Winnemem Wintu fight continues

I received an interesting press release this weekend. The Winnemem Wuntu tribe has scheduled a War Dance and is filing suit in Federal Court to protect their ancestral lands, threatened anew by plans to raise the level of Shasta Lake. It was the construction of Shasta Dam that flooded their land originally without any compensation. This is more than an issue of racial justice, it is yet another battle in the California Water Wars.

War Dance begins in the evening on the Sacramento River.

Full press release by clicking "Read more!"

Tribal War Dance and March
Next Steps in Winnemem Wintu Tribe’s Journey to Justice

Ceremonies Initiate Federal Lawsuit on behalf of Tribe


Who: The Winnemem Wintu Tribe, a traditional California Tribe.

The Winnemem have been fighting for years to sustain their culture and address generations of broken promises by the federal government.

What: War Dance, March and press conference from Sacramento River to the State Capitol.

Winnemem war dancers and tribal leaders will perform a traditional ceremonial War Dance next to the Sacramento River and will then march to the State Capitol building. The March and War Dance initiate the federal lawsuit the Tribe is filing, asking for compensation for damages done by federal land management policies, including the construction of the Shasta Dam.

Schedule of events:

Sunday, April 19th: War Dance begins at 6:00 PM on Sacramento River at the site of the proposed California Indian Heritage Center, across the river from Discovery Park on the west side of the confluence of Sacramento and American Rivers: On Levee Road, off Marina Way from Lighthouse Dr, West Sacramento.

Monday, April 20th: Ceremony and address by Tribal leaders. California Indian Heritage Center site, Levee Rd, West Sacramento

10:00 AM March from Sacramento River to State Capitol, from Levee Road to Capitol

Press Conference with Tribal leaders and community members

12:00 Noon to 1 PM State Capitol Location 27 West side of capitol building


More Information:

The Winnemem Wintu Tribe is filing a lawsuit against Department of The Interior; Department of Agriculture; United States Forest Service; Bureau of Reclamation; Bureau of Indian Affairs; Bureau of Land Management; Ken Salazar, Secretary of The Interior; Assistant Secretary for Water and Science; Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks in The Department of Agriculture; and Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture asking for redress for decades of injustices and harm related to federal land management policies which have destroyed Winnemem cultural practices and sacred places.

The Winnemem began a journey to justice in 2004 with a War Dance at Shasta Dam. Today we continue that journey with another War Dance and this lawsuit. Our people are a traditional people, steeped in our culture and traditional lifeways, who have continued our cultural practices throughout the written history of the state of California. With this lawsuit and War Dance, we continue our journey to ensure our basic quality of life and freedom to maintain our traditions and culture.


Winnemem Wintu Tribe
14840 bear mountain road • Redding, CA • 96003
Phone: 530-275-2737 • Fax: 530-275-4193
http://www.winnememwintu.us

Support Winnemem-Wintu Tribal Petition

Until I started delving into the issue of California Water and particularly, the Delta, I had never heard of the Winnemem-Wintu tribe. However, members of this tribe have been at the forefront of the effort to Restore the Delta, to return salmon fishing to the Klamath and other water related fights that are vital to all California.

This tribe has a long history of recognition by the Federal Government until the early 1980's when they were suddenly dropped from the list of Federally recognized tribes. At issue is compensation for Winnemem-Wintu lands which now lie under water behind Shasta Dam. At risk is the further loss of their lands and sacred sites if Shasta Dam were to be raised, as has been proposed.

The Environmental Justice Coalition for Water provides a good short history of the issues surrounding the Winneman-Wintu and the Central Valley Indian Lands Acquisition Act. It is one more example of a governmental bureaucracy solving it's problems running roughshod over the rights of our citizens.

Recently, Marin County Assembly member, Jared Huffman, introduced AJR 39 which merely asks the Federal Government to restore the rights that have been denied, including the right for just compensation for lands lost to the Central Valley Project's Lake Shasta.

On Jan. 9, the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee will consider AJR 39.
In my mind, standing up for the Winnemem-Wintu in this effort is much more important than what we decide to do about the various Indian Gaming initiative measures. This is not about gaming. It is about basic rights and having a government that can live up to its treaty obligations and follow its own laws.

The Environmental Justice Coalition for Water has provided a sample letter that can be sent, or turned into an email and sent to the Committee. I provide that letter below. If you chose to email the Committee Chairman, Alberto Torrico, please cc Barry Nelson at the Natural Resources Defense Council. If you can fax a letter to the Committee at (916)319-3979, please also fax a copy to the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water as (510)251-2203 and they will hand deliver a copy. Another option is to call the Committee at (916)319-2020 to express your support for AJR 39.

Sample Letter:

Honorable Alberto Torrico
Chair, Assembly Governmental Organization
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 94249-0020
RE: Support for AJR 39 (Huffman)

Dear Assembly Member Torrico:

I write this letter in support of AJR 39 introduced by Assembly Member Jared Huffman, of the 6th assembly district, which would codify California’s existing recognition of the Tribe as a legitimate California Tribe and urge the Federal Government to restore the Winnemem Wintu Tribe’s status as a federally recognized tribe.

The Winnemem Wintu, a Northern California Tribe whose home lies along the McCloud River in Shasta County, has a long history of promises broken by the federal government, the most recent being the unexplained loss of their Federal Recognition in the mid-1980s. In 1941, Congress passed the “Central Valley Project Indian Lands Acquisition Act” (CVPILAA) to secure the land necessary to complete the construction of Shasta Dam. Despite the requirements of the CVPILAA, the tribe has not been compensated for the loss of their lands, nor have they received replacement lands. The failure to fulfill the basic requirements of the CVPILAA has left the Tribe to struggle for its very existence.

While the federal government continues to create roadblocks to prevent the Tribe from regaining its recognized status, California state agencies and even federal agencies like the U.S. Forest Service recognize the Winnemem as a legitimate tribe. The Winnemem are included on the list of California Tribes held by the Native American Heritage Commission, and the Tribe has been issued state and federal permits reserved for federally recognized tribes.

The federal government has never terminated the tribe. The tribe believes that their status is the result of an error on the part of the BIA – an error made possible by the failure of the Department of the Interior to comply with the CVPILAA by replacing tribal lands lost when Shasta Dam was constructed and by holding a cemetery in trust by the appropriate Indian Services Agency. The cemetery was created to relocate the remains of tribal dead to make way for Shasta Dam. Because no “like-land” was ever provided and because the cemetery was incorrectly transferred to a federal agency not capable of holding land in trust, the tribe has a reduced role in federal decisions that affect them, and they are denied the basic health, education and housing benefits received by recognized tribes.

AJR 39 will help the Winnemem in their struggle to regain recognition by reinforcing the State’s de facto recognition of the Winnemem Wintu as a legitimate California tribe, and urging the Federal Government to restore the tribe’s Federal recognition. As a California State leader, you have the opportunity to help rectify an injustice long overdue, and we hope that you do.

We urge your aye vote on AJR 39.

Thank you very much,