Red Indian Struggles for Sacred Sites

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Subject:COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS:SACRED SPACES, SACRED SITES

AmerIndian Struggle for its Sacred Sites

 

"Go to the US Library of Congress and ask for the native division.

There is none. Nothing was here prior to the founding fathers. That's

the consciousness of this nation. Or is it that the memory of this

continent is too painful to remember?"

 

 

 

COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS

Weblog of Gonzales and Rodriguez - UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE

SACRED SPACES, SACRED SITES

FROM UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE

FOR RELEASE: WEEK OF JUNE 27, 2003

COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS by Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez

SACRED SPACES, SACRED SITES

Stand in a secluded canyon, admire Creation. Admire the flight of

eagles

amid the deep blue skies and the red-brown-yellow canyon walls, carved

by the energy of Ejecatl, the wind. Listen for the water. It's nowhere

to be seen, but it is there. Around you are many unseen altars --

altars

that hold a sacred memory, connecting humanity to the beginning of

time.

Hundreds of these sites throughout the United States are in danger of

being obliterated by rapacious corporations that are guided not by

respect for the land, but by greed in their quest to extract the blood

from our mother's veins. Recently, a National Day of Prayer to Protect

Sacred Places was observed with ceremonies to bring attention for the

need to protect these sites.

The universe is Creation itself. All comes from the same beginning,

the

same source. All is related, from the smallest subatomic particle to

the

largest stellar constellation. For some, this cosmovision, which is

shared by elders from many traditions worldwide, leads to the belief

in

the sacredness of all life. This belief is antithetical to the beliefs

of those in power worldwide, who approach life with seemingly a total

disregard for all life, placing profit above all living beings, above

the Earth that provides us our daily sustenance, above the air that

fills our lungs and above the Earth's sacred waters that irrigate life

itself.

One cannot expect everyone to hold such beliefs -- in the sacredness

of

all life. For some, perhaps it's an alien idea, too human, too humane.

Such beliefs would expose us to the fallacy of war and lead us to

understand the extreme fragility of the planet. It might even lead

each

one of us to become caretakers, not simply of the Earth, but of all

life.

Such beliefs necessarily mean we start by respecting our own bodies,

not

feeding them genetically modified food, nor healing with, nor becoming

dependent upon, toxic pharmaceuticals. (It also means opposing the

effort to genetically contaminate the world's food supply.)

"I can't think of a more sacred place than our bodies," said Debra

Harry, executive director of the Indigenous People's Council on

Biocolonialism. She screened the recent documentary "The Leech and the

Earthworm," which gives an indigenous critique on genetic engineering,

at the Native American Journalists Association conference last week.

Beyond our bodies, sacred sites are all around us, most in extreme

danger. These sites -- such as the petroglyphs outside of Albuquerque,

N.M. -- contain a sacred memory. Once destroyed, that memory is

distorted and its spirit becomes desecrated.

Memory and creation are linked. Yet in a country that, in effect,

celebrates historical amnesia, little wonder that any memory remains

at

all. Go to the Library of Congress and ask for the native division.

There is none. Nothing was here prior to the founding fathers. That's

the consciousness of this nation. Or is it that the memory of this

continent is too painful to remember?

Other sites are sacred for other reasons: because they sustain life

itself. Virtually all water everywhere -- but particularly in the

desert

Southwest -- is in danger of extreme pollution and extinction due to

the

avarice of runaway tax-exempt and polluting corporations that leave

at a

moment's notice once they've sucked the Earth dry.

Zuni Salt Lake in New Mexico is another example of an endangered

sacred

site. The proposed coal mining, or Salt River Project, will endanger

the

aquifers that feed the lake. In addition, the building of related

infrastructure threatens shrines and approximately 500 archeological

sites erected by the Hopi, Dine, Zuni and Laguna Pueblos, all of which

have made pilgrimages to the sacred salt beds and who've considered

it a

zone of sanctuary for hundreds of years -- even during times of

conflict

among the nations. The sites are also crucial to ceremonial practices

and are part of sacred migrations.

"The aquifers that feed to Salt Lake give life to the Salt Woman,"

said

Zuni tribal councilman Arden Kucate. It is predicted that the amount

of

water that will be required to facilitate the project would dry up the

lake within 40 years, said Kucate. "And it will chase away the spirit

of

the Salt Woman, or she just might lay to rest there." Zuni teachings

hold that she left from another site because she felt contaminated by

humans.

Yes. Multiply this 100 times, and it's the story of the continent --

of

the planet. Where will Salt Woman be safe?

Universal Press Syndicate 2003

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