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Quechan Tribe sues to halt construction of wind factory on sacred land
The tribe was so doubtful about the Pattern Energy survey of the site's cultural resources that it sent in its own experts with trained forensic dogs who did a quick and cursory survey and found an additional six burial/cremation sites, for a total of 12 cremation sites in this particular area, Escalanti says. The tribe still practices the sacred rite of cremation, as their tribal ancestors did before them, according to court documents.
Escalanti says the tribe has asked to meet with the decision-makers.
June 23, 2012
by Gale Courey Toensing
in Indian Country Today
The Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has the following warning on its web page regarding Southern California's Coyote Mountains Wilderness Area: "Removal, disturbance or attempting to remove archaeological materials is a felony. Selling, receiving, purchasing, transporting, exchanging or offering to do so is prohibited by law."
Even though the Department of the Interior has acknowledged that the Coyote Mountains Wilderness Area as an established archaeological site and the prehistoric and historic presence there of the Quechan Tribe of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation, on May 11 Secretary Ken Salazar signed the record of decision (ROD)-the official... [continue via Web link]
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