Lawsuit Filed to Protect Chumash Sacred Condor & Sacred Sites
A coalition of groups filed a lawsuit to stop an exclusive development project that was to include high-priced homes, golf courses and hotels. The development called, Tejon Mountain Village resort, is slated to be built high in the pristine mountains of Kern County, located in southern California.
The groups fighting the development include the Chumash Indian Wishtoyo Foundation, the Center for Biological Diversity, the TriCounty Watchdogs and the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment.
Mati Waiya of the Wishtoyo Foundation says the development threatens Chumash sacred sites and the endangered condor whose habitat would be gravely disturbed. The condor is central to the perpetuation of Chumash culture and ceremonial practices. The magnificent bird features prominently in Chumash oral histories and in sacred cave paintings.
You can read more about the issues surrounding the lawsuit and the destructive development in the press release from the Center for Biological Diversity.