by Charlotte Caldwell

As the early morning mist lifted, the birds began to sing. With good hearts and good minds, honored elders from the Pitt River and Western Shoshone tribes led indigenous people from all over Turtle Island in giving thanks to the Creator and in asking for guidance in the struggle to protect Mother Earth from contamination and exploitation. A sacred fire was lit and would burn continually for four days. This was the opening ceremony for the 9th annual Protecting Mother Earth Conference, which was held in Fall River Mills, California, the traditional territory of the Ahjumawi Band of the Pitt River Indians.

"Honoring Sacred Places" was this year's theme and more than a 1000 indigenous people met to share ideas, strategies, and discuss ways to combat projects proposed for sacred lands. In addition, the conference aimed at confronting health and environmental issues facing Native Americans today. Seventh Generation Fund hosted this year's conference in support of the Pitt River, Modoc, Shasta, and Wintu tribes in their fight to preserve their sacred sites - Medicine Lake and Mount Shasta.

The Native Coalition for the Restoration of Mount Shasta and the Native Coalition for Medicine Lake Highlands Defense co-hosted the conference in support of their local issues and to bring national and international attention to their issues at Medicine Lake and Mount Shasta. On the third day, a caravan of vehicles stretching for one-half mile traveled to Medicine Lake to participate in a ceremony with the local people in support of the environmental justice struggle in regarding this sacred site.

Geothermal power companies CalEnergy and CalPine have requested permission from the Forest Service to construct a geothermal power plant in the Highlands.

The Medicine Lake Highlands are spectacular and should be considered one of America's greatest natural treasures. Many ceremonial sites remain from the long religious use of this area. However, the geothermal power plant would result in an 18-acre plant, acres of well sites, over 20 miles of 120-foot electrical towers and many new roads. Enough ancient forest will be clear-cut for the power lines alone to fill 100 logging trucks!

The local issue of Mount Shasta is based on the indigenous use of Mount Shasta over countless generations for the training of medicine leaders and chiefs, for spiritual quests, for healing and for guidance. In November 1994, the Keeper of the National Registry drastically revised his original determination of eligibility for recognition and protection as a National Historic District from 150,000 acres to 19,000 acres. This reduction opened Mount Shasta to development for large-scale ski and condo development. Since the conference, this initiative has been defeated.

Earth Heart, a local publishing business based in Mount Shasta designed the mugs, t-shirts, and tote bags this year. Jane English, the owner, also provided a fundraising event for the Native Coalition by bringing her hot air balloon and selling raffle tickets for rides. This was a great opportunity for native people to see alternative technology at work!

The opening grand assembly focused on sacred sites and environmental justice in California and throughout Turtle Island. Since time immemorial Indigenous Peoples have recognized that certain places have been endowed with special spiritual powers. Over the years, such places have become central and indispensable to the cultural and religious existence of our people. Today multi-national corporations, extractive industry, and recreational development are threatening many sacred places with imminent destruction. Native peoples have limited legal or political recourse to prevent such destruction. At this year's conference, sounded the alarm and issued a call to action to engender public support for the protection of sacred places.

Dangerous and persistent pollutants was the topic of the second day plenary. Presenters provided a background on what POPs are and how they affect the health of Indigenous Peoples. POPs is a family of chemicals that include agricultural pesticides, industry pollution, dioxin poisoning in pulp and paper mills, PVC, PCB contamination and many other pollutants (called endocrine disrupters) that are causing cancers, respiratory illnesses, sexual reproductive disorders, and other health effects to humans and all living things. Indigenous populations with land-based cultures experience higher health risks. This grand assembly discussed what is being done nationally and internationally to eliminate these deadly toxins in our environment.

With Nukes in Indigenous Territories as the topic on Tuesday, participants were able to share how their traditional and sacred lands are being impacted by all aspects of the nuclear chain, from uranium mining through processing, nuclear power, weapons testing, and waste storage. Speakers shared what their tribes and/or community groups are doing to halt this nuclear colonialism, what strategies are working, their successes, and the lessons learned in organizing efforts to protect their lands. Global warming and the impacts on our traditional lifestyles, medicines, and tribal economics were also discussed.

We are facing environmental injustice within indigenous territories. Speakers educated participants on some of these issues during the workshop break-out sessions: from the cleanup of contaminated uranium mines; to nuclear waste dumping in our sacred lands; to toxic loading of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that accumulate in our bodies and the bodies of our relatives - the fish, four-legged and winged nations. We heard about the impact of the California gold rush upon the Indigenous Peoples of California. In many areas, natural resource development throughout Indigenous Peoples lands are not benefiting our committees when it comes to the level of preservation of our sacred areas; the preservation of the habitat of the animal - fish - bird and plant nations; and environmental protection of our air and water quality.

This year a youth workshop track was designed to show young people the role and value they have in social, economic, and environmental justice movements while utilizing the traditional values and teachings. Team building power analysis and mapping, conflict resolution, and youth organizing and campaign development were the workshops offered. Each explored the principles and elements of community organizing while focussing on the strength, energy, new ideas, and eagerness that youth bring into a community organization. IEN hopes to open a path for young people to become a more integral part of our movement, communities, community organizations, and campaigns. They are our future.

Time was set aside each day for coalition building time on such topics as sacred sites, internet training, international networking on mining, Ward Valley and nuclear issues, and POPs. Alaskan participants seized this opportunity to strengthen their commitment and determine strategies for their regional IEN efforts.

On the IEN mug, it says "We speak for ourselves." We have that right. Prayers were strong, ceremonies were held, and indigenous peoples came together as one with the earth. The Protecting Mother Earth conference allowed grassroots people to share strategies, build coalitions, and organize. We have that right, too.

MEDICINE LAKE (AP) - About a mile below the surface of California's little-traveled northeast corner lies a reservoir of 450-degree water, steam and traces of potentially toxic chemicals, resting like a pressure cooker on a hot plate of molten rock.

This geothermal fluid could be used to provide clean energy to 100,000 households in California, Oregon and Washington state if two utilities had their way, the Redding Record Searchlight has reported. Geothermal power plants also could bring economic opportunities to an area suffering from timber cutbacks. But the landscape around Medicine Lake in he Modoc National Forest -- so forbidding that NASA used it to prepare astronauts for the surface of the moon -- also is just south of where the bloodiest Indian war in California's history was fought in the late 1800s.

The American Indians haven't forgotten those battles. And, despite two years of research and $5 million spent on environmental impact statements showing few adverse effects, they're not about to allow energy plants on their sacred lands without a fight. "When we use these areas, we introduce ourselves to our relatives -- rock, trees, water, air, the four-legged ones, the winged ones," said Jerald Jackson, a 60-year-old Modoc tribal leader from Klamath Falls, Ore. "And when they put geothermal plants in there, it will destroy our relatives, and it will be very difficult to have a ceremony," he said.

Calpine of San Jose, which operates one of Lake County's plants, is proposing the $120 million, 50-megawatt geothermal plant three miles north of Medicine Lake in the Modoc National Forest in far eastern Siskiyou County. The world's largest geothermal producer, CalEnergy Co. of Omaha, Neb., plans a separate $100-million-plus plant less than two miles from the lake.

Both companies are confident they can convert the boiling water into electricity without harming the environment or hurting sacred Indian sites. "It is very simple, very standard and we have done this all around the world," said Dale Schuster, a CalEnergy project development manager. "Geothermal costs more, but it is far cleaner than coal-burning power plants," adds Calpine Vice President Peter Camp. For that reason, the California Energy Commission subsidizes geothermal development and has promised each company $20 million if they get their facilities up and running.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service have preliminarily approved Calpine's power plant, while CalEnergy is about eight months behind in the federal and state review processes. Both companies want to drill wells as early as spring. The projects could pump $3 million a year in property taxes and royalties into the county's $63 million general fund. Between 250 and 300 construction workers would be hired in rural Siskiyou County, where unemployment can reach 18 percent in the winter.

While both companies vow to have minimal environmental impacts, there's no avoiding the eyesore of steam plumes rising from the cooling towers, or the 24 miles of transmission lines that would connect the plants to the electrical grid. "It's gotten to such a point now that the problem is not as much over environmental issues as it is about the concerns of Native Americans," said Randall Sharp, who oversees geothermal development in the Modoc National Forest. "We, the federal government, knew the Native American interests were going to be the hardest to mitigate."

The Medicine Lake Highlands Defense, an American Indian group led by Michelle Berditschevsky of Mount Shasta, has promised to go to court to stop the projects. Save Medicine Lake, a grass-roots group supported by actor and Siskiyou County property owner Steven Seagal, also is opposed.

It's not the first time Indians have fought to protect the land. In 1872-83, Modoc warriors killed 48 U.S. soldiers at what is now the Lava Beds National Monument, 10 miles north of Medicine Lake, before they were forcibly removed to Oklahoma. "My people fought for that land and got beheaded and hanged," said Jackson. "Federal, state and county people just don't understand what we went through, and they never will."