Ten Tribes Reclaiming, Stewarding, and Restoring Ancestral Lands

48 Pages·2010·1.11 MB·English

I N T E R N A T I O N A L
Jour nal of W ilder ness
APRIL 2010 VOLUME 16, NUMBER 1
FEATURES SCIENCE and RESEARCH, cont'd
EDITORIAL PERSPECTIVES PERSPECTIVES FROM THE ALDO
3 Wilderness and Baseline Experiences LEOPOLD WILDERNESS RESEARCH
BY CHAD P. DAWSON INSTITUTE
32 Reflections on WILD9
SOUL OF THE WILDERNESS BY DAVID J. PARSONS
4 Celebrating a Wilderness Legacy
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge EDUCATION and COMMUNICATION
BY ROGER KAYE
33 Social Media in Wilderness Stewardship
BY LISA EIDSON
STEWARDSHIP
8 The InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
Ten Tribes Reclaiming, Stewarding, and
37 The 9th World Wilderness Congress
Restoring Ancestral Lands
Mexico, 2009
BY HAWK ROSALES
BY VANCE G. MARTIN
SCIENCE and RESEARCH
WILDERNESS DIGEST
13 Wilderness Food Storage
43 Announcements
Are Bear-resistant Food Storage Canisters
Effective?
47 Book Reviews
BY STEVEN R. MARTIN and
47 Wilderness in National Parks: Playground
KATE MCCURDY
or Preserve
by John C. Miles
20 Wildland Fire and the Wilderness Visitor
Experience
47 The Great Experiment in Conservation:
BY SIERRA L. SCHROEDER and
Voices from the Adirondack Park
INGRID E. SCHNEIDER
EDITED BY WILLIAM PORTER, JON ERICKSON,
and ROSS WHALEY
26 Monitoring Campsite Conditions with Digital
Image Analysis
An Examination of an Assessment Procedure
BY CHRISTOPHER A. MONZ and
PETER D’LUHOSCH
Disclaimer
On the Cover
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among our readers. The views expressed in these
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Cruz Island, California. [Ian Shive ©–International league
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—John C. Hendee, IJW Editor-in-Chief
APRIL 2010 (cid:129) VOLUME 16, NUMBER 1 International Journal of Wilderness 1
International Journal of Wilderness
The International Journal of Wilderness links wilderness professionals, scientists, educators, environmentalists, and interested
citizens worldwide with a forum for reporting and discussing wilderness ideas and events; inspirational ideas; planning,
management, and allocation strategies; education; and research and policy aspects of wilderness stewardship.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Perry Brown, University of Montana, Missoula, Mont., USA
H. Ken Cordell, Southern Research Station, U.S. Forest Service, Athens, Ga., USA
Lisa Eidson, University of Montana, Missoula, Mont., USA
Vance G. Martin, WILD Foundation, Boulder, Colo., USA
Rebecca Oreskes, White Mountain National Forest, Gorham, N.H., USA
John Shultis, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, B.C., Canada
Alan Watson, Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute, Missoula, Mont., USA
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
John C. Hendee, Professor Emeritus, University of Idaho Wilderness Research Center, Moscow, Idaho, USA
MANAGING EDITOR
Chad P. Dawson, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, N.Y., USA
ASSOCIATE EDITORS—INTERNATIONAL
Andrew Muir, Wilderness Foundation Eastern Cape, South Africa; Karen Ross, The Wilderness Foundation, Capetown, South Africa; Vicki
A. M. Sahanatien, Fundy National Park, Alma, Canada; Anna-Liisa Ylisirniö, University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland; Franco Zunino,
Associazione Italiana per la Wilderness, Murialdo, Italy.
ASSOCIATE EDITORS—UNITED STATES
Greg Aplet, The Wilderness Society, Denver, Colo.; David Cole, Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute, Missoula, Mont.; John Daigle,
University of Maine, Orono, Maine; Joseph Flood, East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C.; Greg Friese, Emergency Preparedness Systems
LLC, Plover, Wisc.; Lewis Glenn, Outward Bound USA, Garrison, N.Y.; Gary Green, University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.; Dave Harmon,
Bureau of Land Management, Washington, D.C.; Kari Gunderson, University of Montana, Missoula, Mont.; Christopher Jones, Utah Valley
State College, Orem, Utah.; Cyril Kormos, The WILD Foundation, Berkeley, Calif.; Greg Kroll, El Rito, N.M.; Ed Krumpe, University of
Idaho, Moscow, Idaho; Yu-Fai Leung, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C.; Bob Manning, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vt.;
Jeffrey Marion, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, Va.; Christopher Monz, Utah State University, Logan, Utah; Connie Myers,
Arthur Carhart Wilderness Training Center, Missoula, Mont.; David Ostergren, Goshen College, Wolf Lake, In.; John Peden, Georgia
Southern University, Statesboro, Ga.; Kevin Proescholdt, Izaak Walton League, St. Paul, Minn.; Joe Roggenbuck, Virginia Polytechnic
Institute, Blacksburg, Va.; Keith Russell, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Wash.; Tod Schimelpfenig, National Outdoor
Leadership School, Lander, Wyo.; Rudy Schuster, USGS, Fort Collins, Colo.; Michael Tarrant, University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.
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FEATURES
EDITORIAL PERSPECTIVES
Wilderness
and Baseline Experiences
BY CHAD P. DAWSON
W
hen we first see or experience any setting or and that to thrive as individuals and as a species we need to
activity in life, we consciously and subcon- cohabitate with it” (Kahn 2009, p. 38).
sciously develop an opinion and a relative Concern about incremental degradation to wilderness
reference point for all related experiences that follow. As character and quality, and its impacts on human percep-
Professor Peter H. Kahn, Jr. (1999) points out, this all starts tions, is another reminder why being vigilant about
at a very young age and strongly influences a child’s view of stewardship is necessary for the sake of present and future
the environment and how they perceive and interact with generations.
nature. Several bloggers on the Wildnet Listserv recently In this issue of IJW, Roger Kaye recounts the story of
reminded me of Kahn’s point in his 1999 book that each the designation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and
generation is seeing a more degraded environment and most celebrates 50 years of protection. Hawk Rosales reflects on
likely will accept that as their internal and experiential base- the creation of the InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness and the
line or reference point. The relationship between children importance of these ancestral lands to tribal life and cultural
and nature has become an increasingly investigated topic heritage. Three research studies report on the effectiveness of
among psychologists, sociologists, conservationists, and edu- bear-resistant canisters, the experiences of visitors following
cators (Kahn and Kellert 2002). wildland fires, and new techniques to monitor impacts at
Thus, by extension my fellow bloggers on Wildnet campsites. Lisa Eidson shares insights into the use of elec-
expressed concern that incremental degradation to wilderness tronic communications to support wilderness stewardship.
character and quality must be of great concern to wilderness Vance Martin and several other features in this issue of IJW
stewards and defenders because of the sometimes impacted or focus on the experiences and results from WILD9, the 9th
degraded conditions being experienced by new and younger World Wilderness Congress held in Mérida, Mexico, from
visitors. Based on the conditions they experience, these visi- November 6 through 13, 2009.
tors will set personal reference points from which they will
evaluate nature, wilderness, and their related experiences. References
Kahn, Peter H. 1999. The Human Relationship with Nature:
Actually, as it turns out, Professor Kahn is a psychological
Development and Culture. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
researcher and wilderness visitor, who writes equally clearly Kahn, Peter H., and Kellert, S. R. 2002. Children and Nature:
about the biocentric and anthropocentric statements of chil- Psychological, Sociocultural, and Evolutionary Investigations.
Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
dren regarding nature, as well as his own reflections in
Kahn, Peter H. 2009. Cohabitating with the wild. Ecopsychology 1(1):
wilderness and wild places during his personal retreats and 38–46.
recreational experiences (Kahn 2009). He concludes from a
CHAD P. DAWSON is the managing editor for IJW and a professor at
personal and evolutionary perspective that “today wildness
the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry at
remains part of the architecture of the human mind and body, Syracuse, NY, USA; email: [email protected].
APRIL 2010 (cid:129) VOLUME 16, NUMBER 1 International Journal of Wilderness 3
FEATURES
SOUL OF THE WILDERNESS
Celebrating
a Wilderness Legacy
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
BY ROGER KAYE
W
e will soon celebrate a milestone in American even questioned whether
conservation history. The year 2010 is the 50th future generations would
anniversary of the establishment of a landmark inherit the same Earth.
wilderness, and now a symbol of the dilemma we face Among them were Olaus
regarding our effect on the global environment and what Murie, director of The
quality of it we are to leave future generations—the Arctic Wilderness Society, and
National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). his wife, Mardy, who
ANWR didn’t come to us easily. Through the 1950s, together led the long
powerful economic interests and Alaska’s political leaders struggle.
stridently opposed the proposed 9-million acre (3.6 million
ha) wilderness reserve. But after a hard-fought, seven-year Expeditions into Roger Kaye in Glacier National Park.
Photo courtesy of the author.
campaign and failed legislative attempts, widespread public Northern
support persuaded the Eisenhower administration to estab- Wilderness
lish this “Last Great Wilderness” through an executive order This was a team uniquely suited to the challenge. Olaus had
with a stated purpose “to preserve unique wildlife, wilder- grown up in northern Minnesota, hunting and trapping to
ness, and recreational values”—the tangible values for which help support his widowed mother and siblings. These expe-
ANWR is renowned today (U.S. Public Land Order 2214). riences and his early immersion in turn-of-the-century
But beyond perpetuating the wildlife and wildness within its nature literature led him to become a biologist. In 1920, the
boundaries, there had been another purpose in the minds of U.S. Biological Survey, now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
those who led the fight. Service (USFWS), sent him to Alaska to conduct a detailed
To understand their underlying motive—and the larger six-year study of the territory’s caribou herds. In 1924, Olaus
significance of their victory—we need to realize that the married a lively Fairbanks girl, Mardy Thomas, the first
ANWR campaign was rooted in a growing fear for the woman graduate of the University of Alaska. After a brief
future. ANWR’s establishment was among the first of the ceremony on the remote Yukon River, the couple took off on
sweeping conservation initiatives of the 1960s that came a 550-mile (887 km) boat and dogsled research honeymoon
about in response to concern over the worsening environ- through the Brooks Range, recounted in Mardy’s 1979
mental degradations accompanying the prosperous classic book, Two in the Far North.
post–World War II march of progress. The rapid loss of During far-flung expeditions throughout Alaska and
natural landscapes, the destructive logging, mining, and Canada, Olaus interpreted his keen observations from the
agricultural practices, the spread of pollution and pesticides, combined perspectives of the emerging science of ecology
and the awesome power and fallout of the atomic bomb: and the transcendental tradition of Henry David Thoreau
these were among the concerns that were awakening many and John Muir. He came to what he described as “a realiza-
Americans to a new order of environmental threat. Some tion of a kinship with all life on this planet” (O. J. Murie
4 International Journal of Wilderness APRIL 2010 (cid:129) VOLUME 16, NUMBER 1
Wilderness Experiences
Olaus and Mardy Murie believed the
area ought to be left unaltered for the
unique recreational opportunities it
affords, although recreation is a wholly
insufficient term for the experiences
they wanted to be available here.
This should remain an adven-
turing ground, they believed, the
antithesis of the domesticated and con-
venience-oriented tourism that national
parks were promoting at the time.
Visitors could come to experience the
conditions that helped shape our
national character (see figure 6). They
could explore and discover, experience
freedom and self-reliance, and confront
challenge, even hardship. “For those
Figure 1—Recreationist along the Canning River. Photo by Gary Wheeler, USFWS. who are willing to exert themselves for
this experience, there is a great gift to
1961a, p. 15). Olaus’s focus became received their full attention, as did the be won,” Mardy wrote, “a gift to be had
“what I consider human ecology … 23 species of spiders and 40 species of nowadays in very few remaining parts
the importance of nature by which we lichens they catalogued. Here was one of our plundered planet—the gift of
live—not only physically, but aestheti- of the nation’s few remaining ecolog- personal satisfaction, the personal well-
cally and spiritually as well” (O. J. ical systems fully intact and large being purchased by striving” (M. E.
Murie 1961b, p. 61). enough for scientific study of how Murie 1960, p. 60).
In 1956, the Muries led a five- nature functions when left alone. Thus, Within the area’s silent vastness,
member, summer-long expedition to Olaus argued that it should be kept absent the reminders of civilization,
the heart of the proposed wilderness, wild “for our understanding of the the Muries also experienced the gift of
the mountain-lined Sheenjek River, natural processes of the universe … true solitude. They found peace,
the so-called Valley of Lakes (see fig- which throughout the ages have made wholeness, and restoration, and
ures 3 and 4). They arrived as “humble this planet habitable” (O. J. Murie through them, transcendent insight.
guests,” Mardy said, accepting this 1961b, p. 67). This was one of those places, as Olaus
landscape’s intrinsic purpose, that “it is
itself, for itself” (M. E. Murie 1979, p.
321). Such was “the spirit of the place”
in which their scientific exploration of
“the whole ecological ensemble” would
be conducted and their impressions of
it recorded (O. J. Murie 1958a, p. 10).
Their writings established the free-
roaming caribou as a symbol of the
area’s untrammeled natural processes.
The wolf came to represent its freedom
from human control and subjugation.
But their studies focused on the
interrelatedness of all life-forms, not
just the large charismatic mammals
Figure 2—Schrader Lake, deep within the ANWR wilderness. Photo courtesy of the USFWS.
(see figure 5). Mice and sparrows
APRIL 2010 (cid:129) VOLUME 16, NUMBER 1 International Journal of Wilderness 5
Zahniser, were working to embedded role in the community of life
enact what would become and ultimately, underlying all our envi-
the 1964 Wilderness Act. ronmental threats.
Beyond the practical bene- “This attitude of consideration
fits of providing for and respect,” Mardy wrote, “is an inte-
recreation and protecting gral part of an attitude toward life,
wildlife, habitat, and scenery, toward the unspoiled, still evocative
they believed areas set apart places on our planet” (M. E. Murie
as wilderness would serve 1979, p. 289).
another increasingly impor- The Arctic wilderness of ANWR
tant need. As Zahniser exemplified the natural qualities the
summarized it, “We deeply Muries, Zahniser, and others sought to
Figure 3—The Sheenjek River is a designated Wild River and one of
approximately 40 pristine rivers within the ANWR. Photo courtesy of the need the humility to know protect in the 1964 Wilderness Act. As
USFWS.
ourselves as the dependent well, its purpose embodied their larger
members of a great commu- hope for the wilderness concept—that
nity of life.” He explained it might stimulate Americans to think
that “to know the wilderness beyond conservation of resources to
is to know a profound the protection of whole ecosystems,
humility, to recognize one’s and beyond that, to rethink their rela-
littleness, to sense depen- tionship to the larger biosphere we
dence and interdependence, jointly inhabit. It’s the reason that,
indebtedness and responsi- over and over, through their writings
bility” (Zahniser 1956, p.40). and testimonies, the ANWR founders
Thus, when Olaus placed their advocacy for this wilder-
declared that “we human ness in the larger context of the globe,
beings need to muster the the planet, the world, and the Earth.
Figure 4—Last Lake, in the ANWR. Photo courtesy of the USFWS. wisdom to leave a few places As Olaus and Mardy Murie (see
of the earth strictly alone” figure 7) intended, the struggle over the
(O. J. Murie 1958b, p. 31), future of this distant place did become
he meant preserved for rea- emblematic of the larger contest between
sons beyond the uses and competing views of the appropriate rela-
benefits that wilderness areas tionship between postwar American
might provide us. They were society and its rapidly changing environ-
also to be left there for them- ment. But the question their generation
selves, as touchstones to that resolved has reemerged to confront ours:
better part of ourselves that Which notion of progress should this
holds reverence for some- again-contested landscape represent?
thing beyond human utility. Should it be the idea of progress under-
Preservation of this lying the prevailing rush toward attaining
place would be a gesture of an ever-higher material standard of
Figure 5—An aggregation of 80,000 caribou on ANWR’s coastal plain.
Photo by Fran Mauer. humility, an encouraging living? Or should it represent the
demonstration of our will- emerging biospheric perspective empha-
said, “to contemplate and try to under- ingness to accept restraint sizing sustainability and calling for
stand our place in the world” (O. J. and limit our effect on the larger com- restraint? Controversy over this area’s
Murie 1959, p. 18). munity of life. Its establishment would future began as—and is again—emblem-
affirm our capacity to rise above the atic of “the real problem,” as Olaus
Wilderness Philosophy commodity orientation that has come Murie characterized it, “of what the
At the time, Olaus and his partner at to dominate our relationship with human species is to do with this earth”
The Wilderness Society, Howard nature—an orientation obscuring our (O. J. Murie 1960).
6 International Journal of Wilderness APRIL 2010 (cid:129) VOLUME 16, NUMBER 1
Today, we again face a new order _____. 1958b Nature in the
Arctic. National parks
of environmental threat. Increasingly,
(January–March):
scientists warn of a non-analog future, 28–31.
a “perfect storm” convergence of global _____. 1959. What does
wilderness mean to
energy and resource scarcity, climate
us? Living Wilderness
change, and widespread environmental (spring): 16–19.
_____. 1960. Letter to
alterations. “The real problem” Olaus
Hon. E. L. Bartlett,
spoke to is upon us. And again, ANWR August 17. Author’s
serves as a point of reference for files.
_____. 1961a. Wilderness
rethinking our national conservation
conference on
policy. It has come to symbolize the Yellowstone Lake.
Living Wilderness 77:
question of where we will draw the
14–18.
line on our profligate energy use and _____. 1961b. Wilderness
unsustainable behavior toward nature. philosophy, science,
and the Arctic
Its inviolate boundary lines continue Figure 6—A hunter overlooks the Canning River Valley. Photo by Roger Kaye.
National Wildlife
to serve as heartening affirmations of Range. In Science in
Alaska, ed. George
the boundaries American society is
Dahlgren Jr. (pp. 58–69). College, AK:
willing to place on its consuming quest Alaska Division of the American
for more consumption and an ever- Association for the Advancement of
Science.
higher standard of living. ANWR
Stegner, W. 1980. Wilderness letter. The
remains the finest example of the wil- Living Wilderness 151: 13–17.
U.S. Public Land Order 2214, 1960.
derness that serves, in Wallace Stegner’s
Zahniser, H. 1956. The need for wilderness
phrase, as “our geography of hope” areas. Living Wilderness 59: 37–43.
(Stegner 1980, p. 17).
And that’s the reason millions ROGER KAYE is the wilderness specialist
who will never visit ANWR find satis- and pilot for the ANWR with the USFWS
and is the author of Last Great Wilderness:
faction, inspiration, even hope in just
The Campaign to Establish the Arctic
knowing it’s there.
National Wildlife Refuge; email: Roger_
As we celebrate the 50th anniver-
[email protected].
Figure 7—Olaus and Mardy Murie at Last Lake, Sheenjek
sary of ANWR, let’s remember that
River Valley during their 1956 summer-long exploration
ANWR represents the sense of obliga- of the proposed refuge. Photo by George Schaller.
tion a past generation felt toward the
future. Let’s remember that we inher-
ited not only this remarkable place, but
that same obligation to think beyond
ourselves—to think of those people and
creatures, of the present and future,
here and everywhere—with whom we
share this conflicted globe.
References
Murie, M. E. 1960. Senate Committee on
Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
Hearings, S. 1899. A Bill to Authorize
the Establishment of the Arctic Wildlife
Range, Alaska. July 1, 1959. 86th
Congress, 1st session, Records of the
U.S. Senate. Part 1: 60.
_____. 1979. Two in the Far North. Anchorage:
Alaska Northwest Publishing.
Murie, O. J. 1958a. Arctic wilderness. Figure 8—Floaters on the Sheenjek River. Photo by Andrew Weik.
Outdoor America (January): 10–11.
APRIL 2010 (cid:129) VOLUME 16, NUMBER 1 International Journal of Wilderness 7
STEWARDSHIP
The InterTribal Sinkyone
Wilderness
Ten Tribes Reclaiming, Stewarding, and
Restoring Ancestral Lands
BY HAWK ROSALES
T
he 4,000-acre (1,619 ha) InterTribal Sinkyone eons throughout this land. The success of their cultural man-
Wilderness is located along the “Lost Coast” of agement was informed by close observations of the seasons
northern California, an area that holds great cul- and other natural phenomena; the understanding that one
tural and spiritual significance for the indigenous Tribal must never take more than one needed; a unique set of orig-
Peoples of this region. inal instructions that had been given spiritually to the people;
Located 200 miles (323 km) and a vast body of unsurpassed wisdom and knowledge
north of San Francisco, this gained by thousands of years of living daily with respect upon
portion of the Sinkyone land Mother Earth.
is the longest stretch of per-
manently protected coastal
wilderness in the lower 48
states of the United States. It
is the westernmost part of
Hawk Rosales. the vast Sinkyone Indian
Aboriginal Territory that
includes the Wild and Scenic Eel River, the stunning and
mountainous Lost Coast, and the vestiges of a 3,000-year-
old temperate rain forest.
History of Designation
For thousands of years, the indigenous people of this land
employed a complex and sophisticated system of cultural
stewardship that significantly influenced the biological diver-
sity and abundance of the Sinkyone temperate rainforest. The
land management methods employed by the Sinkyone and
other neighboring Tribes of California’s North Coast included
rotational burning of understory plants to ensure the health
and productivity of important species; selective thinning and
harvesting of seaweeds, basket-making materials, medicines,
and a host of other plants; breaching of berms at river mouths
to enable salmon migration (see figure 1); the transplanting of
Figure 1—InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness, Wolf Creek salmonid jump
desirable plant species; and countless other practices that were
pools. Photo by Joe Scriven; © InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council.
conducted hand-in-hand with prayers and ceremonies for
8 International Journal of Wilderness APRIL 2010 (cid:129) VOLUME 16, NUMBER 1
The Sinkyone people established
and inhabited permanent villages and
seasonal encampments throughout
their territory. Although autonomous,
the many Sinkyone groups inhabiting
these villages and encampments shared
distinctive cultural and social charac-
teristics that distinguished them from
neighboring Indian peoples. These
shared characteristics included an
Athabaskan language unique to the
Sinkyone, a common system of spiri-
tual beliefs and practices, distinctive
styles for their art forms and architec-
ture, and commonly understood
territorial boundaries within which
members of the Sinkyone bands social-
Figure 2—Looking south from Needle Rock to Bear Harbor. Photo by © Hawk Rosales.
ized, gathered and hunted food sources,
and conducted trade. They utilized the eventually became enrolled members spiritual beliefs of Native peoples of
prairies and meadows, the river valleys, at several Tribes located throughout the redwood region when she explained
the redwood forests, and the coastal the region. the importance of this great tree:
areas throughout the year to gather In the face of this profound suf- The redwood trees are sacred.
traditional foods (see figure 2). This fering and loss, the descendants of the They are a special gift and reminder
varied land was the place in which they original Sinkyone people retained their from the Great Creator to the
lived and practiced their traditional ancient connections to Sinkyone and, human beings. The Great Creator
ways for untold generations. throughout the generations, have con- made everything, including trees of
In the mid-1850s, however, the tinued to travel seasonally to their all kinds, but he wanted to leave a
Sinkyone people were suddenly and ancestral lands to harvest traditional special gift for his children. So he
violently confronted with invading food and medicine plants and to offer took a little medicine from each tree,
multitudes of Euro-American settlers their prayers. he said a prayer and sang a powerful
who considered themselves entitled to song, and then he mixed it all with
indigenous peoples’ lands and resources. Redwood Ecosystem the blood of our people. Then he
Within 15 years, most of the Sinkyone With the genocide of the Sinkyone created this special redwood tree
people were annihilated through a com- people came the ecocide of the ancient from this medicine. He left it on
bination of massacres, slavery, forced forests of Kahs-tcho (redwood tree), Earth as a demonstration of his love
relocations, starvation, land theft, intro- considered by local Tribes as especially for his children. The redwood trees
duced diseases, rape, impoverishment, sacred. The people used various parts have a lot of power: they are the
and other atrocities. The state and fed- of the redwood in the manufacture of tallest, live the longest, and are the
eral governments paid white citizens for their houses, clothing, baskets, fish most beautiful trees in the world.
the scalps of Sinkyone men, women, traps, canoes, and a host of other Destroy these trees and you destroy
and children, and many Indian toddlers items. Carved parts of the canoe cor- the Creator’s love. And if you destroy
and young people were sold as slaves to responded to various parts of the that which the Creator loves so
wealthy families throughout California. human body, such as the heart and much, you will eventually destroy
The U.S. Army removed Sinkyone sur- lungs. The Sinkyone people consid- mankind. (National Park Service
vivors to concentration camps, called ered their canoes to be alive, and they 1994, unpaginated)
reservations, which were established often spoke to them. A traditional
throughout the region. In the ensuing religious leader of the Chilula people, Commercial harvest of the old
years, Sinkyone people married other whose territory is located to the north- growth redwoods of the region began as
peoples of local Tribal affiliations and east of the Sinkyone, expressed the early as the 1850s, but large portions of
APRIL 2010 (cid:129) VOLUME 16, NUMBER 1 International Journal of Wilderness 9
Four separate conservation easements protect such as California State Parks, Redwood
National Park, Save the Redwoods
the land’s cultural and ecological values
League, and others have helped pre-
in perpetuity. serve scattered residual stands of
ancient redwoods, thus ensuring at
least some legacy for future genera-
the ancient forest remained intact until from societal racism and unjust govern-
tions of humans.
the late 1940s when an “improved” mental policies. In order to survive,
style of bulldozer dramatically changed many Tribal members were forced to
Environmental Movement
logging methods and the rate of extrac- work for the timber companies, felling
During the 1960s and 1970s another
tion. With the advent of this new the ancient and sacred redwood trees
kind of settler began arriving in the
equipment, steep slopes that had been that had sheltered and provided for
North Coast. People who had become
previously inaccessible were now open their prosperity for countless genera-
disillusioned by the consumerism,
to unrestrained clear-cut harvesting. tions. During the 100-year heyday of
aggression, and hypocrisy of American
The ensuing pillage destroyed most of North Coast timber operations, many
society sought refuge and peace in
the original redwood ecosystem and in white society viewed the juxtaposi-
remote locations within the forests of
set in motion a severe decline in the tion of timber industry profits and
the North Coast. They soon were con-
health and productivity of native sal- Native impoverishment through the
fronted by horrific clear-cut logging
monid fisheries. lens of the Manifest Destiny doctrine
operations within their viewsheds and
Beginning in the mid-1800s, a that supported this dreadful disparity.
watersheds as the timber companies
long succession of commercial timber Today, we refer to it as genocide and
expanded into previously unentered
interests held title to a vast acreage of environmental racism.
areas of old growth. The new settlers
redwood forestland within the Sinkyone Because redwoods regenerate both
quickly organized by inspecting and
territory and neighboring aboriginal by seed and stump sprout, and grow
documenting damage, researching envi-
Tribal lands. These interests grew rapidly, many areas of the North Coast
ronmental laws, and protesting at
wealthy from their exploitation of the redwood rain forest have been sub-
locations where old trees were being cut
sacred redwood trees, while the Tribal jected to clear-cutting three or more
or were scheduled for cutting. They
communities who had occupied these times. Less than 4% of the region’s
chained themselves to redwoods, block-
lands for millennia suffered economic original old growth redwoods are still
aded logging sites, were arrested, and
impoverishment as well as oppression standing. Fortunately, organizations
reached out to other potential North
Coast allies. Efforts were made to con-
tact local Tribal representatives and an
important dialogue began between the
leaders of the indigenous community
and the environmental movement.
Soon, Tribal members were joining
nonnative activists and protesters at var-
ious sites on Sinkyone land threatened
by logging. A lawsuit was brought by the
Environmental Protection Information
Center, the International Indian Treaty
Council, and other plaintiffs against
landowner Georgia-Pacific Corporation
(G-P), California Department of
Forestry, and the State Board of Forestry.
The lawsuit alleged serious violations of
the California Environmental Quality
Figure 3—Looking north from the Sinkyone Wilderness State Park into the King Range National Act (CEQA). A key element of the law-
Conservation Area. Photo by © Hawk Rosales.
suit was the timber company’s blatant
10 International Journal of Wilderness APRIL 2010 (cid:129) VOLUME 16, NUMBER 1