Dear Representative LaMalfa,
Recently you told Winnemem Wintu Chief and Spiritual Leader Caleen Sisk that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s proposal to raise Shasta Dam by 18.5 feet has great “momentum.”
I am writing to demand that you and the rest of Congress refuse to authorize the dam raise because it threatens the Winnemem’s cultural existence, and because it’s a misguided plan that will only exacerbate California’s water problems. The “momentum” stops now.
The Winnemem Wintu were removed from their ancestral lands on the McCloud River and forced to move their ancestors’ burial remains during the original construction of Shasta Dam. This was authorized by the 1941 Indian Lands Acquisition Act, which required the Winnemem receive “fair compensation.”
However, the Winnemem have never received any compensation, and they never ceded their water rights. Their rights must be adjudicated before a Shasta Dam raise can even be considered for authorization.
Furthermore, the proposed dam raise of 18.5 feet would inundate or damage burial sites and nearly 40 sacred sites that are integral to the Winnemem Wintu’s religion and culture. This includes the entire Balas Chonas (Coming of Age ceremony) site at the McCloud Bridge. Many filmmakers, journalists and researchers have studied the Winnemem’s spiritual connection to their sites and all have concluded that further inundation constitutes a cultural genocide. (See sources below).
Furthermore, according to the Bureau of Reclamation’s own study, the hypothetical firm water yield of 76,000 acre-feet would generate less than 0.2 percent of current agricultural and urban water use in California. This is not worth the $1.1 billion proposed cost of raising the dam. Another stated objective of the dam raise is to help survival of anadromous fish in the Sacramento River, but the Shasta Dam prevents Chinook salmon from entering cold-water streams where they naturally breed.
It is time to say no to the dam raise, and focus on salmon restoration efforts, including building a swimway around the dam. I and other California residents stand against wasteful, World War II-era water projects and stand for sustainable water practices and the protection of Winnemem sacred sites.
Do not authorize the Shasta Dam raise!
Sincerely,
Resources:
Loss of Sacred Spaces -
Land Use Conflict at Shasta Dam -
Dancing Salmon Home – .com,
Standing on Sacred Ground –
The Destruction of Identity: Cultural Genocide and Indigenous Peoplesby Lindsey Kingston, Webster University – A forthcoming article in the Journal of Human Rights
Chonos Pom, Dance Grounds: Ethnic Endemism Among the Winnemem Wintu and the Cultural Impacts of the Enlarging Shasta Reservoir – Lyla Johnston, Stanford University. Dec. 2012.