Bolsa Chica Protest - No Building on Ancestral Burials

Bolsa Chica, located in the southern coastal region of California, is an important California Indian ancestral burial ground. It is one of the most unusual archaeological sites in California, known as CA-ORA-83, it contains evidence of an 8,000 year-old village and unique cogged-stone site.

Bolsa Chica Cogged Stones

The site has subjected, over several decades, to development pressures from Hearthside Homes, a developer seeking to build houses on the sensitive sacred burial ground.

On August 11, 2010, the Bolsa Chica Land Trust filed a petition for writ of mandate challenging the City of Huntington Beach approval of “The Ridge” housing development with the County of Orange, California.

The Bolsa Chica Land Trust believes the City Council action granting permits to the housing developer on July 6, 2010 violates the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The approved development would have a significantly adverse impact on the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve wetlands.

Bolsa Chica Wetlands

Additionally, the permit granted to the developer, calls for low density zoning which means that the City of Huntington Beach will be allowed to use an Environmental Impact Report dating from 2000! The project developer maintains that there is not a likelihood of finding human remains on the site. We believe there is strong evidence, even on “degraded” sites such as Bolsa Chica, that human ancestral remains will be found.

Please write a letter protesting the action taken by the City of Huntington Beach to build homes on this sensitive sacred burial, archaeological and natural area. Letters should be addressed as follows:

California Coastal Commission

South Coast Area Office

200 Oceangate, Suite 1000

Long Beach, CA  90802-4302

Attn.:  Teresa Henry, District Manager/Project Analyst

Re:  Protect sacred site at Bolsa Chica (ORA 83)

Dear Ms. Henry,

We continue to be very concerned about the desecration that has taken place at the Gabrielino/Tongva and Juaneno/Acjachemen sacred cemetery at Bolsa Chica (ORA 83).   Over 175 ancestral burials and over 100,000 crafting tools, adornments, Cogged Stones and other funerary items have been discovered and desecrated at Bolsa Chica.  We believe there remains a strong likelihood that additional ancestral burials and funerary items, including Cogged Stones, will be found on the remaining 6 acres of undeveloped land known as the Goodell property.

Archeological work since 1983, has described the sites as too disturbed to be significant since.   However, recent summaries by Nancy Anastasia Desautels Wiley verify the immense cultural significance of this sacred site.

We have seen other examples of sacred sites containing burials and artifacts after a developer and his archaeologist proclaimed the site free of burials – this was the case at the Emeryville Shellmound located in the SF Bay Area. The Shellmound was said to have been emptied of all burials years ago and yet, hundreds more remained only to dug up during construction.

Too many sacred burials and artifacts have been found with bulldozers.  We believe this constitutes purposeful destruction. Please do not let this happen again.

The California Coastal Commission has the responsibility and the authority to protect Native Californian burials from further disturbance.  Please stop the further destruction of the sacred cemetery at Bolsa Chica!

We are asking the Coastal Commission to reframe from issuing further building permits to the developer Hearthside Homes and its affiliate companies or other developers who may be interested in building on the sacred ground at Bolsa Chica.

Let us create a precedent of preservation based on respect for the past.

Sincerely,

Print Name & Affiliation

Address

Date

The magnificent prehistoric painted cave of Lascaux, located near Montignac, France, is in serious danger of being destroyed. The paintings are deteriorating from an overgrowth of black spots from fungus and bacterial growth. You can read more about this at the International Committee for the Preservation of Lascaux.

Urgent-Action Letters are desperately needed to urge the French Minister of Culture to work with the International Committee for the Preservation of Lascaux. Send letters to: Mr. Frederic Mitterand, Minister of Culture, 3 Rue de Valois, 75033 Paris Cedex 01, France.

Please send polite letters making the following points: 1) Please convene a committee of international experts to develop a study on the causes of the damage. 2) An effective scientific treatment must immediately be developed and employed to stop the proliferation of black fungus. 3) There must be scientific supervision of the cave; this is immediately needed and needs to be part of the ongoing management of the site. 4) An overall management plan for the cave should be developed and implemented with independent expert monitoring.

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