Grand Canyon Fading Daylight

Urgent Action Alert – Letters Needed to Protect Sacred Land

We learned about sacred sites that would be impacted by a proposed action by the Bureau of Land Management at our recent meeting with the National Trust Cultural Resources Preservation Coalition. Sacred Sites International is requesting that letters be written by the public comment deadline on May 4th. Comments may be submitted by email to: NAZproposedwithdrawal@azblm.org

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has proposed that 1 million acres of land surrounding the Grand Canyon be withdrawn from uranium mining for the next 20 years. The Grand Canyon is considered an “ancestral emergence place” by many of the area’s American Indians. Additionally, the areas proposed for mining withdrawal contain sacred shrines, sacred rock art, ceremonial plants, and ceremonial sites. Sacred Sites International supports withdrawing the proposed 1 million acres of land from mining for these reasons. Please support Alternative B in the Draft Environmental Statement that will protect the 1 million acres of public land from the adverse effects of mineral exploration and mining.

Sample Letter:

Protect Grand Canyon lands from Uranium Mining

RE: Northern Arizona Proposed Withdrawal Project
ATTN: Scott Florence, District Manager
345 East Riverside Drive
St. George, Utah 84790–6714.

Dear Mr. Florence,

I strongly support the proposed action of withdrawing the entire 1,010,776 acres of the greater Grand Canyon area from new mineral activities, as proposed in Alternative B of the Draft EIS. As a member of Sacred Sites International, I wish to protect the sacred landscape with places considered holy by the area’s American Indians. These lands contain sacred ceremonial grounds, sacred shrines, fragile and sacred rock art, and sacred ceremonial plants. The threats posed by uranium mining are not justified in this highly sensitive cultural area.

Thank you for this opportunity to comment,
(Your Name)
(Your Address)
(City, State, ZIP)

Nantucket Sunrise is Sacred to Wampanoag

The Wampanoag Indian Tribe of Massachusetts have spiritual practices that require them to visit sacred sites with a clear view of the rising sun when they perform special ceremonies on the solstices and upon the death of elders. The Cape Wind project would compromise the natural integrity of a sacred site for the Wampanoags by industrializing their view of the rising sun.

The Cape Wind Farm’s plan is to build 130 wind turbines, each over 400 feet tall. The project would be several miles from the Cape Cod shoreline covering a 25-square-mile section of federal land.

Action is urgently needed before February 29, 2010. Please write to Secretary Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, Department of the Interior, 1849 C St NW, Washington, DC 20240; or email Secretary Salazar at feedback@ios.doi.gov; or telephone the Department at 202-208-3100.

Please make the following points:
1. The Wampanoag, People of the First Light, require an unobstructed view of Nantucket Sound in order to view the rising sun on solstices when they perform their sacred ceremonies and upon the passing of elders.
2. Wampanoag ancestral remains are buried in the Sound and the wind turbines would dis

For more information contact: the Wampanoag.

Other resources, including an excellent photo of the sound with proposed Wind Turbines, can be found at: The Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound.

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.