthy, my elder sister-in-law is very sick and we ask that folks send prayers for her (Sarah).

I will have more things in a few days but wanted to update on what we know so far. Thanks to all of you who helped with the war dance logistics and the filing and we look forward to seeing you at the upcoming ceremonies. Travel safe!

Getting it Right when on a deadline

2009-04-29T21:12:00.000-07:00

Bruce Ross, an editor at the Redding Record Searchlight, had this posted on his blog:

Live from the war dance

Monday, April 20, 2009

The Record Searchlight wasn't able to send a reporter down to Sacramento to cover the Winnemen Wintus' "war dance" last night and today's march to the state Capitol (though Dylan Darling caught up with them beforehand).

The Bee, however, dispatched a war-dance correspondent, who got an earful from Mark Franco:

When legislation for Shasta Dam was approved by Congress, it contained a promise to acquire property for the Winnemem to replace the 4,480 acres of tribal and allotment lands that would be flooded.

That promise has not been kept, Mark Franco said, and the government continues to appropriate areas that the tribe considers sacred. The tribe's permit to gather wood from a manzanita grove for ceremonial fires has been rescinded and the grove turned into a campground, he said.

In addition, he said, the Bureau of Land Management has refused to allow continued use of a tribal cemetery.

"So when we bury someone, we are in danger of being arrested," Franco said.

I tried to respond on his page with the following but could not get their computer to let me log on so I will put my reply here:

The "war dance correspondent" got some of the information wrong: The permit was not to gather wood (the USFS destroyed the manzanita grove in violation of an agreement not to cut that area) The permit was one to use our old roundhouse site for open ceremony, we held the ceremony in secret until the passage of the American Indian Religious Freedoms Act in 1978 - we got the permit in 1979. That permit was revoked, no new permit issued and the area is under consideration as a FS campground - we are in opposition to this.

The BLM mention pertains to their policy of not allowing burials on "their lands". Since the tribal cemetery is now under BLM control, rather than held by the BIA, burials are not allowed. Until these issues are resolved (hence the lawsuit) we do stand to be arrested for violating federal law by burying in the active cemetery.
The Bee did a good job in the initial report but the way it comes across here, makes these very real issues seem like a minor complaint by a petulant child when in fact it is a wakeup call for all of us that our individual rights and the freedoms we enjoy are being eroded by a government too big to worry about the non-rich, non-majority people of this land. I really wish the Searchlight could have sent Dylan Darling to cover this event; he had a lot of the information right in his initial report filed Sunday the 19th.

I genuinely like the Blog items on the RS web page. Mr. Ross has covered a lot of very important issues in a humorous and honest manner. I hope he continues his work. I just want to make sure that when we are quoted (in this case not by Mr. Ross but by Sacramento Bee) that the quotation is accurate. I am not a journalist by any means, my job with the tribe is to report to the people, accurately, what leadership wants told. Hopefully, just as I tell the students who come to our village in search of information for their targeted degrees, they will get it right.

No offense to the reporters who must cover stories at the drop of a hat; yours is not an easy job by any means and the information that you provide is needed now more than ever.

Anyway, we will have more to say about the lawsuit when the government has had a chance to reply; until then read your newspaper, express your opinion and make a difference in the world - just do it right.

War Dance in Sacramento - Final Event Update 17 April 2009

2009-04-11T15:10:00.000-07:00

Michael Preston
(530) 209-1235 cell

*** Media Advisory ***

Tribal War Dance and March Next Steps in Winnemem Wintu Tribe’s Journey to Justice Ceremonies Initiate Federal Lawsuit on behalf of Tribe.

Who: The Winnemem Wintu Tribe, a traditional California Tribe. The Winnemem have been fighting for years to sustain their culture and address generations of broken promises by the federal government.

What: War Dance, march and press conference from Sacramento River to the State Capitol..
Winnemem war dancers and tribal leaders will perform a traditional ceremonial War Dance next to the Sacramento River and will then march to the State Capitol building. The march and War Dance initiate the federal lawsuit the Tribe is filing, asking for compensation for damages done by federal land management policies, including the construction of the Shasta Dam.

Schedule of events:

Sunday, April 19th: 6:00pm War Dance begins at 1501 Northgate Blvd. Camp Pollock

Monday, April 20th: Ceremony continues on from the night before followed by address by Tribal leaders at Camp Pollock.

10:00 AM March from Old Sacramento to Capitol Building

12:00 to 1:00 PM Press Conference with Tribal leaders and community members State Capitol Location 27 West side of capitol building

More Information
The Winnemem Wintu Tribe is filing a lawsuit against Department of The Interior; Department of Agriculture; United States Forest Service; Bureau of Reclamation; Bureau of Indian Affairs; Bureau of Land Management; Ken Salazar, Secretary of The Interior; Assistant Secretary for Water and Science; Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks in The Department of Agriculture; and Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture asking for redress for decades of injustices and harm related to federal land management policies which have destroyed Winnemem cultural practices and sacred places.
The Winnemem began a journey to justice in 2004 with a War Dance at Shasta Dam. Today we continue that journey with another War Dance and this lawsuit. Our people are a traditional people, steeped in our culture and traditional lifeways, who have continued our cultural practices throughout the written history of the state of California. With this lawsuit and War Dance, we continue our journey to ensure our basic quality of life and freedom to maintain our traditions and culture.

Winnemem to file lawsuit asking redress for harms

2009-04-04T11:56:00.000-07:00

ADVISORY

After many years of blood, sweat and tears, the Winnemem Wintu Tribe is finally taking to Federal Court, their case regarding the failure of the United State government to live up to the obligations and promises made through the 1941 Central Valley Project – Indian Land Acquisition Act.

We will be filing a complaint in Federal Court (Eastern District in Sacramento) on April 20, 2009. We are asking all of our tribal relatives who are able to send a delegation to Sacramento to show support for us in this effort. As you are all aware, we are limited in funds and could use your financial assistance if you are able to help us house, transport, feed and/or fuel vehicles for tribal members and other folks who come to walk to the court with us.

Any and all assistance is helpful and we appreciate your generosity as well as your good wishes on this major step forward we are taking.

Once we have secured the okay of the Miwok people (in whose land the court sits) to dance and the location of the area they feel is suitable for this use, we will have a major press release and an additional Tribal Advisory sent to you all.

This issue is not one that was easy to reach but we have seen our lands damaged almost beyond repair; the waters polluted and the salmon stranded and lost to our home streams: now is the time for us to act, and we have, continuing the efforts begun in 2004 with our War Dance on Shasta Dam!

We welcome all to join with us!

The information below is our scheduled activities leading up to the target date of the 20th:

April 17th we go to Universe Rock to pray for papers
April 18th we will be in the village at fire, we will get ready to travel.
April 19th we will go to Sacramento down by Old Sac by the river, set the drum and fire and dance in the evening.
April 20th we will war dance in the morning, walk to the Capitol for media event at 12 noon, and file the complaint by 2:30pm

This is the day in history that we have been praying for. Our complaint is not about recognition, but about the harms caused by the BIA, BLM, BOR, USFS, Dept of Agriculture, and Dept. of Interior for not upholding the law and promises by the US.

Contact the tribe if you can help out or come to support. Additional press notifications are forthcoming so stay tuned!

Western Regional Partnership

2009-04-04T11:42:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to represent the Tribe at the 2009 WRP meeting in Reno Nevada this past week. I suggest to all tribal people and those from the Environmental Justice movement to look into this partnership.
The members of the partnership represent a vast coalition of Department of Defense units, all of whom, in my opinion, are working to find solutions to problems associated with DOD installations around the 5 states of the western region.
Issues under examination include:GIS, Energy, Land Use, Wildlife Corridors/critical habitat and threatened and endangered species, Border issues and disaster preparedness. Each of these areas involve not only the non natives of this land but Tribal areas as well.
The days spent at this event were extremely beneficial to me as a tribal representative: they gave a human connection to what I have always perceived to be an impersonal group of agencies.
I applaud the people who attended for their openness in discussion of issues of tribal sensitivity as well as their openness to the issues of tribal people. My colleagues from the Water Commission: Atta Stevenson and Randy Yonemura, look forward to continuing the conversations started with the admirals, generals and leaders of the agencies who attended. I have committed to assisting this partnership in whatever way I can to assist these folks in planning for the changes that we tribal people have been saying were coming.
Check out the website of the partnership if you have a chance:www.wrpinfo.org; I think you will be surprised at what we are working on and hope that you will open your minds to the possible assistance tribal folks now have the chance to provide to protect our sacred lands and our mother earth.

Thinking of Stuff

2009-03-29T06:29:00.000-07:00

The Tribe has been busy; meaning that the Boss and I have been on the run working on protecting what's left of the cultural places from the greedy and uncaring. We have garnered a lot of support for this effort and we are truly grateful. Anyway, as I was sitting here this morning, thinking about things other than the workings of the government and those private companies that only see monetary profit and loss (not any other profit and loss like: what can be gained sitting near the bank of a clear, cold stream or river and what the effect of the loss is to our collective souls).

So, as I was saying, I got to thinking about stuff and looked at a story I had written awhile back and I thought, today, I would share another side of myself. Before putting it down here though, I just want to thank all of the people who brought me to the place where I feel I can share: Cal, Memsy, and my very close friends. Thank you and enjoy.

The Old Ones

I observed the old ones standing along the side of the road watching as we picked up their relation and carried him away. Standing, silently observing what we did, watching each step we took as if ready to correct us for any mistakes we may have made. They stood, shoulders stooped from the wait of their years it seemed; stooped over looking to the world around as if sad men at a sad time.

Their relation had been killed on the road, hit by a car and left behind, uncared for, un-grieved and uncovered as the world rode by. We arrived a few hours after he had been killed, pulling over to the side of the freeway, looking carefully and stepping up to do what was only right. While we worked the two old ones stood, watching us.

I think to this day, that I heard them speak to each other in a soft, almost lyrical way; a way that I had not heard in a long time; a way that is almost forgotten today. They spoke in a good way, a way that leant much solace to those around and to the spirit of the one who had died.

As I sit now, remembering and hearing them through my mind’s ears, writing down their words, a tear comes to my eyes like hot water dripping from the leaky sink in my small kitchen. They spoke to me out there on the side of the road. Their message was to others but I know in my heart that they were telling me their story.

“He was a good one, that fellow over there”, the first said. “He was careless” the other replied. “How can you say that? Look at him dead, hit by a car that ran away. Ran away like a thief.” “I remember him” said the other. “He never really paid attention to anything around him, he never listened to anyone and he sure wasn’t good for anything1!” “How can you say that? He was our relation. If he failed at his life then we are as much to blame for his passing as the one who hit him!” “Think of this” the older one said. I remember all of this and remember too thinking how sad it was to watch people arguing in the presence of death.

“Am I to blame for all of this” answered the other. “No, not all of this but we are all responsible for some of this”. The older one continued, “We had an obligation as relatives to help steer this young one in a good direction, to show by example, how to live in a community: how to be supportive, productive and how to walk within the confines of this world. We should have spent more time and energy talking with this young one, at least as much time as we spent talking about him. That would have made a difference”. Saying this, the older one flew off to the west, the sun showing brightly on his wings as he banked slowly and look back at me and the other and the one gone on the ground below.

Even now I wonder why I was allowed into this private world where these two egrets talked about the one killed by the car. Perhaps I need to examine how I reach out to the young men around me; look at the way I help them or don’t help them as the case may be. I think that we can influence people in so many ways either negatively or positively in such subtle ways: looks, a gesture, our body posture, all of these tell such loud stories. When I think of that egret lying in the road I think of our young men who unfortunately also sometimes end up lying in the center of the road without a hand to help them up or a hand to put them away.

A good friend of mine is like that older egret. He has a way about him that I admire and wish I could emulate. He cares for all of his relations without reservation and is able to share the feelings that I keep locked away until I am in a private place where only I can see them emerge.

A Tribal Response to the Obama Principles For Stronger Tribal Communities

2009-03-18T12:05:00.000-07:00

The Winnemem Wintu Tribe has watched presidential campaigns and candidates with a wary eye for over 150 years. We have watched and wondered what other people make of the campaign promises, the truths, half-truths and outright lies that are made in order to be chosen over another candidate. Through the years we have observed, candidates have generally promised to “remove the Indian problem” from the states and territories: promises that were, unfortunately kept, as evidenced by the loss of tribal lands and movement of tribal peoples from their homes on rivers and fertile plains to barren and desolate stretches of land unfit for people to live and foreign in composition to the lifestyles once enjoyed. Now, following the election of Barack Obama, we see and hear another set of promises made regarding tribal people and documented in his principles on Native Americans “BARACK OBAMA'S PRINCIPLES FOR STRONGER TRIBAL COMMUNITIES.”

There were many issues discussed in his position paper on line at http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/firstamissues : health care, education, economic and infrastructure development, women issues, veterans, drugs and hunting and fishing rights, but I want to address two of the issues we feel are most important to our tribe and to all of the “un-reckoned with” (or if you prefer “unrecognized”) tribes in California and across the land: SOVEREIGNTY AND TRIBAL-FEDERAL RELATIONS and Religious Freedom and Cultural Protection. For those tribes that still live within their tribal lands and are fighting for their protection as well as the ability to continue cultural practices in danger of eminent loss, these two principles are key to their (and our) survival.

“Perhaps more than anyone else, the Native American community faces huge challenges that have been ignored by Washington for too long. It is time to empower Native Americans in the development of the national policy agenda.” Barack Obama

This first quotation deserves a response. The Winnemem (as well as others) have made treaties and been the “beneficiaries” of government congressional actions since first contact yet in many cases, these treaties and agreements have been ignored for too long. How are we to trust the government when they do not live up to their “bargains”? The treaties ceded away vast tracts of land in exchange for places to live (reservations). In California, as we all know, the treaties were not ratified and the agreements made not lived up to: with the exception of taking the ceded lands. With this initial statement made by the President, should we not expect a fair hearing of concerns from those who were never listened to after the government began establishing homeless Indian land bases and then ignoring those who signed the agreements but were not moved to those said homeless lands?

"We've got to make sure we are not just having a BIA that is dealing with the various Native American tribes; we've got to have the President of the United States meeting on a regular basis with the Native American leadership and ensuring relationships of dignity and respect."
--Barack Obama, Elko, NV, January 18, 2008

Here too, we need to evaluate what is being proposed: the BIA does not seem to have the interest of all native people’s at heart. The BIA continues, it seems, to follow still the practices of Mr. Pratt, who wanted to “kill the Indian to save the man.” They made an internal decision in the 1980’s to allow tribes the sovereign right to determine membership criteria (outside the determination made in the Snyder Act) and then they decided who or what constituted a “tribe”. Webster defines “tribe” as: a group of persons or clans descended from a common ancestor and living under a leader or chief. The BIA decision ignores the fact that there are many tribes who did not follow the imposed IRA formula which calls for tribes to elect leadership and follow the United States model of government. By ignoring the traditional tribes who continue to live in their old ways and follow their own rules of government, the United States has fallen into the same mode of operation of those nations that they so quickly go to war with for doing the same thing. The Winnemem Wintu have repeatedly asked for direct consultation with the president and leadership staff of numerous administrations, assigned to work with tribal governments. These requests have gone unanswered and when we have asked those of the Congressional level this same question, we have been redirected back to the BIA who then, ignore our previous relationship with the government and send us back to the office of Federal acknowledgment, where we must then, much like a dog in an AKC competition prove our pedigree.

BARACK OBAMA’S PRINCIPLES FOR STRONGER TRIBAL COMMUNITIES

SOVEREIGNTY, TRIBAL-FEDERAL RELATIONS AND THE TRUST RESPONSIBILITY
Honoring the Trust Responsibility: Barack Obama recognizes that honoring the government-to-government relationship requires fulfillment of the United States’ trust responsibility to tribes and individual Indians. More specifically, Obama is committed to meaningful reform of the broken system that manages and administers the trust lands and other trust assets belonging to tribes and individual Indians. Further, he is committed to resolving equitably with both tribes and individual Indians litigation resulting from the past failures in the administration and accounting of their trust assets.

We hope that this is indeed the case with the new administration: that the government will look into the specifics of tribal and individual Indian cases without merely shifting the burden of proof from the government to the Indians. In our case, we are still waiting for the government to live up to its obligations related to the Indian Land acquisition act of 1941 that took Winnemem land and flooded it with the waters of Shasta Lake. The system is indeed broken; take a look at the case of the California Valley Miwok and how the BIA has played the divide and conquer card, siding with a faction who apparently do not represent the people who dealt with the government for years and then stripped the government they had agreements with of their funding and ability to serve their people. (Check out their website www.californiavalleymiwoktribe.us )

We believe that the issues that stand before the courts on trust mismanagement and the practice of forced assimilation (yes that is still happening, under the guise of economic development)and the issues of federal acknowledgment need to be examined by a panel of reviewers who are schooled in the area of ethnographic study as well as historic documentation – taking out the component of fear that is instilled in the tribal folks working for the agencies responsible for their relatives that “more Indians entering the pool means less money for those already swimming.” If the President is serious about honoring the trust responsibility, then there needs to be adequate funding to care for the people, their health, education and housing needs. There needs to be adequate funds allocated to make good on those promises made but not fulfilled that people like the Winnemem and other nations still wait for, and their needs to be a real effort to rehabilitate Indian Affairs to raise it to a cabinet level position on its own, away from Interior where all the other “natural wonders” are served. We are people, not things and deserve to be treated as sovereign peers of this country.

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND CULTURAL PROTECTION
Cultural Rights and Sacred Places Protection: Native American sacred places and site-specific ceremonies are under threat from development, pollution, and vandalism. Barack Obama supports legal protections for sacred places and cultural traditions, including Native ancestors’ burial grounds and churches.

This one is near and dear to the Winnemem as we are a Traditional people who still carry out our ceremonies and responsibilities laid for us by the creator. This statement by the President calls for a reevaluation of the policies of the major government Bureaus and agencies (BLM, US Forest Service and Bureau of Reclamation) to change the mindset that posits the idea that to allow for closure of sacred places and those used for ceremony, violates the commerce clause (in some manner) and the establishment clause of the constitution. These clauses talk of establishing religions but Tribal people are not establishing a religion by practicing their cultural connection to their creator, rather they are exercising their right to worship, as any other religious follower would; we have often stated that to allow anyone to access our (meaning all tribal people’s) sacred sites in whatever manner they choose would be like us going into an established religions house of worship and building a fire in the alter area because “that’s the way we pray.”

Additionally, the protection of grave areas, and the ability to request the return of remains taken for “examination”, some of which have been in museum and educational facility control for better that 100 years, would fit in with the President’s apparent intent to protect our ancestors. Many of us believe that we must return those remains to the earth for the protection of the departed’s spirit and for that of those who remain here until we join them again in the next world.

Universities and others seem to think that they will find some special meaning in the bones and related grave goods/funerary items, which have somehow escaped them since they were first dug up. By not acknowledging the connection of the historic/traditional tribal people, many of whom in California, at least, who are unrecognized and with no voice in government is classism and racism at its worst. We would hope that the President would recognize this; give some power back to those of us who are disenfranchised and allow us to regain our legacy from the people who “study” for profit and let us close the circles that have been broken.

We will continue to watch what happens with the President’s plan and, since he seems to be a man of heart, we will be patient. Those who advise him, we hope, will look at all aspects of all tribal arguments before “rubber stamping” opinions that have now, long been proven to be faulty.

There are more aspects of the President’s plan that will be addressed by those more skilled at analysis than me, but I hope that whoever reviews opinions for the President will share this humble statement and that we, the tribal people, the first nations of this land, have a real opportunity for change and growth and that the legacy of the past be changed for the future generations of us all.

Rocky Point Charter School

2009-02-24T09:38:00.000-08:00

I recently had the opportunity to talk with the students in Mrs. Hobbs combined fifth through eighth grade classes at the Rocky Point Charter School, located in Redding California. I have always been an advocate of charter education and found the experience of talking with these children, to be a highlight of the work that I do on behalf of the tribe.

Mrs. Hobbs and the staff administration of the school are to be congratulated on the innovative approach that they are taking it educating the children of Shasta County. During the time that I was on campus, which was actually more than an hour longer than I intended to be there, I found that the teaching practicum, classroom management styles, and the general behavior of the children was better than in any of the other schools that I have had the opportunity to work with. This is not to say, but the children and staff of the public schools are lacking in the ability to learn and to accept new ideas, only that the Rocky point school has made a point of including their children, as they say, as members of the "crew" that propels their ship of education.

During my presentation , the students listened attentively and I could see as they listened they were formulating questions based on information they were just then hearing, and combining that information with what they had studied prior to my arrival. The students asked questions of the caliber of those asked by students I have spoken before in universities and colleges around the country.

After we have completed our visit, students who had come into the presentation not truly understanding the effect of damming rivers, flooding traditional homelands of tribal people, or even realizing that there were other Wintu bands who still exist in Shasta County besides those of the rancheria, were heard saying that they had formed updated opinions on the topics discussed and were looking forward to seeing the areas we talked about to actually see the effect of Shasta Dam on those places .

For those of you in Shasta County looking for quality education for your children, let me wholeheartedly recommend that you look into the Rocky Point Charter School as an alternative educational experience for your children.

I look forward to visiting the school again and appreciate the questions, the hospitality, and most importantly, the children of Mrs. Hobbs' class.

Pacific Gas & Electric and the Winnemem Wintu tribe

2009-02-22T12:06:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have been following the actions that the Winnemem Wintu have been involved in over the last few years, you may remember that PG&E is in the process of renewing their hydroelectric license through FERC for the McCloud River reservoir. The tribe has been involved in negotiations with PG&E and in consultation involving the U.S. Forest Service, Sierra Pacific Industries, Hearst Corp., Cal Trout and others who are listed as "interested parties". During the initial stages of the consultation on this project, PG&E, was not forthcoming in all of the details and in all of the actions that would be involved in completing the FERC application. namely they did not divulge at this project would include additional hydroelectric generator station on the existing McCloud reservoir, nor did they divulge that an additional 14 miles of transmission line, either above ground or below, would be needed for the project. They also did not divulge any information regarding appurtenant roadwork, or other construction, that would be needed for the installation of these new components. Initial studies that had begun, did not include this information, and so the tribe feels that the studies that have been undertaken are incomplete and flawed at this stage of the process. Additionally you may remember that the tribe, while in meetings that discussed waterflow, riparian habitat, geologic and hydrologic concerns, stated our questions regarding these activities and were advised that those issues were better served in meetings that dealt strictly with cultural issues.

Seeing the difficulties that the tribe would be faced with, we asked at the beginning of the process, for the tribe to enter into an MOU that would stipulate certain requirements, rights and responsibilities to be undertaken by both parties. The tribe also asked that an ethnographer of our choosing, be hired to complete the ethnographic study on behalf of the tribe. All of this began almost a year ago in 2008. By the time PG&E and the tribe completed the paperwork required, we were almost into the beginning of winter. Now, just imagine,how difficult it is, to conduct field investigations and fieldwork in the snow, rain, and mud of the Winter. It is now February 2009, our ethnographer, Shelley Davis-King, has been hard at work trying to cram into a very short period of time, almost one year of fieldwork. I must commend Shelley, for her hard work and dedication to this project. She has done, in a short period of time, what personnel from the Forest Service, Bureau of Reclamation, and other agencies that we have become involved with, have failed to do in much greater periods of time. Our tribe is extremely grateful, and recommend without hesitation, Shelley Davis-King as a person of integrity, and great understanding of tribal mores and procedures so needed by those who engage in the type of work that she does, but who do not measure up to the standards that she has set.

So what does all this have to do with the Winnemem and PG&E you might be asking yourself. As part of the contract awarded to Ms.Davis-King, money has been provided as stipends for informants who have information pertinent to tribal areas of concern within the area of potential effect of this project that PG&E is working on. Since it is now winter, the tribes' use of electricity to heat the homes of our elders and those of our members who are ill, has caused an increase in our overall consumption. The tribe now faces PG&E bills that run from approximately $1400 to $3000 each month. I was thinking about this the other day as I was paying the bills, and I realized that with all of the money that it takes to travel to meetings, time away from working on the other affairs of the tribe, and the mental wear and tear of dealing with a large corporation concerned only with making money and, apparently destroying the pristine nature of the upper McCloud River, that even with the money our tribal people obtain from working on the FERC licensing, the Winnemem Wintu tribe loses approximately $2500 a month.

It seems as though we are beating our heads against a hydroelectric dam and that when the new generators are installed, the new power lines are placed through our tribal territory, and the efforts of our ethnographers and tribal people are finally written down, we will have done all of this work for PG&E only for the reason that they need to check a box that says " we consulted with the Indians", "we heard their concerns, but we went ahead with the project anyway".

I don't know about you, but I think it's time that tribal people and those who are concerned about protecting the fisheries and the water flows of the rivers in northern California, stand up and say enough is enough. Big corporations need to better respond to the concerns of tribal people and to those who are dedicated to protecting the environment and the ecology of northern California and not just provide lip service or a mere "check the box" action to satisfy an even larger federal bureaucracy.

We are continuing to document our tribal history with Shelley Davis-King, and we are continuing to have representatives at meetings with PG&E and the other players in the McCloud Pit re-FERC, but our patience and our goodwill are flagging. We believe that people should be open and transparent at the beginning of projects, and not add changes or additions that are not considered during the initial study phases, and not try to wear down the participants by holding meetings in far off locations, where most of the participants are paid employees and where tribal people must attend using their own limited funds.

I'm sure I'll have more to say about this subject later on in the week, and I know that I have been remiss in posting our thoughts and happenings of the Winnemem Wintu on this blog, but I have been chasing down and documenting sites on the upper river in the rain, and the snow.

One final entry on the inauguration and transition for President Barack Obama.

2009-01-19T22:13:00.000-08:00

I have listened to many newscasts on the transition from President Bush to president Obama in the last several weeks and, particularly today, and cannot help but wonder when will this country see all of America's people: the Native American, Asian American, African American, Mexican American, white American, and all those who chose this country as a place to come to as a refuge from the lands that treated them poorly and did not give them the opportunities that they find here

I'm happy that Barack Obama was elected to be the President of the United States. As has been pointed out all day long, he is the first black American to hold that office, but the thing that strikes me the most is that these commentators and people from all different walks of life: those who work in politics, those who work in the news, those who hold blue-collar and white-collar jobs, hold this election up as being the turning point in American history. The turning point where America recognizes its “minority populations" and has recognized the black American experience as being the benchmark for righting the wrongs of the past 300 years.

All of the wrongs that were pointed out on television today: the murder of innocent children, the beatings, lynching of people whose only crime was being the wrong skin color, the segregation of people from using water fountains, riding on public transportation, being able to vote, were not unfortunately, only perpetrated against the African-American. Those who studied history and those of us whose history is being studied remember that our relatives to, were victims of genocide, of separation from family, sent to boarding schools where our elders, mothers and fathers were beaten for speaking their own language. This is not to diminish in any way the tragedy of the black experience in America, nor is it to diminish the fact that the United States now has a black man as its president. It is only to point out that the American Indian, the first people of this country, are still waiting for a benchmark to be established that shows that we also, have reached a turning point with our relations between our tribes in the United States government.

Today we celebrated the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, another great American hero taken from the people way too soon. His famous "dream speech"has been evoked by many of the speakers today in discussing the election of President Obama, some even going so far as to say that this was the dream of Dr. King. I would hope that the new president combines that dream with his own and then listens to the dreams of those of us who carry the dreams and hopes for the future for our tribal people.

I will watch the inauguration of Barack Obama with a sense of wonder, with a prayer that all things go well for our newly elected president, and with the hope that one day, America will come full circle and correct the wrongs of the past, however many years it will be, and we may all witness a true healing of the land that is now America, when an American Indian is sworn in as president of the United States.

Transitions

2009-01-15T12:16:00.000-08:00

Since 1851, the United States has had 31 Presidents and the State of California has had 37 Governors . Also,since 1851, the Winnemem Wintu tribe has had 5 leaders. So I sit here wondering during this time of transition just how will this new president be able to improve on what has been done by the previous 31.

As those of you have read this blog may understand, the state of California recently passed a joint resolution calling for United States government to restore recognition to our people. Since that time I've been informed by assembly member Jared Huffman's staff that the resolution had indeed been sent to Washington DC for action.

I realize that the United States government has many important things happening within its sphere of influence. Just as we have been told over and over and over again, Congress is busy, the president is busy and matters of state take precedent over the concerns of unrecognized Tribes.

So now were in transition once again, but whose transition is it really? Is a transition from a previous status quo whereby the United States government is busy working on the problems of the world without really looking at the problems at home? Is it a transition from one do-nothing government to another do-nothing government? Or is this going to be a transition from a government that has too long ignored the plight of its own people - into a government that cares for the people at home first.

The Winnemem Wintu continue our life way and traditional ceremonies and teaching just as we have since Millard Fillmore was president and long before that; we now have Barack Obama as president and we will continue our life way and traditional ceremonies. The only problem is that we are facing too many obstacles and too many enemies are approaching our Gates. As I sit writing this blog, I have before me on my desk approximately 30 timber harvest plans, requests for consultation, and notifications of discontinuance of services. As I wrote about in last week's blog entries we just had another funeral. We have no government support, we have no ready income, and so it makes it difficult even to bury our dead. As I also wrote in previous blog entries we are fighting with PG&E over the increase of hydropower generation at the McCloud reservoir dam. I'm looking at a PG&E bill for $2400. I wonder how these big companies sleep knowing that the people that they are doing injustice to by day, worry about how they're going to pay the bills to those same people by night.

So as we see it in the transition millions of dollars being spent to celebrate president Obama's inauguration, I can't help but wonder how will this transition actually help the tribal people of the United States. Estimates from the news pundits show that the inauguration itself will cost upwards of $100 million and more: if the Winnemem Wintu had but only 1% of that amount of money we could keep our village running for a full year or better. With only a half a percent of that money we could ensure that everyone on our village had food and electricity for one year. I guess transition is just expensive.

When our current leader took over for the late leader Florence, we received assistance from our sister and her husband in Oregon, we used up our Social Security and disability monies to pay for the funeral and the dinner for those who came to honor our dead and we received letters of condolence from one of our state senators and one of our local assembly members but we didn't receive any money for a transition. I don't know maybe I'm just tired, tired of watching people transition, but never really changing.

I hope that the new administration looks at California Indian issues and Indian issues all around the United States with a different eye. And I hope too that those people who are placed in the positions of power running departments and agencies and bureaus and cabinet seats are able to transition from what they were before into new people, better people, whose job it is to look out for all of those in the United States. For all of those who have become disenfranchised and disenchanted with the transitions we have seen.

We know that things can only get better, because believe me they can't really get any worse.
President Obama, if your people are watching things with your names attached, look for the AJR 39 information on behalf of the Winnemem Wintu and lets see if there really will be a new change and a transition that will actually transcend.

One year ends; another begins

2009-01-04T12:17:00.000-08:00

Well another use New Year is here. As I sit in my office, a great sense of sadness fills my heart.
Over the past year the Winnemem Wintu lost two very important people to our village structure: my mother Mary Franco passed away in September and my right-hand man Randy Ward passed away on January 2.

The Christmas holiday was not all that Christmas usually is. My family and I were still grieving for the loss of my mother and worrying about Randy. And so what normally is a happy time here in the village was much more subdued and introspective. Our holy people who carry our spiritual medicines and spiritual life way, point out that much of the suffering and sadness that we feel is due to the constant worry and constant struggle to restore the status of the Winnemem Wintu so that we can have access to adequate medical and social programs that are so desperately needed by our folks here village.

I say these things not to elicit any sympathy for those of you who may read this but to merely point out the fact: without adequate health care and with the constant worry of trying to provide for people who have nothing, we are unable to do the things the creator had set for us in carrying the needs of these folks. Had we been able to completely apply all of our energies to helping our folks say healthy as opposed to running from one fire to another that are set by the government trying to put them out in order to save the cultural life way of our people we would've been able to make sure that medicines that needed to be prepared and taken were in fact prepared properly and taken and taken as they are supposed to be.

Again as I sit here looking out over the village still feeling the sadness of his recent loss and waiting for the wake and funeral that will be coming later this week I'm trying to reflect on what good has come to the Winnemem Wintu over this past year. It's hard to pick out the good because you see it seems that for every one step forward the tribe makes were pushed back two.
During 2008 the Winnemem Wintu were able to make contact and work with law firm of Reed Smith. This law firm has done more for our tribe in the short period of time that we work together at all of the other law firms that volunteered to help us have done over the past 15 years. That's saying a lot because the issues that any law firm that wishes to help us with are so complex and intertwined that to separate them is almost impossible. But the folks at Reed Smith have been able to distill the issues that we face down to their most basic common denominator and that is that the Winnemem Wintu have suffered great harms at the hands of the federal government and its agencies and agents. And so, we are preparing an answer to the years of abuse and will soon the able to call the government into court to explain their actions and interactions which have over the years cause such great harm.

Also during 2008, Assembly Member Jared Huffman,from Marin County, looked at the issue of the Winnemem Wintu and the harms that were caused on the McCloud River and, taking a great political risk, carried forward Assembly Joint Resolution 39, a resolution calling for the restoration of the Winnemem Wintu tribal status. This resolution finally passed through the California state legislature and Senate and was to be sent to the President of the United States the California Congressional delegation the department of interior and the Bureau of Indian affairs for their consideration and action. As I said, for every one step forward there seems to be two steps backwards and so we are unsure if the resolution made it to those people because we just had an election and a new president coming in, new heads to different departments, and so we need to ensure that the resolution is read by President Obama and by those who will be responsible for the department of interior and Bureau of Indian affairs.

We have also been very fortunate to have when working with us a group of dedicated activists from the state of Oregon who has seen what the Winnemem Wintu tribe have gone through and have committed to helping us getting our message across and so they are working on sending letters signing petitions, and contacting people in positions of power, to help our poor tribe. For those people we are so grateful and so appreciative of the efforts.

I sit here and wonder what tribal people must think: those tribes who have been able to benefit from their casinos, from government assistance, and to their own hard work. I wonder what they think of the efforts of those of us who have sacrificed for what they now benefit from when they see things like this blog or see the efforts of other tribal people in the state of California, for example, to continue a culture that so many have forgotten.

Let's all pray for a better New Year; that our tribal people will live and that all our dreams will be fulfilled and we can be proud of who we are a tribal people.

California Budget Woes

2008-12-19T12:56:00.000-08:00

Just the other day the legislature moved a budget to the governor to sign, hopefully ending the budget crises/stalemate here in California. About 10 minutes after getting this document the governor said in a press conference that he could not sign the budget because of the tax burden it placed on the people of the state and, oh how unfair that would be.

I listened to this report and couldn't help but think about the compacts approved by the voters in November that affected the casino tribes signing the compacts and the other tribes who may want to renew or enter the compact process and how that proposition series (something like 94-98?) changed the revenue share from the casinos adding millions to the state general fund.

You know, ever since I heard the governor call for California Indian to "pay their fair share", it irritates the heck out of me to hear them now lament the burden that will be placed on the citizens of this state.

They should never have passed Prop 13 in the 1970's (a death knell to county governments that is now showing through) and the repeal of the vehicle license fee. Listen, I like having money (I don't have any but still pay taxes), I appreciate the social services that are available to folks (we don't get them because of our status as unrecognized people) but wish government leaders would stop saying that Indians (read California Native Tribal people) need to pay their share: we did; with un-ratified treaties that ceded away vast tracks of this state, with every sacred site lost to a developer or local government who refuse to discuss the impact to our living cultures and whenever the federal government tramples our Indigenous Human rights.

Again, just a thought as we move toward a new administration in DC and hopefully a paradigm shift in our state and local governments that will allow for open and truthful dialog regarding the definition of "fair".

Help the Winnemem Wintu - print and get signatures on this petition!

2008-12-19T12:42:00.000-08:00

I was wondering about petitions and their value to people who need the government to act in a certain way. The Winnemem have tried many approaches to reach officials in government departments and bureaus that daily impact our lifeway and the environment we have been set here to protect. Thus far our pleas for assistance and justice have fallen on deaf ears (with the notable exception of Marin, California Assemblyman Jared Huffman who sponsored AJR 39 - the resolution asking the feds to restore our status as a sovereign nation).

Anyway, this California resolution was to be sent to the President, Congress and others for action. To this date we have not heard if it was sent or if it was received. I'm checking on this as you read this. My point, however, is this: would California Senators Feinstein and Boxer respond to an influx of letters calling for action or a number of petitions calling for them to follow the lead of their home states legislature and allow our restoration? Since neither of these two Senators will actually meet with us face to face, despite numerous requests and our travel to their offices in Sacramento, San Francisco and Washington DC, I wonder if this approach will wipe the sleep from their eyes so they can see us as we are, not as their aides and staffers portray us as being.

Okay, with all that, I have pasted (as I am new to this blogthing) a petition for your approval. If you can, print it, sign it with all your friends and send it off to Washington DC. Oh, and if you do, let me know so I can see if this works.

To Senator Diane Feinstein

Senator Barbara Boxer

We the undersigned support the Winnemem Wintu struggle for justice. The California Legislature passed AJR 39, a joint resolution memorializing Congress to restore recognition to the Winnemem Wintu Tribe. The next step to correct an historic wrong now goes to the Federal level. We ask that you, as Senators representing California, sponsor and support a bill for the restoration of the Winnemem Wintu tribe. Change the message relayed in 1852 which refused to honor the treaty this tribe signed in “peace and friendship” by restoring the basic human rights they have been fighting for over the past 156 years.

NAME (PRINTED) SIGNATURE ADDRESS

New Picks for Obama Cabinet

2008-12-17T12:01:00.000-08:00

Well, it looks like things are supposed to be different in the new White house and government...
Same old faces in some areas, new faces but old stories in others so I will have to wait to see if things improve for the Winnemem or any other historic/traditional tribe in this country.

The new Secretary of the Interior I hope heard the President-elect say that they are looking to live up to the treaties made with the tribes of this country - I hope they keep their eyes open to the case of California where our treaties were signed but not ratified...so much for deals made "in peace and friendship!"

Anyone reading this who has looked at the Winnemem situation, I ask you to help us contact the new players and present a letter or petition of support for the restoration of our tribal status as well as the treaty rights we were denied and the benefits of governmental acts which took our land for the flooding of Lake Shasta and for which we still wait.

The new Obama government has the opportunity to rectify a century of dishonor to my tribal people and provide for completion and obeying of the country's laws that everyone else must obey but those in power often fail to. Live up to the requirements of the Central Valley Indian Land Acquisition act (55stat612)...give us our land, the funds to rebuild and protection of our cemetery!

Just a few cents worth on this cold day in Tuiimyalli.

PGE and Cloud Seeding

2008-12-10T09:13:00.000-08:00

PG&E and Cloud Seeding - What in the world are these people thinking.
PG&E, a n energy "producing" company that we have utilizing our tribal territory, is planning on increasing its "rain enhancement" program on the slopes of Mt Shasta. Using silver iodide (in our opinion a toxic substance) they hope to "enhance" the Creator's ability to make it rain. While this may appear on the surface to be a good thing - more rain in an area that is in the middle of a drought is good - using toxic chemicals that have already been found leaching into the ground water and into the fish relatives around Lake Almanor - is not!
Folks, take a look at this issue. Investigate what this company is planning and join us in protesting and hopefully stopping this madness before it is too late.
The Winnemem would love to see more water - flowing freely - in the rivers and streams but we cannot stand by and watch the water we have become toxic for the two legged or our relations who can no longer speak for themselves.
Inserted below is a letter written by our Mt Shasta Representatives Mark and Luisa on behalf of the tribe to the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors. Take a look at it and if you can write your own letter asking for a better assessment of the risks involved in this PGE scheme!

Dear Ms. Barber,

This letter is an official communication from the Winnemem Wintu Tribe regarding the PG&E Pit-McCloud Cloud Seeding-Ground Water Enhancement Project (Project). Our tribe became aware of this Project through an article in a local newspaper and was never contacted or consulted in any manner as an affected tribe prior to this public notice. We are concerned and alarmed that the location of the generators and the Project area are within our traditional tribal boundaries and many sacred ceremonial sites and traditional gathering areas may be directly affected by this Project. We are asking that Siskiyou County require a full environmental review for this Project before it is allowed to begin.

We have outlined our concerns about this Project in the attached letter to the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors, dated November 16, 2008. We have also attached a letter from Dr. Rene Henery that he sent to the Siskiyou County BOS. We understand that your office is now reviewing the Project. We also would like to know why this Project, whose sole operational objective is to release a known toxic substance into the environment, is not regulated under some state or county regulation (such as the the Air Toxics “Hot Spots” Information and Assessment Act of 1987 or other).

In addition to the general concerns outlined in the attached letter, we feel that the generators and their operation need to be closely scrutinized. We initiated one telephone conversation with Byron Marler, Supervisor of the Project, in which he did not deny, nor directly confirm, that contamination of the ground in the immediate vicinity of and immediately downwind of the the generators would be possible and even probable. Mr. Marler suggested that if PG&E knew the location of our sites, they could re-position their generators away from our sites. Though re-positioning the generators might possibly mitigate the effects of silver iodide contamination on our sites, it does not address the fact that high levels of contamination may be produced where ever the generators are situated.

Available information on this Project in particular is minimal and the studies that PG&E uses for justification are, in our opinion, outdated, incomplete or of questionable applicability. We have asked PG&E to send us detailed information, plans and maps, on their Project that would address our concerns. We have yet to receive this information and instead was sent a very general power point presentation intended for the general public.

Although a full environmental review of the Project would be long and expensive, PG&E is well positioned to commission such a study. A full environmental review would go a long way toward assuring our Tribe, our County and its citizens that no environmental damage will occur from this Project. PG&E would also increase their trust and good will with the community as well as increase their research data base for future cloud seeding projects.

In this time of drought in California, more cloud seeding projects may be proposed and implemented and the amounts of toxic silver iodide, tracer chemicals and other cloud seeding chemicals and their frequency of use could increase dramatically. To our knowledge, no government agency issues permits for cloud seeding projects nor is there an oversight agency. The Winnemem Wintu Tribe and other tribes with traditional lands in the Project areas, and the citizens of this County have the Right to Know about projects that release toxic chemicals into our environment. Without some agency oversight, however, our Right to Know is abrogated. Without an environmental review, we may be at the mercy of companies that have terrible legacies of environmental pollution and human misery, such as PG&E.

Thank you for your consideration,

Mark Miyoshi and Luisa Navejas
Winnemem Wintu Tribe
Mt. Shasta District Representatives

International Campaign Against Coca-Cola

2008-12-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

PRESS: Coca-Cola, Others Charged With Greenwash
December 3, 2008

The Coca-Cola company and other water companies were challenged in San Francisco by a broad coalition of groups, charging the companies with greenwashing and abusing water resources. The water companies were in San Francisco for a meeting entitled "Corporate Water Footprinting: Towards a Sustainable Water Strategy" on December 2 and 3, 2008 to ostensibly outline water conservation strategies. The coalition organized a capacity-filled Water Rights conference on December 2nd as well as a protest, including street theater, at the corporate conference venue today.
http://www.indiaresource.org/news/2008/1062.html

The Winnemem Wintu took part in this protest and a public forum the night before in the SF Bay area on the 3rd of this month.
Headman Mark Franco, appearing at the request of our tribal Chief and Spiritual Leader, spoke on behalf of the Water, the Salmon and our relations who depend on water. We met and worked with Amit Srivastava, Director of the International Campaign against Coca Cola for the India Resource Center (I think that is right). Check out their web page and get involved in stopping this water sucking, human rights exploiting giant from doing any more damage!
The Winnemem Wintu are committed to protecting the rights of those with no voice from being trampled and we appreciate the efforts of folks like Amit, Jeff Conant and Winonah Hauter from the Food and Water Watch as well as all the others who stood up for all of you. Again, join us on the front lines...don't sit back with a designer bottle of water or a cola product thinking that all is well...it's not!

On a different line, the "Boss" also sent me to UC Berkeley to speak on water and environmental Justice issues for Torri Estrada's class there. I have been sent in like this before but I wanted to acknowledge the attention and participation of the students at Cal Berkeley. I hope that what I was able to share with them gives them a glimpse into the EJ fight at the tribal level and shows them that research in this important area cannot just be a 9-5 proposition. It takes a long time to actually understand a problem before a fix can be suggested or implemented and tribal communities are just now able to open up to actual caring researchers who want to help rather than checking a box on a future job application. More on this subject in later posts.

Today is the 67th anniversary of Pearl Harbor and the "official" start of WW2 for the United States. I would like to offer a silent prayer for our tribal warriors who fought for their homeland, like by father, uncles and my late father-in-law who served this country while their own homelands were being destroyed and exploited for "the good of" others. Thankfully, my father is still with me, the others of that "greatest" generation now on the other side. If you have relatives who served during that war and for those who were caught up in the subsequent wars, hold them and care for them...they risked it all for all of us.

The Journey Continues

2008-12-06T21:05:00.000-08:00

During this past summer, the Winnemem Wintu, after a long and arduous trip through the halls of California government, finally saw the passage of AJR 39 (carried, thankfully, by Marin Assemblyman Jared Huffman) .
We attended numerous meetings with legislators or all parties, talked ourselves hoarse and were victorious: the state of California sent a resolution to the President of the United States, the Department of Interior and the BIA a message saying in effect,"Hey, these are real Indians, give them what you promised when you took their land!"
We visited our Congressional delegates in Washington DC and spoke only with staffers, the government was trying to get someone elected and had no time for us but that was okay, I like the staffers: they are generally concerned and literate; ready to take notes to pass on to the next person so that when we return, like the swallows to Capistrano, they can review the notes and tell us "Nothing happened on your issue - we've been busy you see."
But, you see we've been busy too: fighting for the people of California to have clean water, saving our sacred sites and maintaining our cultural lifeway in the face of government sanctioned "cultural genocide."
We need to have people look up the California AJR 39 (I will try to get it here on this blog or you can look at the tribe's web page www.winnememwintu.us, to read it and our issues and positions, and then help us convince Senators Boxer and Feinstein to act on what the State Legislature had said: Restore our status!
I will try to add to this blog more often to keep people up to date on our struggle and our tribal vision for ourselves and our prayers for all of you.
Check out http://www.moving-image.com Moving Image Production and the Sacred Lands Film Project web page for information and films on us and check back: I will write on.
Hey, if President-elect Obama can communicate this way, what says an old Indian like me can't learn how to as well.

Watch Out For Your Water

2005-11-07T08:56:00.000-08:00

We are fighting the government over the misuse and abuse of our water (not just "our" water but yours too!) and have attended and commented at many meetings held by the Bureau of Wreck-my-nation, FERC and local county boards.
People, you have to wake up! Watch out for your water! The threat of water privatization is real and if we as a people don't put our collective feet down and complain we will have to have a permit to collect the water I hear coming down in this rain storm today.
Too many big business-types are trying to control when and where you can get a drink and you know what? Not many people out there care or are even seeing the writing on the wall.
Get involved America; the Winnemem Wintu are but we can't fight this battle alone!

We all stand under One Sky

2005-11-03T08:42:00.000-08:00

This is the start of a new chapter in the Winnemem Journey to Justice... a blog! What I hope to convey to any who read this is that the Winnemem Wintu are a tribal people who still live and carry on the traditional values of our ancestors.
I call this a "Journey to Justice" because we are still seeking some measure of justice from the United States of America after nearly 155 years of broken promises and abrogated treaty rights!

All we ask is for the same consideration and protection of our rights as any other citizen of this country would receive.
We are in a battle today, just as in the past, to preserve our sacred sites and the cultural landscape of our people.. not just for us today but for the generations to come and to honor those who sacrificed and have gone on before us.
Over the next days I hope to add details of the struggle we are in and perhaps present a case that will invite you to help us.
We all stand under one sky... help us protect the mountains and the water, the salmon and all that has been gifted to us.

Winnemem Wintu - The Journey to Justice

Special Rapporteur statement on Water at UNPFII

UNFPII-10 Agenda Item 4 (a): Implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (DRIP). To include un-recognized / unrepresented peoples, maternal rights, hydropower, borders and border militarization.

Submission from the Winnemem Wintu Tribe on UNFPII-10 Agenda Item 7: Half Day on Water Presented by Caleen Sisk-Franco, Chief and Spiritual Leader

2001 Letter from Florence regarding Recognition

April 16, 1942 - Wick and Crow burnt my house down.......

Dancing Salmon Home Update from Will Doolittle

Project News From New Zealand

A message worth repeating

Bruce Tokars "Salmon Speak to Governor Brown: Full Series

Time to Save California's Pandora

Time to Save California's Pandora

Our River is Our Name from International Rivers

Our River is Our Name

Caleen Sisk-Franco

Winnemem-Wintu: Protecting Women's Rights of Passage

Report by the UN Independent Expert on Water and Sanitation

Regarding the History of Shasta Dam - A quick messagefrom our Chief

Update to Blog Site

Winnemem Berkeley Benefit part2

Berkeley Benefit Part 1

Ceremony in the wrong place

To Restore Salmon, Follow the Creator's Plan, Not Frankenfish

New Zealand Salmon

Ecuador Part 4

Ecuador Part 3

Ecuador Part 2

To Ecuador and beyond

Congressman Herger Step up or Stand Down on Health Care

I'm Back for awhile

Comments section closed

Enough is enough

Four Funerals and a Wedding

Ted Kennedy and the Winnemem

Water Isssues in the Delta and the Effect Upstream

Sacramento Court Hearing Postponed

Red Rider, The Virginian, Hoss Cartwright, Hondo

Cremations and Tribal sacred landscapes

Government Misdirection and other ailments in Washington

UPDATE: California, Winnemem Wintu: Prayer Day Ceremony

Catching Up and Laying Back

Getting it Right when on a deadline

War Dance in Sacramento - Final Event Update 17 April 2009

Winnemem to file lawsuit asking redress for harms

Western Regional Partnership

Thinking of Stuff

A Tribal Response to the Obama Principles For Stronger Tribal Communities

Rocky Point Charter School

Pacific Gas & Electric and the Winnemem Wintu tribe

One final entry on the inauguration and transition for President Barack Obama.

Transitions

One year ends; another begins

California Budget Woes

Help the Winnemem Wintu - print and get signatures on this petition!

New Picks for Obama Cabinet

PGE and Cloud Seeding

International Campaign Against Coca-Cola

The Journey Continues

Watch Out For Your Water

We all stand under One Sky