Owens Lake -- Sacred Site Battle

Owen's Lake near Los Angeles California is another American Indian sacred site "tipping point" as groups clash regarding the current use/upkeep of an area. It is one of the dustiest places on the earth,  and is listed as THE dustiest in North America.  It's currently in the news because an effort to keep the toxic sediments from becoming airborne clashes with the wishes of the Paiute who are requesting that the pollution mitigation cease -- allowing the site to be in a natural state.

One Hundred Years Ago
Oral tradition and white history corroborate each others' stories of a massacre in 1863 where over thirty Paiute were chased into the lake where they drown or were shot.  Another tragic chapter from that era.  Over time, because of the human-caused environmental damage to this site, the massacre site was unknown/unproven until recently.


Background: In the early 1900's to supply LA with water, the lake was used until it eventually dried up (a tragic reminder of the cost of unsustainable consumerism and that our decisions lead to long term consequences). In order to keep down the toxic dust, the site has been treated--and essentially hiding the site until now.   Both archeologists and Paiute agree that this is the site of the massacre.  But that leads to other dicey questions...

 At the heart of the issue is one basic question I've seen repeatedly played out across North America...
what make land sacred?  Then applying that definition, is this site sacred?
And if so, then what?   If so, then how do you decide the process for making a decision?  Who has the right to weigh in on the decisions?  Who mediates?  Who ultimately decides? The Paiute claim a spiritual and historical and cultural connection to this site. Government claims the responsibility to mitigate the pollution risk.  Two clear and clashing views of a site.  Now what??

The following is summarized from a Robert Stewart online educational site: 
The dustiest place in North America is the area around Owens Lake in Owens Valley, California. It is the single largest source of PM-10 dust in the United States. Unlike the Bodélé, (the dustiest place on the earth) which is due to natural causes, the Owens Valley problem is due to human causes.

Located in a semi-arid area with little rain, around 300–400 mm/year (15 inches per year). Los Angeles Department of Water and Power obtained water rights to almost all water in the Owens Valley during the early 20th century to provide water for the growing population.   In 1905 LA topped around 100,000.  To continue growing, LA needed to import water from a secure source in a wetter region and the Owens Lake valley, 250 miles to the northeast was selected.

1. Water in the Owens Valley comes from streams flowing eastward out of the Sierra Nevada. Much of the water sinks into the porous soil of the valley, creating a large pool of shallow groundwater, mostly in the northern end of the valley.
2. In the early years of the 20th century, Los Angeles secretly bought land and all associated surface and groundwater rights from large land owners in the valley. Later the purchases were made openly. By 1935 Los Angeles owned most of the land in the valley and the city had captured most of the water flowing eastward out of the Sierra Nevada into the Owens River.
3. The water in the Owens River, and much groundwater were diverted into the California Aquaduct and sent to Los Angeles.
4. With no inflow of water, Owens Lake dried up.
   By 1926 all that remained was a dry lake bed. 

Map Details: Owens Lake is the blue area in the center (east of Visalia and north of Ridgecrest). The Sierra Nevada mountains are west of the valley and the Inyo Mountains are east. Dashed line is boundary of California.From Google Maps. The dry lake bed is the current pollution dust source.

1. The lake is in a very dry area, the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada. Rainfall varies from 6 inches/year (150 mm/yr) in wet years to 3 inches/year (75 mm/yr) in dry years. Sediments are dry most of the year, especially in summer (75%–98% of the rain falls in the winter).
2. High winds occur frequently in the valley, tending to blow along the length of the valley, especially during spring and early fall when the high valley walls funnel and accelerate winds aloft into the valley. The very strongest winds, associated with rotors in the lee of the Sierras, blow from west to east across the valley as strong storms come ashore from the Pacific.
3. The lake bed is covered with alkaline salts composed of sodium sulfates and sodium carbonates that are easily eroded. The lake has no natural outlet, and all salts contained in the water flowing into the lake over at least the last 800,000 years stayed in the lake. As the lake dried out, they precipitated onto the bottom (the large white area in the photo below).
4. The dust is a fine mixture of salt, clay, and sulfates. Dust is up to 30% salt, and it includes important concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, nickel, and chromium. Lake deposits contain 50–150 parts per million of arsenic. For more information read Owens (Dry) Lake, California: A Human-Induced Dust Problem by Marith C. Reheis of the U.S. Geological Survey.
5. High wind can blow dust from the valley over large areas of the Mojave Desert, impairing the health of 40,000 people.

The US Environmental Protection Agency classified the Owens Valley as a "serious non-attainment area" in 1993, and in 1999 they approved a plan to mitigate the hazard. The plan requires Los Angeles to take steps to mitigate the problem by allowing water to flood the lower parts of the lake keeping it moist, by covering large areas with gravel to reduce wind erosion, and to plant vegetation in some areas. Implementation of the plan was finally started in 2001, but the area was still a nonattainment area in 2007. See A Century Later, Los Angeles Atones for Water Sins in the New York Times.

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To me there are several tragic storylines that go with this site...
1) The massacre itself in 1863 -- Without this current environmental bi-line, the story might never be told.  How easy it is to point to other countries and list their historic sins.  When will we acknowledge ours?  When will we apologize?  When will we teach the tough lessons in order to prevent history from repeating itself?
2) The way the lake was used up by 1926.
3) The creation of a toxic site that negatively affects the air.
Here we are in 2013, one hundred years after the massacre.  This morning I pray for the wisdom of those who are in the seats that decide how to decide the next chapter in the Owen's Lake Valley story.

Forgiveness and Understanding

CONNECTING FORT SNELLING * DAKOTA EXILE * WOUNDED KNEE * ECUADORIAN RAIN FOREST This weekend marked the 150th anniversary of the Dakota women, children and elderly being expelled from the State of Minnesota, as they were placed on river boats and literally removed. And there seems to be a lot of other stories tied to this one, albeit nowhere close on the map. My family participated in the commemorative march to Fort Snelling that arrived on November 13, only a few months ago, which was the historic date that the "Minnesota Trail of Tears" entourage arrived in 1862. It seemed appropriate for me to also be there on the historic date that the 1300 Dakota souls that survived their winter below the fort on the banks of the Minnesota river would leave the site. In May 1863, in two separate groups, the survivors were shipped down the river like cattle and sent far from their homeland. On Saturday, crowds gathered to honor this date, to remember, to pray, to tell the story. It's been a really long winter for Minnesotans this year, with plenty of snow and cold weather that doesn't seem to want to give way to spring. I was struck by the idea of the 1862-3 winter that officially ended with exile and a trip to a dry and fruitless land that would create a summer that probably felt like it went on forever too. Many of the Dakota imprisoned men were sent to Davenport IA and remained there for years while the women, children and elders were shipped on boats and trains to the middle of nowhere. Yesterday I received a gift of the freshly translated manuscripts of many of the Dakota prisoner letters. This fall a unity ride is being planned from Davenport back to Minnesota, a commemoration of those prisoners and a symbol of bringing them home. It seems especially appropriate that Twin Cities Public Television is showing the Dakota 38 movie this weekend and a special feature that showcases my friends, Jim Bear and Dean, sharing their perspectives. Hope you'll watch...The weekend has also included a two day educational forum at Hamline University and I'm heading back there this morning. Last night's panel on the 1805 Treaty was especially intriguing and I'm going with open ears today for another few hours of first person perspectives. And in world news I am struck by the timing of the sale of the land in Wounded Knee and the Ecuadorian government preparing to take the land from indigenous people for oil drilling. Perhaps it's like the selective perception or awareness of things (like suddenly noticing every car that matches your neighbor's new car) but there seems to be a lot of stories that seem to look pretty similar to the one next door. Much like when I became pregnant, I suddenly saw that there were a lot of pregnant ladies. In the past few years I have seen the same human rights stories repeated and repeated, with some stories in the first chapter, some in the middle of the story and some trying to go back and rewrite a few chapters after seeing the tragic end of the story unfold. You can change the names, the locations but it is really striking how many times I have heard the same narrative, the same plot played out.

Paxton Peace Bunny

This is a preview of the children's book my son Caleb (8) and I wrote on the way home from Newtown CT. The EBook will be available soon at hopefulpeacemaker.com to raise money for charity. The print copies are only available in person at this time. With special love and hugs to the family of Quinn Kirsch (8) who is the grandson of Victor Kirsch in the Bloomington Daymakers Rotary Club who died suddenly this week. Connected through Rotary and through ice hockey, Edina is covered with thousands of green balloons.

Connecting Newtown Prayers to Dakota 38

Entering Land of Memories Park  -  Christmas 2012 ~ 3 PM

Closing Circle 12/25/12 at Land of Memories Park, Mankato MN USA

Newtown Prayers and the Dakota 38 Horse Ride

On the ride at Fort Ridgley, Minn. 12/23

We are with the Dakota 38 horse ride... 

Fresh off their 3000 mile healing trip to Conn., some young members of the Red Lake Delegation to Newtown will join the final miles of the 300 mile Dakota 38 Commemorative Horse Ride, uniting prayers from around the world and symbolically including the grieving community of Newtown through red prayer ties that will adorn their horses as the Dakota 38 riders conclude their three week journey in Mankato, Minn. with a closing ceremony 10 AM on December 26.

After giving comfort and support to Newtown students in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting, Minnesotans Justyn Oakgrove (11), Courney Oakgrove (10), Logan Oakgrove (8), Caleb Smith (8) and their parents will be bringing heartfelt prayers along with the red prayer ties that were part of the healing ceremony at the Newtown Middle School the morning of the Friday 9:30 AM moment of peace.  These sacred red ribbons have been brought back to Minnesota and the four children are riding to honor those who have died and to offer prayers that no other child will lose their life due to violence.  One horse is specifically dedicated to the memory of Jessica Rekos (6) who “loved everything about horses” and according to her parents, Rich and Krista Rekos, she had asked Santa for new cowgirl boots and a cowgirl hat. “Jessica loved everything about horses,” her parents said in a statement. “She devoted her free time to watching horse movies, reading horse books, drawing horses and writing stories about horses.” 

The red prayer ties from this Newtown ceremony will adorn horses on the Dakota 38 Memorial Horse Ride

“We will ride to honor Jessica and the other kids,” said Caleb Smith.  “Although she never met any of us, we are connected because of the horses. Our prayers will hopefully help her family heal.  Hopefully all the families and children heal.  Prayer is the most important thing I can do and somehow it’s easier to think and pray when you’re quiet on a horse.”

Hugs for Newtown Connecticut families

  

Redlake MN school shooting survivors to Newtown: CNN story


Hope for Our Land

Twas 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38
When 20 beautiful children stormed through Heaven’s gate
Their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air
They could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there
They were filled with such joy, they didn’t know what to say
They remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day
“Where are we?” asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse
“This is heaven.” Declared a small boy
“We’re spending Christmas at God’s house.”
When what to their wondering eyes did appear,
But Jesus, the Savior, the children gathered near.
He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.
Then He opened His arms and He called them by name
And in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring
Those children all flew into the arms of the King
And as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,
One small girl turned and looked at Jesus’ face.
And as if He could read all the questions she had
He gently whispered to her, “I’ll take care of mom and dad.”
Then He looked down on earth, the world far below
He saw all the hurt, the sorrow, and woe
Then He closed his eyes and He outstretched His hand,
“Let My power and presence re-enter this land!”
Then He and the children stood up without a sound
“Come now my children, let me show you around”
Excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran
All displayed enthusiasm that only a small child can
And I heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight
“In the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT.”

(source: A Newton family emailed me this poem tonight, unnamed author)

We just returned from our trip to Newtown, with more thoughts to be posted later.