Green Options

Oil and gas leases have been a hot topic for a long time, especially since the controversial disruption of a BLM land sale by student activist Tim DeChristopher in Salt Lake City this past December. The sale which, according to some, was a midnight move by the Bush administration found itself floundering when an unknown bidder (DeChristopher) won parcel after parcel of land. Since December the leased parcels have been pulled back and forth between the BLM and the Interior, [...]

Since it was announced last week that a deal had been reached for the probable removal of four dams on the Klamath River, I’ve been ecstatic.

The following post was written by Sul’ma’ejote, aka Dr. Darryl “Babe” Wilson, PhD.  Sul’ma’ejote was born in 1939 in Qatsade (Fall River Valley) on the north bank of Sul’ma’ejote (Fall River), a stone toss from It’ajuma (Pit River) in far northern California. He has written several books, including The Morning the Sun Went Down, about the early times of his life which were not only marked by the tragedy of a native “family shadowed in and out of civilization”, but the death of his mother who was killed in a lumber truck-automobile accident. Sul’ma’ejote blogs at Hay’dutsi’la.

July 19, 2008:  Fires in Hyampom Still Crackling

Could we flip back through history to a hundred-thousand years before Columbus or ten minutes before landfall, we would find immense forests, some three-hundred feet tall and thirty-five feet around, most of the forests appearing like a manicured Federal Park, clear of underbrush, deaf falls and dry limbs and needles and leaves turning to duff just waiting for a spark.

The forests, like most life on this continent, were not an accident.  That they looked like they were manicured is because they had been forever before the penetration of Europeans.  Forests were full of life and were like a super market for the natives.  Animals, birds, eggs, nuts, excitement and adventure flourished everywhere.  It was a duty for the natives to clean the forests and encourage life to visit there, and it was an honor to “talk for” the forests in ceremony and prayer.  Loving earth with a deep respect has always been the “way” of mountain and coast indigenous.

The four dams on the Klamath River in far Northern California are under relicensing, something that only occurs every 50 years. The dams are owned by billionaire Warren Buffett, who purchased Pacificorp, one of the lowest-cost electricity producers in the United States, three years ago. Many Californians were hopeful this purchase would mean the end to the dams, but their concerns for the salmon fell on deaf ears. Once again, Warren Buffett rebuffed salmon advocates.

On Saturday, May 3, 2008, American Indian tribes and salmon fisherman failed to gain a private audience with Buffett and were ignored at the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. Protesters shouted, “Un-dam the Klamath! Bring the salmon home!“, while shareholders enjoyed complimentary cocktails Friday night. For two years, an unprecedented alliance of tribes, businesses, conservation groups and commercial/recreational fishermen has tried to reach an agreement with Buffett for dam removal. Buffett said that his company would not decide the fate of the Klamath dams, but Berkshire will defer to regulators in California and Oregon. Ironically, dam removal is cheaper than building the fish ladders regulators are recommending.

Last week, I had the honor of listening to When the ancestors whisper…Stories From Native California, produced by my friend Neil Harvey of the Bioneers for the California Indian Storytelling Association (CISA). Sitting in my neighbor’s rustic log cabin sipping local wine, the elders’ voices reached my soul and I lamented for the lack of oral history within my own culture. When the ancestors whisper… features Native American storytellers Darryl “Babe” Wilson (Itam Is/Aw’te), Georgiana Sanchez (Chumash/O’odham) and Ernest Siva (Cahuilla/Serrano) coming from the California forests, deserts, and sea. One story, in particular, I felt carried wisdom for the environmental movement and the future of our planet.

Told by Darryl “Babe” Wilson, “Two Moons” is a “warning” story of what might happen to the Earth if we don’t heal the “sickness” of our planet. “Jui ja wa. The old people would say jui ja wa. Jui ja wa, that means the Earth is sick.” Darryl was born on the north side of Sul’ma’ejote (Fall River) at its confluence with It’ajuma (Pit River), which is east of Mt. Shasta. He has doctorate in English and the author of The Morning the Sun Went Down, a honest autobiography about what it is like to grow up Native American in rural California. Based on the recommendation of a Modoc colleague, I read this book over seven years ago, but the story has remained in my heart as if I read it yesterday.

Before I begin to cook, I wanted to share some information regarding the myth of Thanksgiving that was prepared for teachers. Originally written and developed by Cathy Ross, Mary Robertson, Chuck Larsen, and Roger Fernandes for the Indian Education program at Highline School District in Tacoma, Teaching About Thanksgiving explores factual information regarding this holiday. As the authors write,

So what do we teach to our children? We usually pass on unquestioned what we all received in our own childhood classrooms. I have come to know both the truths and the myths about our “First Thanksgiving,” and I feel we need to try to reach beyond the myths to some degree of historic truth.

How will you teach your children about this day of thanks, that initiated the genocide of Native Americans? Here are some highlights from Teaching About Thanksgiving:

If you are a true localvore, does that mean you read local tales to your children? I try to chose local goods as much as possible, and I have always had an affinity for Native American stories, so Fire Race fits into my localvore ideals by providing a locally based story to share with my children.  In California Native American tales, Coyote is often the trickster. Click to Continue Reading